Below is Basically a list of Bible Verses for Individual or Small Group Bible Study:
Focused on What Jesus Means by Keeping His Word,
As well as What Jesus does not Mean.
Feel free to copy, download,  and use for your own edification. 

(BTW: you can right click on the these studies
and click source code, and copy them to your own webpages, emails. etc.
I GLADLY GIVE YOU that permission.)

Dear Family & Friends:

Please Read my testimony below this study.

 Why?

Well, let's just say, I have seen some things in my life recently, that have been there a long time, but now I am not happy with, nor proud of, nor want to see these specific things continue.

In fact, you could say I have been, (in my own little world) undergoing a process of reformation. 

As a consequence, I am identifying past attitudes, false beliefs, wrong behaviors, and a lack of maturity in my Life, and in my Faith 

I have come to the conclusion that I have tarnished my standing as an effective, fruitful, patient, humble, long suffering, Godly, Mature, witness (example) for my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ--the one who DIED for me, and has CALLED ME, to DIE to myself, so that I may LIVE FOR HIM.

IF YOU know me personally, you probably know what I am talking about.
If you don't, well then, that is somewhat irrelevant. This personal message is primarily concerned with those whom I have offended, and have seen the 'partial burning of relationship bridges' as a result. 

More on these particulars at the bottom of this page.

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I do pray that every part of this website will be a blessing, a challenge, a revelation, and/or a comfort, as well as a genuine help to inspire and enliven your desire to Walk Closely with Jesus on a daily basis, so that you can:

Hear the Good Shepherd's Voice,
and Follow Him--personally.

There are Billions of Voices we can choose to follow--beyond our own.

But only One voice, is from the One, who came down from Heaven, and then proved where he came from, by what He Did, and What he Said, that no other man had ever done, or said, nor had the right, or ability, to say or do such things. 

He is the only one that came from heaven, and returned to heaven, and therefore knows The Way. There is no other One like Him.

He is the only human being
who could ever rightfully say:

I am the Way, the Truth, and the L i fe
No Man Cometh unto the Father,
But by Me.

-John 14:6

So my hope is that many will view these scriptures presented here, like the Bereans (Jews & Gentiles in Acts 17) who heard the Message of Salvation, and then went directly to the scriptures to see, if in fact, the message they had heard, was truly from God, or was a tool of deception in the mouths of men.

It's important that you and I should treat every word we receive from someone else in the same manner, with the same grace, with a desire "to know" THE TRUTH, and willingness to Find the Truth, even as God intended US to find it: In HIS Eternal Word. 

In this responsibility, we are called to reject, everything not coming from the Truth Himself, and and accept everything, confirmed by the Truth Himself.

1 John 2:26-29 (KJV)
26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. 27 But the anointing [The Gift of the Holy Spirit] which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

Shalom,

TPD

Who were the Bereans?
Acts 17:10-12 (KJV)
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

Below is a shortened version of the same table of verses listed about. It was the foundation for the above presentation. It may be more useful for study groups etc.
The Key Point being made here:

Keep = Love = Do = Obey = Know = Have = Hold =
Observe = Follow = Walk = Live = Abide in = Stand In

If someone tells you, "I believe in Jesus," or "I know Jesus,"
but does not Keep, nor Revere, nor even Know, Honor,
Nor Obey the Commandments of Jesus.
The Word says:
Such a person
IS A LIAR,
AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN HIM.

SO be careful about what they say to you.

I keep sharing this verse below,
because it says a lot in such a short space.

1 John 2:3-6 (KJV)
3 And hereby we do know that we know him,
if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him,
and keepeth not his commandments,
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word,
in him verily is the love of God perfected:
hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him
ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Why do I share this study?

I personally have been asking God for help and direction, to draw closer to Jesus, and to learn how to do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

At one point, I read the verse: If you love me, keep my commandments.

THIS ONE VERSE BEGAN TO DIG INTO MY SOUL. It began to show me many things about myself, that were not right. Many things kept popping up that were not in a line with "keeping Jesus Commandments". And then I saw a whole long train of poor decisions, and the problems that were caused, because I was simply not keeping the Commandments of Jesus. 

