WATCH OUT

 

WATCH OUT

II John 8-9 Watch out, so that you do not lose the prize for which we have been working so hard. Be diligent so that you will receive your full reward. For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will not have fellowship with God. But if you continue in the teachings of Christ, you will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son. NLT

It is so easy to slack off in our Christian walk. It is so easy to get into a coasting mode. We are not prone to work very hard at keeping our walk with the Lord fresh and sharp. We get so caught up in other things and take the Lord for granted.

The rewards of heaven are beyond our imaging. The Lord is preparing great things for us to enjoy. The stuff He uses is the fruit of our lives on earth. The more faithful and diligent we are in our walk with Him, the greater our reward will be. It is possible to make it to heaven and lose out on what might be our greater rewards. We don't know what all the Lord wants to do for us, but we hinder Him from what He can and wants to do by the way we live. Heaven's rewards are the natural fruit of a life lived rightly in Christ on earth.

We must be very careful how we treat Christ and His teachings. We easily can read into the Scriptures what we want them to say. There is great danger in trying to make the Lord say what He has not said. God said what He means already and we do not have the right or authority to go beyond what He has said. We must strive to understand what God has spoken and apply it to life. Do not let the words of man deceive you. Jesus has spoken clearly about eternal life and how it plays out in life. Listen to Him. He alone is the way to God. His life alone is our standard for living and loving. We cannot add to or take away from anything He has said.

If we continue to live the life Jesus has shown us and taught us, we will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son. If we don't, we won't. It's as simple as that. It is good soul food for us to consistently read and meditate on the Gospels where we have recorded the life of Christ. It is not the only soul food we need, but nothing else makes sense without it.

KEEP GOD FIRST

 

KEEP GOD FIRST

I John 5:21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. NLT

It is so easy to get involved in things that become more important to us than our relationship with God. We get preoccupied with life and tend to put the Lord somewhere down the list of priorities in our lives. We don’t do it intentionally, but it happens often. Unless we are very diligent about our relationship with Him, the Lord is crowded out as the focus of our lives.

In order for the Lord to remain as the number one priority in our lives, we must diligently work at keeping Him there. We must not neglect our time in the Word or go to it as almost an afterthought in our lives. It takes time to discover the treasures of God’s Word. It takes time to think seriously about the things we read. It takes an open heart and mind to hear God speak from its pages. It takes time to comprehend what God is saying. There is no greater investment of time than to take the time we need to unravel the treasures of God’s Word. False doctrine plagues those who take God’s Word casually and give it only a nominal amount of time in their lives.

We also must take time to pray. If you don’t have the time to pray, your life is way out of whack. Prayer is an absolute necessity in order to keep the Lord number one in our hearts. We must get alone with God. We must spend time to worship Him as we pray. We must take the time to let Him examine our hearts and lead us to repentance. We must take the time to pray for others and the church.

We must take the time to serve. Our living must always be governed by the Lord. We must see life as a relationship with the Lord. It is good for us to have Jesus in mind as we go about our daily living. It is important for the health of our souls that we seek always to honor Christ in what we do. It is good for the soul to think often as we live about the Lord being with us always.

In order to keep away from those things which would keep the Lord away from the throne of our hearts, we must not neglect our great salvation. We must discipline ourselves and always stand guard over our walk with the Lord. We will never live in victory if we let the Lord off the throne of our hearts. He must always be the number one priority in our passions. He must be in our thoughts as we go about our daily living. We must temper all we do in light of our relationship with Him.

Staying away from anything that may take God’s place in our lives takes work. It takes purposeful living. It takes a determination to guard our souls against everything that would crowd the Lord out. God is a jealous God and He demands His rightful place as Lord of our hearts.

PRACTICE SINNING

 

PRACTICING SINNING

I John 5:18 We know that those who have become part of God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot get his hands on them. NLT

God’s children do not make a practice of sinning. Period. There is so much emphasis placed on God’s grace today that many of us have taken a lax attitude about sin. There seems to be little concern about how we live our lives as long as we commit ourselves to Jesus as our Savior. However, grace does not give us a license to sin. Grace changes us so that we no longer make it a practice to sin. We strive to please God by not sinning instead of striving to please ourselves by sinning. This truth must be understood by all believers. Grace does not give us an excuse to keep on sinning!

When Christ saves us, He grabs hold of us securely and when we are in His grasp, we are deeply influenced by Him. He is righteous and holy and in His hands, we too become righteous and holy. The key to stopping sinning is to rest in the grasp of Christ who is holding you. We let Him be the focus of our attention and as long as He is, we will not fall into the habit of sinning.

