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KEY TEXT: 1 John 2:5 (KJV) – “But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.”

Let us take the words keepeth, verily, love, and perfected as the key terms. Let’s go deeper and uncover the original meanings of these words.

1. “Keepeth”
Greek: τηρέω (tēreō)

Original meaning:
To guard, watch over, preserve; to hold firmly and carefully obey.

This refers not just to passive obedience, but to active, attentive keeping. This isn’t merely “following rules.” It means treating God’s Word like something precious—something you protect and live by daily.

2. “Verily”
Greek: ἀληθῶς (alēthōs)

Original meaning:
Truly, genuinely, in reality—something authentic, not superficial.

It emphasizes that this is not outward religion; it is real, proven truth in a person’s life.

3. “Love”
Greek: ἀγάπη (agapē)

Original meaning:
Selfless, sacrificial love—love that chooses to act for another’s good.

This is the kind of love that comes from God’s nature. It is not emotion-based. It means that God’s own kind of love is actively working within the person.

4. “Perfected”
Greek: τελειόω (teleioō)

Original meaning:
To complete, bring to maturity, or fulfill a purpose—to reach its intended goal.

It doesn’t mean “flawless.” It means God’s love has fully grown and reached its purpose in that person.

Keepeth conveys intentionality in obeying God’s Word. We need to be extremely intentional in keeping God’s commandments. We should guard God’s Word more than we guard our pricey earthly possessions. To say it in a more astonishing way, we need to guard God’s Word more than we guard our biological children. As much as one may struggle with this statement, God’s Word is of greater eternal importance than our children or any of our family members. It is God’s Word that created our family members.

Obedience to God should not be passive. The reason you obey God should not be because you lack the opportunity to disobey. The love of God that you have experienced should be the driving force behind your motivation to obey. You should be more intentional with God than you are with your highest-paying client or your most feared boss.

You don’t treat your secular studies casually. You don’t treat your job casually. Why then should you treat God casually? You arrive early at work and school—why then arrive late at church? Sometimes we engage in activities that end up consuming sacred Sabbath hours.

Many times, we may have what seem to be “genuine” reasons. For example, you may be in a new country where the Sabbath begins at 3:30 PM, whereas in your previous country it began at 6:30 PM. As a result, the Sabbath may catch you unaware. Such situations often occur when we are not intentional in keeping the Sabbath. If we were intentional and diligent, we would check Friday sunset times in advance.

We should make proper use of Friday. Friday should not be the day when we rush to finish tasks. It should be the Preparation Day, set aside to prepare for the Sabbath (Exodus 16:23). We should carefully analyze what caused us not to keep the Sabbath well the previous week and, with God’s help, correct it.

Many of us consider Friday merely as a day for Sabbath food preparation—but Sabbath preparation goes far beyond food.

“We should jealously guard the edges of the Sabbath. Remember that every moment is consecrated, holy time. Whenever it is possible, employers should give their workers the hours from Friday noon until the beginning of the Sabbath. Give them time for preparation, that they may welcome the Lord’s day with quietness of mind. By such a course you will suffer no loss even in temporal things.” – Testimonies for the Church, Volume 6, Page 356.1, Ellen G. White.

Many of us have the habit of starting the Sabbath late and ending it early. We are counseled to carefully guard the edges of the Sabbath—the sunsets of Friday evening and Saturday evening. We should be careful not to consume even a moment with our own activities.

Sabbath preparation extends to the clothes we wear and the activities we plan. As much as possible, we should prayerfully consider how to do the least possible on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath should be free from burdens.

I have dwelt much on the Sabbath, but this same intentionality must be applied to all of God’s commandments. Even an often-overlooked commandment like the tenth—“Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17)—requires deep intentionality.

Do we honor our parents as God intends us to? We must identify what triggers our coveting, what leads to sexual immorality, what provokes harmful reactions in anger, what tempts us to steal, or what leads us to take God’s name in vain. Then, carefully and prayerfully, we must prepare against those triggers. When God sees our determination, He will provide divine help to keep His commandments.

When we are intentional in obeying God, His Word assures us that the love of God is truly perfected in us. We will be able to love God and others the way He intends. And when His love dwells in us, we will know that we are in Him.

“If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

GOD BLESS YOU!

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
Teach me to guard Your Word with intentionality and reverence. Let Your love grow and mature in me until it reaches its full purpose. Help me to obey You not out of duty alone, but out of genuine love. Strengthen me to prepare, to be disciplined, and to walk in Your ways daily. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Activity

Today, take 10–15 minutes to intentionally prepare for obedience:

• Check and note the exact Sabbath start time for this week.
• Identify one personal trigger that causes you to disobey God.
• Write down one practical step you will take to guard against it.
• Set a reminder on your phone to act on it.

Consistency in small, intentional steps leads to spiritual maturity.

Author: Mark Alex   

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