To be honest, I don't believe I knew, what it really meant from Jesus perspective, to keep his Commandments.

But as a result of some study and some repentance, and some new life, I began to grow in a new revelation surrounding this one verse. And instead of being quick to blame others, and blame circumstances, and blame God and life in general for the difficulties I was experiencing, I began to become more serious about keeping Jesus Commandments. 

As a an initial result, I was able to overcome some specific challenges that I wasn't able to do previously.

In short, I suppose this could be my simple plan of action. I have set for myself now that I didn't have before. And I have great hope that I will draw closer to Jesus, I will be more responsive and more susceptible to hearing that little small voice of the good Shepherd (in John chapter 10). And I will be more effective and more directed from heaven than I was before. A big part of that process, began with the plan to memorize portions of scripture in order to keep the Commandments of Jesus, more quickly, more fluently, more specifically, and more faithfully. And yes, that is something I recommend every person alive to do.

Memorize at least the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew chapters 5,6 & 7)

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All This BEGAN TO SHOW ME SO MANY THINGS ABOUT MYSELF THAT WEREN'T RIGHT. THEY WEREN'T IN LINE WITH KEEPING JESUS COMMANDMENTS. AND THEN I SAW A WHOLE LINKAGE OF BAD DECISIONS, AND PROBLEMS CAUSED AS A RESULT OF:

1.   Not knowing Jesus' Commandments, well enough to implement them in a instant

2.   Not keeping Jesus' Commandments.

3.   Not being protected, encouraged, inspired, and directed by Jesus' Commandments.

4.   Not having the internal strength, boldness, and fortitude, to Walk as Jesus Walked
   (as the Apostles taught and exampled to us)

Then I realized I was in a place of disobedience for decades in my life. And that caused me to be humbled. I could tell there were things wrong, but I couldn't tell what they were. It just seemed like such a big jumble of junk.

But then I began to see that that's actually the regular course of behavior, and consequences for being disconnected to the source of life, and disconnected from, and ignoring , The Very Commandments of the One who had CALLED me out of DARKNESS, and into his ETERNAL LIGHT & LIFE. 

When we are connected to him, we can't help but keep his Commandments. And do those things which are pleasing in his sight--out of a deep and genuine love relationship with the one who died for us, to set us free from death, we will seek to honor All His commands, instructions, sayings, teachings, and Words, continually. It will be our daily Bread, and our new Wine, our Eternal Treasure, Our Hope & Our Joy, to do the things that bring glory and honor and praise to Jesus and the Father. That will be our highest reward.

As I began studying John 14:15,
the first thing that caught my attention
was the word "Commandments."

I was pretty sure. I don't believe Jesus was talking about only the two Commandments to love God--with all your heart, and to love your neighbor--as yourself. I was fairly confident that there were a number of more Commandments that Jesus was referring to when he said. "keep my Commandments."

At this point, I asked a number of other people, who had been ministers of the gospel, for longer than I. And it became apparent that no one, I talked to, had a satisfying or inspiring, life impacting, answer to this question: What exactly are the Commandments of Jesus? 

So I expanded my search, and discovered there's at least 80 Commandments of Jesus, specifically identified by scholars in just the four gospels alone. And there are 30 identifiable Commandments of Jesus in "the sermon on the mount" alone. 

And I could tell you for certain, that I could not quote them, nor did I know them well enough from memory, to do them in any particularly critical decision-making point in life. 

Now that I had this short list of 80 commands, I could see that I had not applied myself to the work of memorizing scripture. 

This work of Faith is Completely outlined in the word of God. God gives us the very times, and ways that he recommends we memorize his Word.  

His plan is fully laid out so that I could implement God's Commandment to memorize his Word, for me and my whole family, unto three generations. Presented in Deuteronomy 6: 1-9.

Note: This Passage also fully contains the #1 commandment in the Scriptures, that Jesus said we must keep. (See God's Plan for Family Salvation.)

But it also commands us to teach his Word to our children, unto the 3rd generation. And to do so Daily.