Satan cannot get to us and lead us into sin as long as Jesus is our shield and defender. It is when we step out from behind His protection that we fall into sin. We have no one but ourselves to blame when we sin because Jesus is more than capable of keeping us from it.

We know these things are true, but we find ourselves still sinning from time to time. It is going to happen because we don’t always put into practice what we know to be true. The allurement of sin is always before us and it overpowers us in our weak moments of life. Praise the Lord for He always forgives us when we confess our sins before Him and seek His forgiveness.

Our greatest need is to strive to always keep our relationship with Christ strong through the daily disciplines of prayer, Bible study, witnessing and serving. Only then will we be able to resist the urge to sin against God. Satan is unable to get to us when we have the shield of faith guarding our souls.

Do you find yourself unable to stop a certain sin? Do you keep doing it no matter how hard you try not to? Do you find the allurement of sin to be stronger than your resolve of not doing it?

If so, you need to embrace this verse of Scripture today. Renew your love and devotion to Christ. Believe what He says. Believe that you CAN do it through Christ who gives you the strength to do it. Believe God when He says when we resist Satan he will flee from us. You are a child of God, act like it. You can do it if you really want to. Claim today the victory that is yours in Christ Jesus.

FORGIVABLE SINS

 

FORGIVABLE SINS

I John 5:16-17 If you see a Christian brother or sister sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. Every wrong is sin, but not all sin leads to death. NLT

One of the ways you can know that you are truly connected to God in love is how you react to those around you when they sin against God. When we who are God's children sin, God does not reject us as unfit for His kingdom and cast us out. He graciously brings our sin up, reminds us of how awful sin is to Him, convicts us, leads us to repentance, forgives us, and leads us forward in love. We are to treat each other the same way. Instead of judging one another and treating each other harshly because of sin, we should be kind, gracious, and forgiving. We should never let the sin of a repentant heart keep us from embracing the sinner in love and having fellowship with Him. But, sadly we do. Instead of coming alongside of them in prayer, we cast them aside and treat them as unworthy of our fellowship. Shame on us.

There are times in which we have to sever fellowship because of unrepentant hearts. That is not the issue here. Here we are dealing with our heart attitude towards those who really do want to do what is right before God. We need to pray for them. If they don't recognize their sin, pray that the Lord will make it known to them so that they can repent. The goal always in Christ is restoration to a right relationship first with God and then others. Human relationships cannot be right until first our relationship with God is right.

What is the sin that leads to death? I believe it is a stubborn and willful rejection of God. It is an unwillingness to listen to God. It is a desire to have nothing to do with God. It is a heart that is spiteful towards God. Such a heart cannot hear God speak about sin and all sin leads to death of the soul. We all sin, but we all are not bound for hell because of it. God forgives the sin of a repentant heart and judges the sin of the unrepentant heart. There is nothing that we can do when someone refuses to repent of sin. However, it is not for us to judge others. We are to continue to love them in spite of their sin and let God deal with them for their sin.

Is there someone you know who needs the love you have withheld from them because of their sin against you? It is a sin to not love those for whom Christ died. Confess your sin and ask the Lord to show and teach you how to love them.

ANSWERS TO PRAYERS

 

ANSWERS TO PRAYERS

I John 5:13-15 I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for. NLT

Do you know you have eternal life? Can you say with absolute certainty that it is true? How can you be sure? One of the ways we can be sure of our relationship with God is whether or not our prayers are answered or not. God answers the prayers of His children who pray in His will. He doesn't promise to hear and answer prayers that are outside of His will, only those in line with His will. How can we know we are praying in His will?

We know we are praying in God's will when what we ask for is in agreement with what we know is best for us as seen through God's eyes. Consider what we know of God: His character, nature, and love. Do our requests fit in? If what we pray for is consistent with God's known attributes and character, we can be confident that we will have what we ask for. God knows what we need better than what we do and will not give us what we don't need simply because we may want it or think we need it. He loves us way too much to do that for us. Spoiled children are never His will for us.

Two things you can always count on as far as what God wants you to know. He wants you to know who He is and what His will is for you. When we get those two things right, we can be sure that whatever we ask for from God will be granted to us.

