Friday, August 31, 2012

Galatians 2:1-10

Galatians 2:1-10
Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.

This proves my statement yesterday about seeking counsel of church leaders.  Yes we do what God tells us to do, but it's a good thing to check in now and then to make sure you have not strayed.

  Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Knowing your gospel will save you from what others add to the gospel.  Which in turn makes their gospel nothing.
 
As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

The witness of the Spirit.  These men all served God in a way consistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They recognized each other's ministry and agreed that each was accomplishing the task God had set before them.

I've seen this among Christians today.  I will meet someone I've never met, but the same Spirit that lives in me lives in them and we recognize one another right away.

God Bless.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Galatians 1:11-24

Galatians 1:11-24
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Yesterday I mentioned ambassadors and today we see the source of Paul's message, Jesus Christ himself.

13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

I have a past that I am not proud of.  By God's grace I have been forgiven I am moving forward with my new life.  God chose me like He did Paul.  God knew everything I'd ever do and he chose me.  There is no, "Oops, I did not see that coming." with God.  There is no plan B.  God does not will us to sin, but He knows we will and He will use it for our good and for His plan on our lives.

Also note that Paul followed God not seeking man's approval.  We too need to follow God even if we lose the approval of men.  This does not mean we ignore the counsel of Godly leaders.  However when we know the direction God is leading there may come a time when we need to follow Him even when others disagree.

21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.

It's a wonderful thing when people see the changes and they can praise God for it. A woman who has known me since I was 16 approached me this spring and said, "I've seen the changes in you and humility looks good on you.".  I was humbled once more that the changes he has done in my life were already significant enough to be seen.  None of it is of me and I have a long way to go. I am able to say thank you Holy Spirit for working in me.

God Bless.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Galatians 1:1-10

After doing 1 Peter - Jude in order, I am not going to tackle Revelation at this time.  I've decided on Galatians.

Galatians 1:1-10
Paul, an apostle —sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead — and all the brothers and sisters with me, 

This is from Paul and his crew.  Note the Paul was not sent by a church.  He was sent by Jesus and by God.  The image of ambassador comes to mind.  One who is sent with the word and authority of the sending country.  Paul had the word and authority of God.

To the churches in Galatia:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

One sentence and so much to talk about.  Once again a blessing of grace and peace. Those of us who have been forgiven have experienced God's grace.  Many times I have experienced God's peace too.  It's very hard to describe to anyone who has not experienced it.

Also Jesus sacrifice for us is mentioned.  We are reminded that this was God's will and Jesus obeyed His will to rescue us and for his Fathers glory.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

People never change and though cultures vary we are all the same.  We walk away from what we know is right for an easier path that is offered to us.  Know your Bible.  Know your faith. When false teachers come you will know them immediately

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Years of my life were wasted while crippled as a man pleaser.   I needed the approval of parents, siblings, pastors and friends.  What I really needed was the approval of God.

God Bless.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Jude 1


Jude 1
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 

If you are a child of God, this letter is for you.

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

As I have been learning about God's grace and mercy, I now read this greeting with a greater appreciation of exactly what Jude wanting for our lives.  I won't rehash it all here.  Read my past blogs.  Romans is full of grace and mercy.  This blessing is a powerful one.

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

We have our plans.  Sometimes God will change our hearts from what we want to what he wants.

For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Two sentences, yet I could take paragraphs writing what the Holy Spirit is sharing.  

God's grace will cover all sin.  Yet there are those who would use this as a license to continue sinning.  The apostle Paul says NO WAY.

The image of a king is used here too.  Only this is the King of kings.  A study of history teaches us that the king was over every aspect of the lives of those in his kingdom.  No one dare speak out against the word of the king.  No one brazenly disobeyed his law.  They realized their life would be forfeit. 

My life does not measure up to Jesus being my Sovereign Lord.  Were I to tell the truth, I treat him more like a vending machine (I want this.) or a super hero (save me from this most recent trouble I have found myself in.).  Far too often, when faced with obedience vs self gratification I chose me.  How about you?