As a result, of these few renewed understandings, and dare I say revelations from God, I felt the need to communicate them for the benefit of my whole family, and friends, and more.

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When I began asking the question of myself: "Am I keeping the Commandments of Jesus?" I found out that also others had not been asking the same question of themselves. And it became apparent that we might be missing a central point and core value of our faith.

That began to usher in the question "How many Commandments did Jesus actually give us directly in the gospels? 

Having identified 80 commands I now have the burden and challenge to learn them and put them into practice in my life. I realized it was expected of me, to take the initiative to learn and to keep the Commandments of Jesus, as part of my own personal discipleship training. 

With that awareness, I thought about the word KEEP, and:
What does it mean to KEEP the Commandments of Jesus? 

And I was pretty certain: It wasn't an intellectual exercise. But instead, to KEEP Jesus' Commandments, according to Jesus intentions, required me to make very specific decisions, in order to live out the actions that were required. 

And each of these actions required conscious effort that needed to be made according to the design of the command giver. Conscious to the point of choosing to pluck out my own eye, if I would rather choose not to keep them. And that was something, I really did not want to do.

And it became very apparent, that for every act of obedience to KEEP the Commandments of Jesus, there were specific rewards to be given. These were rewards were to be pursued by faith, BUT many of the best rewards would not be received in this world. Not in my lifetime, nor on this planet, as it is right now. That is what makes these Commandments and doing them so unique, and so purely an act of faith. 

But, with every act of faith, therein grows a bond of fellowship with the One calling me into that Faith based relationship, who is the actual command giver. 

And also a bond of fellowship with all others who walk in the same path. 

In other words, those who keep the Commandments of Jesus by faith, through grace, in the bond of fellowship with Jesus, are sharing the same kingdom of God, with God's heavenly blessing, as a collective Whole. 

TOGETHER, EVERY MEMBER OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, IS WORKING TOGETHER, TO ACCOMPLISH THE WILL OF GOD ON THE EARTH. TOGETHER, WE ALL DO OUR WORK, OFTENTIMES IN SECRET, NOT KNOWING WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING IN SECRET, BUT IN THE END, THE GREAT WORLDWIDE TAPESTRY OF GOD WILL BE REVEALED, and every reward will have its perfect distinction, blessing, and beauty, that will be revealed--ALL FOR THE GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST.

And in this process, of growing in acts of faith, that we are specifically fulfilling on a daily basis, there is an energy, a Freedom, a bond of grace, that continues to build, and to grow, and prosper, and to bear fruit, that will eventually demonstrate by itself, that we are followers of Christ, and are not living by our own selfish motives and agendas.

In that regard, the early Church believers were seen as aliens in this world. Because they simply did not fit into their society expectations. They were like a fly in the perfume. They all disturbed and disrupted the natural excepted & prescribed norms of society. They didn't go to the Colleseum to see the gladiators kill each other, or to see the chariots races where men often risked their lives for the entertainment of the masses. They didn't go to the temple to learn the stories of the gods, who were involved in incest, adultery, murder, thefts, betrayals, and sacrifices for the glory of the gods (like the same movies we watched from Hollywood every day). 

They didn't worship like good Romans at the Pantheon of gods, or at the temple of Diana in the city of Ephesus, and they didn't buy temple idols, nor sacrifice to the gods. So they were considered vile, uneducated, unsophisticated, and a cancer to their society, and treated as such, by those in power, and those who wanted to impress those in power, and everyone that was raised up and trained to follow that chain of power--whether conscious of it or not.

 And the same forces of power and peeer pressure are at work among us today. And we can only see them through the lens of faith. And that faith is dependent upon those who keep his commandments, as opposed to those who do not keep them. The two are as different as night and day. 

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In early church times, all who lived in the fear of Rome, under the fear of Demonic Religions, were offended by Christians who had no fear, and would not bow down to their demons, nor participate in their entertainment, their superstitions, their evil laws of repression, had no sway, and no control over the minds of believers who had been set free from all evil.

The early Christians, freely gave testimony to Jesus Christ, knowing that the very testimony they gave, would cause them to come under the threat of death, punishment, torture, and the possible and probable loss of all personal privileges & possessions, and even the right to have family, children, liberty, and almost any kind of Freedom. 