Food for thought: the best way to stay lined up with God when we pray is to first spend time in worship of God before we ask Him for anything. Adoration should always precede asking.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT

 

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT

I John 5:13 I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. NLT

John wrote his letter to the body of Christ so that there would be no question amongst them that they indeed had eternal life. There are many different things we can point to that assure us that indeed we are children of God.

Lip service gives way to living service. A child of God is not an idle bystander. He is an active participant in the household of faith. He is putting faith into action. He not only talks about loving others, he is doing it. He is striving to daily live in obedience to God’s commandments. He is actively letting his light shine in the darkness of the world, sharing his faith whenever he can.

You know you have eternal life when you are never satisfied with what you already know and have in Christ. You long to grow in Christ and are endeavoring to do so. You seek out more understanding through His Word and don’t shy away from spending quiet time with Him in prayer.

You have eternal life when you love others in similar fashion as God loves you. You seek the good of others and not their harm. You reach out to them when they are in need. You are an encourager and not a discourager to their faith. You act graciously towards them and extend forgiveness when they wrong you. You dwell on their goodness and not their shortcomings.

You know you have eternal life when your faith rules your life. A child of God is one whose body, mind and soul are faith-driven. There is a desire to always live within the constraints of the Gospel. There is a constant awareness of the presence of Christ. There is a driven desire to always do what is right before God. There is a continuous readiness of the soul for Christ’s return.

You know you have eternal life when you cherish the time you can spend with the Lord in His Word and in prayer. You get it. You understand how important it is to the health of your soul to feed it with proper spiritual food.

Yes, dear friend, there is no doubt about it, we can know for certain that we have eternal life. Think on these things.

PROOF OF LOVE

PROOF OF LOVE

I John 5:10-12 All who believe in the Son of God know that this is true. Those who don't believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don't believe what God has testified about his Son. And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. So whoever has God's Son has life, whoever does not have his Son does not have life. NLT

John is talking about the evidence that determines whether or not we are truly God's children, our love for God and people. God is love and His children are lovers. It can be no other way. Christians are distinctly different than non-Christians in this. Non-Christians are first and foremost lovers of themselves. Christians are first and foremost lovers of God and then others. As believers, we must love ourselves, but it doesn't stop there.

It is a very serious thing to call God a liar, but when we live like we are nothing more than lovers of self, aren't we in essence doing just that? God says that His children love beyond themselves and when we act differently, we are by practice saying that what God says is not true. We cannot indeed be His children if we can't or won't love those for whom Christ died.

Jesus is the greatest testimony of what God's love is like. He was sent by God to die for our sins, and that is exactly what He did. In Christ, we have eternal life because He broke the back of the law's condemnation of sin. He did what no one else could do; He satisfied the just wrath of God against sin. He who knew no sin became our sin sacrifice.

Whoever lives in Christ has eternal life with God, and whoever does not live in Christ does not have life and is doomed to an eternity in hell. There is no wiggle room in this.

Is Jesus your Savior today? Are you loving others even as you are loved by Him?

LIVING IN VICTORY

 

LIVING IN VICTORY

I John 5:3-5 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and really, that isn’t difficult. For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. And the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. NLT

You can say you love God, but if you are not living in obedience to His Word, you are not loving Him. Obeying God is the surest way to determine whether or not there is a love for God. No one can love God without obeying Him.

Obeying God is not difficult at all. When we love Him, we want to please Him. We want to follow Him. We want to imitate Him the best we can. We want to honor and respect Him. We have a natural desire to obey Him. If you are having trouble obeying God, you need to get alone with Him and get your heart right with Him.

As we obey God and trust in Christ, we become victors over the evil of this world. Those who live in defeat are not lovers of God. You will never know victory over sin while cheating on God. You both love Him and live for him, or you wallow around in sin. A failure to love God is the root cause of all sin. If you are struggling with sin issues, you need to flee to Calvary and get a love bath in the blood of Jesus.

Believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and will win the battle over your sins. Embrace Jesus. Set your affections on Him alone and you will overcome the hold sin has over you. Let Jesus be Lord of your life and Satan cannot hold onto you. It takes more than a mental embracing of Jesus to live in Him; you must embrace Him with your heart and let Him control it.

All who love God and show it by keeping His commandments overcome the world and all of its sinful allurements. Great is the reward of those who live victoriously in Christ. Trust Him and Satan will not defeat you. You will be able to live in this world with a pure and holy heart. You can do it because Christ has overcome the world.