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1

In verse 5 Jude assumes the people knew their history.  Do you know your Bible history?  When you read each reference to the past in these few verses do you remember the story? 

When the people were brought out of Egypt and did not believe God could give them the promised land, they died in the desert.  When Satan and his angels rebelled against God they were thrown out of heaven and are bound in chains till judgement.   

Sodom and Gamorrah you can read yourself.

Michael and Satan was an interesting study.  You can find the story of Moses' death in Deuteronomy 34.  There is no mention of the battle.  Commentary to the rescue:

c. And He buried him in a valley: Notably, the Lord buried Moses. This was more complicated than it sounds, because the devil contended with God over the body of Moses.

i. Jude 9 speaks of an occasion when Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses. Apparently, there was a contention over the body of Moses, and according to Jude Michael the archangel won this contest as he appealed to the Lord’s authority: “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet why Michael contended with Satan over the body of Moses is less clear.

ii. Some say that the devil wanted to use Moses’ body as an object of worship to lead Israel astray into idolatry. Others think that Satan wanted to desecrate the body of Moses, and claimed a right to it because Moses had murdered an Egyptian.

iii. But consider that God had another purpose for Moses’ body, which Satan wanted to defeat: Moses appears in bodily form with Elijah (whose body was caught up to heaven [2 Kings 2]) at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3); and perhaps Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses of Revelation 11.

iv. Apparently, God had a purpose to fulfill with the body of Moses before the time of general resurrection, so God made special provision to bury the body of Moses Himself. And, perhaps, God preserved the body of Moses in some way. God wanted to protect the body of Moses, so no one knows his grave to this day. Seemingly, they searched for it (as would be expected) out of a desire to memorialize this great leader of the nation.

Cain read for yourself.

Balaam took money to curse the Israelites and could not, so he told Balak how to make God angry with Israel.

Korah disputed Moses' leadership of the people and it cost him his life.

All of this history is to help you understand that the false teacher use their dreams to their own detriment. 

12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted —twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

They only take and provide no benefit.   They are worthless for guidance.  How would ancient sailor navigate if the stars moved?

14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

No commentary required.

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 

There are scoffers all around.  Christians are ridiculed at every turn.  Do not listen to these men.  Build each other up while we wait for Christ's return.

22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Mercy, not legalism.  However don't deny the hell they are headed towards if they do not repent.

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

God can keep you from stumbling.  You just have to have faith.

God Bless.

Monday, August 27, 2012

3 John 1

3 John 1
The elder,
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Once again we find ourselves reading someones mail.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Affirmation is important.  Complaints can be plentiful when something goes wrong or is done wrong.  Make sure you are just as generous with your praise and not ignore the people who do it right.

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.

What is our reputation.  Are we hospitable?  Can brothers and sisters in Christ count on us to take care of them in a time of need?

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

This is not the first person I read of in scripture who's name is here for doing wrong.  However the lesson here is that we need to make sure of our motives.  This man's actions were not based on teaching or morality.  His actions were motivated by his desire to be in charge.  We are called to be servants.  We do not lead as the world leads.

11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

Emulate believers who follow Christ.  Do not emulate the people we see in the world.

12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone —and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

Not so much for pride and bragging rights, but this is the way a Christian wants to be remembered.

13 I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

God Bless.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

2 John 1


2 John 1
The elder,
To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth —and not I only, but also all who know the truth — because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

We get to read someones mail.  Yes all of the books of the Bible are letters, but this letter is believed to be a personal letter.  A real woman with real children and a real sister.  However the truths here apply to all of us who believe.

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
 
Imagine a church that was able to practice grace and mercy along with God's peace.  I know that is out goal as Christians and all churches attempt this with differing degrees of success.  The world would take note of a church like this.

It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

John continues his exhortation to love one another.  We all need to be reminded now and then.

I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

We need to chose sides.  Deceivers are all over the place.  We're not to assist them in any way.

12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.

God Bless.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

1 John 5:13-21

1 John 5:13-21
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

This letter is written to believers.  That me...and you if you are a believer.  Why was it written?  Assurance of salvation.