Why would all this happen? Because when the king of heaven, sets a man free from the bondages and slavery in the world, that threatens the power structure of worldly governments, and worldly control over individuals. When an individual would step out and declare, 

"There's only one true king in heaven, to whom we all must submit" 

That angered and instigated jealousy, hatred, and revenge in the form of punishment coming from all kings who were not submitted to the one true king in heaven--because that message fully threatened their power structure.

That is one of the main reasons, the pilgrims of Europe were motivated to move to the land of America. That move, though dangerous and life-threatening itself, was done in order to establish a place of Freedom, so that individuals could walk in the freedom of their faith, without being tortured, imprisoned, stripped of their rights to have a family, the privileges to work, and have their physical possessions protected. Something we now call: "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Why? Because throughout Europe, there had been nearly 800 years of holocaust like conditions, not only against Jews, but against protestants, who chose not to submit to the authority of the iron fisted popes, who were drunk on their own power, and the blood of the Saints, and who instituted the legal horrific catholic persecutions against true protestant believers. 

This demonic plan, forged in the lowest places in hell, and executed in the courtrooms of demons, was instigated by the clerics (lawyers and prosecutors) of the Roman Catholic Church. It was called the inquisition. And it effectively robbed whole regions lands and of their valuables and their lives--and gave them to the church with a stroke of a pen. 

And it created more martyrs, and instigated many new devious and wicked tortures, than used by Roman emperors, (the Ceasars), where men and women and whole families, were sacrificed in arenas like the Colosseum, being used as entertainment for the masses. 

Note: the building of the Colesseum was funded, by the gold stolen from Jerusalem during the destruction of the temple in AD 70.

And please be aware, that the Inquistion that started in 1184, didn't truly stop in 1834, or end when the Spanish Inquistion, officially ended, it just went underground. It's surfaced in many places throughout history, including the holocaust in Germany (murdering 6 million Jews), and again in Serbia (murdering 400,000 Orthodox Serbs, alongside roughly 30,000 Jews and 26,000 Roma). And Forced Conversions? Upwards of 240,000 Orthodox Christians were forced at gunpoint by fundamentalist clerics to convert to Catholicism to save their lives. [1, 2] .

The plan was simple: 

"Kill one-third, expel one-third, and forcibly convert one-third to Catholicism."

During the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, a fanatical, ultra-nationalist fascist movement known as the Ustaše took power. Led by dictator Ante Pavelić, the Ustaše instituted a policy of radical "clerical fascism". [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

While the global Catholic Church did not officially organize these massacres, a significant number of local Croatian Catholic priests, monks, and friars actively participated as ideologues, military chaplains, or direct executioners alongside Ustaše soldiers. [1, 3]

Father Božidar Bralo: A radical priest who served as the chief of security police in Sarajevo. He routinely carried a machine gun under his priestly robes and allegedly performed a celebratory dance around the bodies of 180 massacred Serbs. [1]

Father Dionizije Juričev: A priest in Pavelić's state office who publicly wrote that “to kill children at least seven years of age is not a sin” if they stood in the way of the Ustaše movement. [1]

The Glina Church Massacres (1941): In the town of Glina, hundreds of Serb villagers were rounded up and herded into a local Orthodox church under the promise that they would be safely converted to Catholicism. Once locked inside, Ustaše forces attacked them with rifle butts and knives, eventually setting the church on fire to burn any survivors alive. [1, 2]

The Prebilovci Massacre (1941): Ustaše forces entered the village of Prebilovci, rounded up over 800 women, children, and infants, marched them to the hills, and threw them alive down the deep subterranean Golubinka pit. Out of the entire village population, only a fraction survived. [1]

Why should these things even be mentioned or remembered? Because History has a bad habit of repeating itself.  And we are in a battle that we often cannot see with our naked eyes. But when we begin to look through the eyes of Him who called us into Fellowship with Himself, we can quickly see by Faith, those who are and those who are not KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS. And yes, people who wear religious clothing can be filled with demons, doing demonic work. 