OBEYING GOD IS NOT HARD

 

OBEYING GOD IS NOT HARD

I John 5:2-3 We know we love God's children if we love God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and really, that isn’t difficult. NLT

There are many different ways to know for certain that we are indeed children of God. Two of the most basic are to love God and obey His commandments. To love God involves a lot of different things. When you love God, you want to spend time with Him. You look forward to being alone with Him. He stirs up an excitement in you. You want to please Him in whatever you do. You strive to always be faithful to Him. You long to know Him better and you do all you can to learn as much about Him as you can. You do not ignore Him, neglect Him, or bring shame to Him. You are more concerned about His honor and glory than you are your own. Your life is about Him, not you.

If we truly love the Lord we will obey His Word. We won't pick and choose what we want to do. We will take seriously what God says and strive to do it. We will get rid of sin in our lives. We will strive to keep our souls pure by keeping sin out of them. We will strive to live peaceably with others and treat them with kindness, love, mercy, and grace. We will let our actions proclaim our faith and tell whoever we can about Jesus and our love for Him. We will be involved in His Church and do what we can to serve Him there. We will protect the integrity of God's Word and let it govern our lives.

We know our love for God is real when we can love His children in a godly way. We are not driven by selfish desires or motives. We embrace them as our brothers and sisters, regardless of our differences. We do not let anything become an issue between us that keeps us out of fellowship with them. We live graciously with others and let the Lord handle what needs to be handled in their lives. We pray with them and for them without reservation. We treat them as we want them to treat us.

LOVING IS OBEYING

LOVING IS OBEYING

I John 5:1-5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God's children if we love God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and really, that isn't difficult. For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. And the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe Jesus is the Son of God. NLT

There are many wonderful truths in these verses today. Let me just quickly mention some things that jump out at me. Everyone who believes that Jesus is God is a child of God. Belief is more than an acceptance of truth; it is an application of truth. It is taking what we know to be true in our minds and letting it change our hearts so that we live what we believe.

If you love God, you will love His children. There are no exceptions to this. You cannot love God and not love those who are His. You will act in a loving way towards all who are God's children, no matter who they may be, what church they may belong to, where they may live, whatever status they may have in the church or life, etc. We are given no exclusions to whom we may or may not love.

The real test of whether or not we love God is our obedience to His Word. In order to obey His Word, we must be familiar enough with it to know what it says we must do and be. It's not hard to live by Biblical truths if we truly love God. He gives us His Spirit to teach us, guide us, and empower us to obey Him.

When we are trusting in Christ, we are overcoming the ways of the world. We are developing the ability to say no to sin, and the more we resist sin, the easier it becomes to do so.

And, true believers in Christ are those who can and do resist the temptations to sin. We are not going to perfectly resist, but we will win more battles than we lose. In Christ, we are different than the world; we have victory over the things and desires of the world. We live in the world, but we don’t wallow in the world. We live in this world, but we are not held in bondage by the world.

We put our trust in Christ alone who has overcome the world. This old world is not our home; we are just passing through. We are attached to the things of God, not the world.

If you are a child of God, you live in the victory that we have in Christ Jesus. Sin will not overcome us; we will overcome it through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

LOVE WITHOUT HATE

 

LOVE WITHOUT HATE

I John 4:20 If someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar, for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? NLT

Saying you love God is easy, actually loving God is a totally different matter. So much of our expressions of love for God are merely lip service. If we were to really love God it would change how we live, view sin, think, and treat others.

Let’s be honest. There will always be people you don’t get along well with. There are those you would prefer to not just be around. What we need to be careful of is letting it get to the point where we develop harsh, even hateful feelings, for them. As believers, we cannot be in fellowship with God and have such harsh feelings towards others that there is no love for them. We are commanded by God to be vessels of His love for all people, even those we don’t like or who don’t like us.

John goes so far as to say that if we claim to love God and have such strong, negative feelings towards people, we are liars. What we say about God is simply not true. We don’t love Him at all.

Love is practical. It affects how we relate to people. If we can’t be civil and loving around those we have problems with, we are not able to really love God. Think about it.

God loved us when we were His enemies, a people living in sin. He was within His rights to not bother with us and let us go into hell. He did not have to die for our sins; He did not have to target us and invite us to repent; He did not have to adopt us into His family; He did not have to give us the Holy Spirit to help us; in fact, God did not have to do anything for us. But, He did. Why? Because He loved us before He created us and wanted to have fellowship with us both now and for all of eternity.

God loved us when we were at our worst. So, how can we not love one another? As His children, it is impossible for us to have the love of God in us and strongly dislike or hate a brother or sister in Christ.