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

This does not make God a vending machine.  Asking God for a Harley is fine, but he is under no compulsion to provide it if it outside if his will for my life.  And yes I do want a Harley, but right now it would not be for His Glory it would be fiscally irresponsible.  What this verse is saying, it that when God shows us a task and we bring our needs to Him for accomplishing that task, He will provide.  As we grow in Christ our requests will be less about us and more about Him. 

16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

Imagine if everyone who sinned, died immediately.  The world would have had a population of 2 and then the human race would have been extinct.  When your brother sins, pray for them.  Pray that they will see their error.

18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

If you are of God you will not continue in your life of sin.  Though Satan rules this world, Jesus has come and we know the truth.  It is only through Him that we have eternal life.

21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

An idol is not just a statue you bow down and worship.  It is anything you put before God.  Anything.

God Bless.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

1 John 5:1-12

1 John 5:1-12
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.

This is where I sometimes struggle with legalism.  I expect myself to be perfect in carrying out God's commands.  This is when I need to remember God's grace.  John is not talking about sinless perfection.  He is talking about a lifestyle.  Is my life defined by obedience or disobedien?

  In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

The first thought to come to mind is young love or the beginnings of a new romance.  NOTHING is too much.  Each partner goes out of their way for the other and it is not a burden.  Yet even as I type, I think of my children think that is a more accurate illustration.  My love for them makes it so that their needs are not a burden.

Both illustrations break down in that neither of those relationships involve giving us commands.  Hopefully though you will get the idea that our motive is love and that is why we obey.

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 

There is no way to overcome the world without Jesus.
 
This is the one who came by water and blood —Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 

In John 3:5-8 Jesus speaks of being born of water and of spirit.  Meaning physical birth and spiritual birth.  Using the same interpretation of water here, I believe this is speaking of Jesus physical birth and his eventual death.  The Holy Spirit testifies this to us.


10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Do you have the Son.  That is the bottom line where Salvation is concerned.  Do you accept the Testimony that Christ died for us or do you call God a liar?

God Bless.

Monday, August 20, 2012

1 John 4:7-21

1 John 4:7-21

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

If God can love me, I know that through Him I can love anybody.  In my own strength and will the only one I would love is myself and anyone who serves me.  In my own will I would rid myself of anyone that did not make me "happy".

Which brings me to a something that has been on my heart.  The goal of a Christian is NOT to be happy.  The goal of a Christian is to serve God and to find fulfillment in HIM.  Until we learn to love the unlovable through the power of the Holy Spirit and the example of Jesus Christ, we will never be happy.

 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

We did not love God first.  He loved us.  He loved the unlovable first. 

 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

If we as Christians love one another, the world will see God through us.  It's our proof that God lives in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

It's not about what we do for God. It's about Jesus.  John received the Spirit and through the power of the Holy Spirit he proclaimed Jesus.  If we acknowledge Jesus, the we have God too.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I have to admit that I have not been made perfect in love.  God is still working on me as there are times when I have my doubts.  I believe that is because of my human relationships that have failed me.  I transpose those failures onto God.  

God's love is perfect and he will never fail us.  The closer we walk with him the farther away fear becomes because we take our eyes off human failures and put them on him.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

If you love God, loving your brother or sister is a natural out pouring.  If you don't love your brother or sister, examine your relationship with God.

God bless.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

1 John 4:1-6

1 John 4:1-6
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Just because someone says they are from God does not mean they are from God.  Do they deny the deity of  Christ?  They are not from God.
 
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 

When we except Christ's payment for our sin, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.  He lives within us.  What we say and do should be different from the world around us.  What they say and do should be so different that we can immediately recognize it as false.

God Bless.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

1 John 3:11-24

1 John 3:11-24
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

Did the Holy Spirit just bring someone to you mind that you do not even like? Love them too.

  12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.

Growing up I remember hating my sister at times.  Looking back I will admit part of it was because I wanted to tear her down because she was trying to do it right.

13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

Have you looked around here in America?  We are hated.  Every religion is equal with the exception of evangelical Christians.  Every day we are losing the freedoms that the church here in America has squandered.  Persecution has come to the church here.  It will get worse for those of us who are real while those who play church will fall away.