John 10:10 (KJV)
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: 

That little piece of history is being shared because we are still under the same threats today. The battlefields may have changed a bit, but the underlying demonic spirit warfare is still in full swing. It's just covered under a cloak of secularism. But the hatred for keeping Jesus Commandments is just as a alive today, as it ever was. 

Those who will be offended, will be those of your own family, work, school, and marketplace. The threat for stepping outside of the social norm is just as real today, as it ever has been. Those who proclaim Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life, and at his Commandments are the only laws we must meet to guarantee our entrance into heaven. That is heresy in today's modern world.

For that heresy, you and I, if you choose to fully & consciously, deliberately & diligently proclaim, his commandments, and keep them with integrity--guess what will happen? 

You will be persecuted. That's just a fact, clearly established by the Gospel itself. 

2 Timothy 3:12-13 (KJV)
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Therefore, Sharing this word, is a risk. 

But it is a risk I am fully willing to take.

And, more than that, I am willing to take the risk, to ask you, personally, to join me, in taking, the exact same risk for yourself.

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By doing so, I realize I am following in Jesus footsteps. You might ask, "how so?"

Thank you for asking. Here's my answer. 

While meditating on keeping Jesus Commandments, it dawned on me that when Jesus invited his disciples to follow him: Jesus knew perfectly well that he was inviting his disciples to sign their own death warrants. What on earth do you mean by that? That's a great question: here's the answer.

Jesus knew before he asked his team to follow him, that it would cost them their lives. And some of them, their families, and some of them their possessions, and some of them their careers. That would all be sacrificed in order for them to follow him.

All of that was contained in the single command: Follow me.

Jesus knew that any person that would accept that command would be persecuted. They may be stoned (Stephen). They could be crucified on a cross (Peter--upside down). They could be beheaded (John the Baptist, & possibly Phillip in Ethopia). They could be speared to death (Thomas in India). They could be sewed up inside an animal skin and fed to wild dogs in the Colosseum, or burned at the stake (under Nero). Or sawn in two. Or burned at the stake or worse.

Jesus knew all of this ahead of time. Jesus could see that evil treatment that his own followers would receive, at the hands of evil men, who lived by an evil code, that they had learned from other evil people, who were under the full control of that evil one himself.

And still, Jesus didn't waiver. He knew the cost. He knew the price that would have to be paid. And he didn't waiver an inch. He called his followers to follow me. And that meant and an almost sure death sentence.

By keeping all of Jesus, Commandments, three things happen.

One: We identify who is the Lord of our life. And in so doing, we begin a rigorous training course that is life-changing, and even life-threatening. That course, demands strict discipline, and genuine faithfulness, personal fortitude, extremely high character, and the highest form of integrity ever required of any individual, whoever walked the face of the Earth.

Two: By keeping Jesus Commandments, we will be persecuted. We will be hated, even by our friends, and even by our own families. That is just one of the costs will must face when we commit ourselves to Keeping Jesus Commands.

Three: We will secure our faith for eternity. Many falsely believe that saying a magic prayer, and "believing in" a factual statement, is all that is required of those who believe in Jesus.

That is clearly not what Jesus meant by KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS. Not even close. But that false message has filled up false churches, and made false converts by the millions. About 90% of them have already fallen away. That seems to be the average retention rate of most mass evangelism crusades. Why? Because the preachers refuse to teach, the cost of following Christ is the giving up of your own life. They may teach about flowers and blessings, but the deceitfully remove the message about dying to yourself, your dreams, your ambitions, and more.

The Call to Follow Jesus is a Death Sentence 

Death to Sin. Death to evil fleshly pleasure. Death to the Old Man, Death to the World, Death to Peer Pressure, Death to Gossip, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, and every form of selfishness. Death to worldly entertainments, and enticements. 

No wonder, evangelists & preachers like to avoid preaching on this subject. They themselves would be persecuted, and booh-ed out of the arena.

The Bar Jesus raised is High. 

Lust = Adultery. 

Anger = Murder. 

It would be better, to enter heaven with one eye, or one hand, then to enter hell with both.

When we hold ourselves and our families to the Standards of Jesus, we protect them from hell, but we will never be able to protect them from persecution, nor from suffering. Why? Because those is part of the Plan of Salvation. It is persecution that refines our faith. It keeps us humble. It strengthens our priorities and our resolve to continue Keeping the Commandments of Jesus.

We already maybe CALLED, but we may not yet be CHOSEN. 

For:  Many are called, but few are chosen. (See Chosen)

I believe the Gospel teaches that our CHOSEN STATUS, is directly related to how, and even if we choose to Keep the Commands of Jesus. The disobedient believer may simply pick and choose which commandments he likes and which ones not so much. But is that truly KEEPING JESUS' COMMANDMENTS? 

 Will we choose (or choose not) to walk the narrow road?  Jesus is waiting for our response, our answer: Will we Follow Him? 

Will we build our House upon the ROCK ? Will we dig our foundations deep? Will they be locked onto the Rock that is built upon Keeping  Jesus Commands? 

That is a tough Decision. It cannot be made frivolously or capriciously. It should not be made is a temporary moment of emotion, for when the emotion disappears, so does the commitment to keep the decision, made in the heat of the moment. Life altering decisions, should not be made in such a way. 

What I began to realize is the simple reading, hearing, studying or even teaching on a commandment of Jesus, was not enough. I needed to keep the commandment in order to fulfill it. 

Unless, Hearing (listening, reading, studying, teaching) leads to doing. And doing becomes fluid, repetitive, on going, continual, and empowered by Jesus himself, living in side of me. I might as well be reading a cereal box advertisement.

 Jesus is not looking to endorse my intellectual superiority. He is not looking to bless my apologetic debate skills. He is simply asking me to keep his commandments.

One of his Commandments in Matthew chapter 6 is this:

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness;
and all these things
shall be added unto you.

That simple command is just one of thirty others in the Sermon on the Mount, as mentioned earlier. It is also a stand alone verse. Like John 14:15, it demands, and requires a decision that is backed up by an action. That is the nature of Keeping a Command. All of that takes effort. It takes focus. Takes desire. Takes priority setting. And graciously, all that is supplied by the help of the Holy Spirit who is given to us to help us walk out the commandments of Jesus in our lives on a daily basis.

But know this: The Holy Spirit is not there to bully us, to pressure us, to force us. He is there to remind us. But we have to decide will we submit to keep the commandment or not.

We may have infinite excuses. Too Busy. Too many Responsibilities. Not enough Money. Not enough Time. Not enough energy. You name the devil will give you all the reasons in the world to disobey the commands of Jesus. I have seen this happen over and over in my own life. Have YOU? 

Notice the difference between the sheep and the goats. The goats didn't do Jesus's Commandments, and then asked, "when did we not do them?" Jesus told them. 

And the sheep were told, they did do Jesus Commandments. And they asked: "when do we do them?" and Jesus told them.

The sheep weren't even trying to do them, they just did it because, they were like Jesus on the INSIDE.  Their inner motivation kept them doing the commands of Jesus, even without thinking about them. Because they had trained themselves to Hear the Voice of the Good Shepherd and Obey it, on a daily basis, so it became like nothing special keep the commands of Jesus. "Who doesn't keep the Commands of Jesus? How dumb would that be?" 

Jesus was living inside them keeping his commandments through them. As a result, they fed the poor, clothed the naked, took in the stranger, visited the sick and those in prison, because of their love for Jesus, that was living and motivating them on the inside.

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Later on: I was alerted to the Love factor of the verse.

As I read this and thought about it. This was like a command to keep a command. But not some much out of duty, nor out of fear, not out of religious expectation, but out of love. Why love? And as I thought about it, men will sacrifice and be motivated far more for the viewpoint of love, than any other reason.

Then I thought about the sacrifice that Jesus made, it was not out of fear, or duty, or any insecurity in himself, which often the motivation people make sacrifices, but it was out of pure love, hope, and faith. 

Jesus gave his all. Not so he could boast. Not so he could get any personal gain whatsoever. But because He loved his father, and his father was the one asking him to make the sacrifice. 