14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

Here is a good measuring stick of you spiritual temperature.  Do you love?  Notice here that God equates hate with murder.  Let's be realistic.  Murder, at it's root, starts with hate.  Just like when Jesus said if you look with lust you commit adultery in you heart.  God cares about what is inside us not just what we let out for the world to see.

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
  
Let's take a moment to meditate on the standard by which our love will be judged.  

Some of us think we love someone just because we allow them to keep breathing.  I read a pithy saying on facebook,  "How many of us know someone who is alive today only because it is illegal to kill them?"  I laughed and immediately thought of people it applied to.  

Now when I measure that thought and laughter with the standard by which God will measure my love and I find myself a murderer in my heart.  I realize, that in this area, the world's standard has not just established a foothold, but a stronghold.  It's time to let word of God transform my heart and tear down this stronghold.

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 

My heart does not condemn me.  However I have been convicted and there are things that need to change.

God Bless.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

1 John 3:1-10

1 John 3:1-10
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

"Lavished".  We don't talk like this in day to day speech anymore.  I am listening to Mark Driscoll's sermon series on the gospel of Luke.  Today he was preaching on Luke 7:36-50 about the woman washing Jesus feet with her tears, drying them with her hair and then pouring out the expensive perfume  This is what I envisioned when I read the word "lavished".
 
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Because we are children of God we are different, yet there is more to come.  What is to come is still a mystery.  Still we prepare ourselves for what is to come by doing what we know is right now.
 
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 

This is not talking about sinless perfection here on earth.  Only Jesus lived that life.  1 John 1:9 is proof the God knew we would sin and made provision for it.  However if we chose to continue in a sinful life style we really need to examine our life to see if God is really part of it.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. 

Context. Context. Context.  When I read verse six I filtered it through the context of the entire book of 1John.  As I just read this paragraph verse nine states exactly what I said in my commentary on verse 6.  I shall leave my comments intact as a lesson to us all.  I will also restate that we cannot continue in a sinful life if God truly resides in us.  The Holy Spirit will not tolerate it.


God Bless.

Monday, August 13, 2012

1 John 2:18-29

1 John 2:18-29
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 

I look back on my lifetime of going to church and think of people that no longer walk with or serve the Lord.  Yes I sin.  Yes I backslide.  Yes I have my hypocrisies.  Yet not matter how much I've tried I can never wander too far from what I know to be right.  I always come back.  Sometimes weeping in repentance and sometimes kicking and screaming because I was actually enjoying my sinful lifestyle.  But it is empty.  There is no fulfillment outside of God.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life. 

This world rejects Him and at times it will be hard for us as well, but in the end there is a reward for us to remain in Christ...eternal life. 

26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. 

We study to know what we believe.  This is why John wrote this book.  When false teaching is present we recognize it not because we've studied their teaching, but because we know the word of God so well we will not be lead astray.


28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 

Have you ever been caught by your parents doing something you are not allowed to do?  It is the same with God.  Jesus is coming back someday.  We do not know when.  I'd rather not be caught engaged in my sinful habits upon his return.

29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. 

Children tend to act like their parents.  My dad was not perfect, but he is a good man and a good example.  Many of my behavioral traits were learned behavior form him.  As we learn of God and follow God we will begin to look and act like him.  People will see that we are different.

God Bless. 

Thursday, August 2, 2012

1 John 2:12-17

1 John 2:12-17
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I write to you, dear children,
    because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,
    and the word of God lives in you,
    and you have overcome the evil one.


Notice the repetition to the fathers.  This letter is to us because we know God.  What comes to mind is if we know God we should obey God.

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

God created the world for us to enjoy. There is nothing wrong with enjoying this world.  The problem comes when you see your neighbor's home and "need" the same or better.  The problem comes when you accomplish something and your head swells too big to fit through the door.  The problem comes when you desire something more than God.

Verse 17 says it all.  Everything you desire here on earth will pass away.  God is all we have that will last for eternity.

God Bless.