Jesus' sacrifice was out of love for His Father's Commandment. We see that there was an intense conflict and internal struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives, in an olive grove, where olives would be crushed & squeezed to make olive oil.

Jesus was pleading with the Father to remove the cup of sacrifice, remove the command to go to the cross, and be separated from the Father for the first time ever in eternity.

This word began to arrest my soul, and caused me to ask some questions.

I began to realize that I had very little understanding about what Jesus went through to keep his Father's Commands. And it remined me of the two sons testimony. (in Matthew 21)

The first son told is Father No. But later went ahead and kept his father's command. 

Isn't that what Jesus did in the garden?  Maybe not exactly but very closely.
what Jesus was talking about here. What does Jesus mean: Keep My Commandments?

Yes, I knew about Jesus first and greatest commandment, to love God, with all your heart, mind and strength, and his second, to love your neighbor as yourself. I also knew the 10 Commandments, and I knew and could think of various other Commandments, but I was certain that I didn't know all of his commandments. And I knew I had never done a specific study to formulate a reliable list of all the basic commandments of Jesus.  So I began to do that.

With some help from the Internet, I began to realize that there are around 80 or more commandments of Jesus in the for gospels alone, that scholars identify as reliable. And there are 30 Commandments that can be identified in the sermon on the mount, (in the book of Matthew in chapters five, six, and seven).

As I began to look at the first and greatest commandment more closely, I wanted to go back to its source in Deuteronomy 6:1-9.

There, I learned another thing that disturbed me. That I had been ignorant of, and negligent in keeping, following, and obeying--for the last 44 of the years of my life. 

And it began to dawn on me, that there were many such verses that I had been ignorant of, and negligent in keeping, and not following or obeying because I haven't been keeping the Commandment in Deuteronomy 6:2 & 6:7.

That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

I realized then that I could not keep a commandment, that I was not aware of. And that if I didn't do some personal work in seeking, learning, finding, studying, memorizing (hiding in my heart), and actually doing, practicing, and following, and being a good example, to My Family, (and friends, neighbors, strangers, and enemies), then how could I teach such a commandment to anyone, if I couldn't teach it to myself or even to my children.

Then I realized something. That God had encapsulated the God's Plan of Salvation for the Family in Deuteronomy 6:1-9.

It is the perfect teaching pedagogy (sequence) for teaching anything worth teaching, and it is exactly how the best and brightest, highest and most effective values are transferred from one generation to next, and it also shows us exactly how

then I could clearly see how I was being negligent, ignorant, and ultimately disobedient--in my duty to keep the Commandments of Jesus.

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,being good at keeping a commandment of Jesus, then I would be negligent and not keeping it. 

Even though Jesus has written it down for me to know, to honor, and to keep so that he could actually bless me and protect me, lead me and guide me into the fall purpose of the commandment that he has given.

 and had not been practicing in life 44 years allegedly following Christ as my savior.

Deuteronomy, I found what I am calling. God's family plan of salvation. And his plan he has commanded that every family would be taught the word of God from the father and parents, of course, and that that he would teach the word of God to the family sons four times a day.

And this is a literal commandment. And as I began to understand it keeping the commandment of enemy 6:4, could not be done unless you kept the commandment of Deuteronomy six verse one through nine.

It was then that I realized that I had been ignoring the most important Commandment written in the Bible and quoted and taught by Jesus himself.

And then I looked and examined my own life and saw many areas of disobedience that needed correction. And in my first active obedience to keep Jesus Commandments, I began to obey the Commandments and Deuteronomy six verse one & two.

Deuteronomy 6:1-2 (KJV) 1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

So as I read this passage, I realized one that I had not been keeping God's Commandments, statutes and judgments as the Lord had commanded me to do them in a land, but he gave me to possess. And I had not taught my sons and their sons how to keep God's commandments. And I looked up upon my life, and I looked up upon a life of many of my contemporary friends. And what I saw was the same sort of destruction and decimation that had happened in my own life.

And I saw the pattern, in My Family's life, in extended family's life, in my community life, and in many who were experiencing devastation, brokeness, isolation, addictions, confusions, and the like, all because they, like me, had not kept Jesus commandments. 

In fact, they almost all "to a T" (that is an important literary saying: click on Tittle to discover it's meaning), had ignorantly, and flagrantly disobeyed the Commandments of God, and as a result had set themselves up for spiritual failure, and were experiencing the consequences of disobeying the commandments, statutes, precepts, judgments, instructions, and wisdom of God on a continual basis. 

As a result, the majority of the souls I talked with were not experiencing the life of abundant fruitfulness Jesus describe should follow those who would Hear His Voice and Follow Him.

But it would interesting to me to realize almost all of these many people I was concerned about had read the bible. Some very diligently, some more casually, some religiously. But none were experiencing what I would consider the full level of fruitfulness, describe and prescribed by Jesus himself.

And as I examined the problem more closely, I had to ask the question, how many of all the people I know were actually keeping the Commandments of Jesus in the way the scriptures had prescribed.

also in the same place, not obeying Jesus Commandments, even the simple ones. Even the most foundational ones were being ignored.

Here is a breakdown of the primary scriptures from the Old and New Testaments that directly address obedience to God (the ultimate command giver) and the specific rewards promised to those who follow Him.

📜 Old Testament: Law, Protection, and Prosperity

In the Old Testament, obedience is framed as a covenant. Doing what the command giver instructs directly unlocks national prosperity, health, and personal success.

• Deuteronomy 28:1–2
  "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God."

  • The Reward: Comprehensive life blessings, physical protection, elevation, and prosperity that "overtakes" you.

• Exodus 23:22
  "But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries."

  • The Reward: Divine protection and the Command Giver fighting your battles for you.

• Joshua 1:8
  "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

  • The Reward: True prosperity and guaranteed success in your life's endeavors.

✝️ New Testament: Love, Intimacy, and Eternal Reward

In the New Testament, Jesus reframes obedience not just as a legal duty, but as the ultimate proof of love for the Command Giver. The rewards shift toward deep spiritual connection and eternal life.

• John 14:21 & 23
  "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him... If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

  • The Reward: The personal manifestation of Jesus, the Father's deep love, and the literal presence of God making a home within the believer.

• James 1:25
  "But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

  • The Reward: Divine favor and a blessing poured directly into your daily actions and efforts.

• Revelation 22:14
  "Blessed are those who wash their robes [do His commandments], so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates."

  • The Reward: Granted legal right to the Tree of Life and eternal entry into the Holy City.

• Luke 11:28
  "But he said, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'"

  • The Reward: A state of spiritual blessedness, joy, and alignment that surpasses worldly happiness.

⚖️ Parable of the Reward: The Wise Builder

Jesus concludes his famous Sermon on the Mount by illustrating the mechanical reality of what happens to a person who obeys the Command Giver versus one who does not.

• Matthew 7:24–25
  "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock."

  • The Reward: Absolute unshakeable stability. When the unavoidable storms of life hit, the obedient person's life will not collapse.

Keep + Command: Word Study (17x)

1. Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

2. Mrk 7:9  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

3. Jhn 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

4. Jhn 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

5. Jhn 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

6. Act 15:5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keepthe law of Moses.

7. Act 15:24  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

8. 1Co 7:19  Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

9. 1Ti 6:14  That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

10. 1Jn 2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

11. 1Jn 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

12. 1Jn 3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

13. 1Jn 3:24  And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

14. 1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

15. 1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

16. Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

17. Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here arethey that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Keep words (10x)

1. Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

2. Luk 11:28  But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

3. Jhn 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

4. Jhn 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

5. Jhn 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

6. Act 15:24  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

7. Tit 2:5  To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

8. 1Jn 2:5  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

9. Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

10. Rev 3:10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

keep sayings (3x)

1. Jhn 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

2. Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

3. Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

BTW--Keep  the Commandments of Jesus, does have its Heavenly Perks, from time to time. See below.
OH, Jesus says we will be persecuted for His Sake, but sometimes, like Daniel's Friends in the Fire Den, God Provides Supernatural Deliverance, in the Midst of our fiery Trials and Times of Persecution--like in the Testimony Below.