It doesn’t matter what someone may have said or done, our part is to love. It does not mean that we have to be buddies with them, but it does mean we have to act towards them in a Christlike way and not speak ill of them to others. We must care when they are hurting or suffering and do what we can to help them, even if it’s only praying for them.

Love without hate; it’s God’s way.

FEAR

 

FEAR

I John 4:18-19 Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us. We love each other as a result of his loving us first. NLT

Perfect love, the love that God has, expels all fear. There are many different types of fear that plague us. Most of us have something we are afraid of, whether it be people, insects, animals, or whatever. The one thing all fear has in common is that it cripples us. Fear prevents us from going ahead and doing whatever it is we are doing at the moment. Until we are able to overcome our fear, we avoid whatever it is that is causing it.

In the Bible there is a fear that is good. It is fear as it relates to God. In this sense, fear is a reverence and respect for who God is. Every believer needs to have a fear of God. We must not have such a warped understanding of God that we have no respect for Him in His holiness or reverence of Him in His glory. When we lose that sense of who God is, we have no real God to worship and serve.

There is a fear that grips the heart of man when it comes to God's judgment. We won't know what it is like to stand before God face-to-face until it happens. When we realize that our eternity is in His hands and His decision is final, it can be a very scary thing. However, the love of God takes that fear away from us. Jesus is the flesh and bones of God's love. When we are living rightly in Jesus, we have nothing to fear when it comes to God’s judgment. God blesses and not curses those who are in Christ. If you are afraid of what it might be like for you as you stand before God, then you are either not living rightly in Christ, or you don't have the right understanding of what Jesus has done for you when He saved you.

In Christ, love has been perfected. The love of God has infiltrated our souls and we are now able to love one another, in the same way as God loves us, unconditionally and sacrificially. Without Christ in us, it is simply impossible to do. We are left with nothing but a cheap imitation of love.

The Apostle Paul describes what God’s perfect love is like in I Corinthians 13:4-8a. It should be every believer’s mission to become more and more like Jesus in His love.

God rewards those who live to love as Jesus loves.

 

GOD’S JUDGMENT, NO FEAR

I John 4:17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world. NLT

As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. The reason why so many of us do not have the kind of love flowing through us that we should have is that we are not living in God as we should and need to be. Living in God is more than talking about it. We need to be so influenced by God's presence in us that we think, feel, and act differently than we ever had before. We need to be more concerned by how we measure up to a life of holiness than we do the standards of the world. We need to mindful of what God sees in us. We need to draw our strength and life from God and not ourselves or the world.

Living in God means that we are invested in God. We faithfully involve ourselves in those things which draw us closer to God. We do not neglect our Bible reading, prayer time, fellowshipping with other believers, worshiping with other believers, or serving the Lord. Living in God means we understand the importance of keeping our relationship with Him the most important thing in life for us.

The end result of our living in God is that our capacity to love is increased and our ability to love increases. We become more and more like Christ in His love. We increasingly learn how to love the Lord more, others more, and ourselves more. As we live in love our whole outlook on life changes. We lose our attachments to this world and look forward to the coming of the Lord. We don't dread or fear God's judgment because we are becoming more and more like Christ here in this world.

Is your capacity for love and ability to love growing, or is your love for Christ and others stagnant? Jesus will refresh your soul and get the love juices flowing freely if you will let Him. Don't let sin block the flow of God's love in you.

When we live in Christ and become participants with Him in love, we have nothing to fear on Judgment Day. We will never always love like we should, but we can improve. Let the Lord have His way with your soul daily and you will be amazed at what He will do through you.

GODLY LOVE, NO FEAR

 

GODLY LOVE, NO FEAR

I John 4:17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world. NLT

Notice that as we live in fellowship with God, changes take place in our lives. Our hearts change in such a way that the character of love that flows through it changes. Love is that part of us that produces goodness. It is the desire within us that defines who we are and determines what we do. The character of our souls is determined by the objects of our love.

Living in God produces godly love. God is absolute love and He changes imperfect love into His love. The more we live in fellowship with God, the more like Him in love we become. It is a natural process and we cannot avoid it happening. If God is not the object of your love, you are not a child of God. If you are not becoming more like God in His ability to love, you are not a child of God. God is love and those who live in God will too become like God in love.

We should be consistently growing in our love relationship with God. In order to do that, we must be consistently in fellowship with God. We must be reading the Word of God faithfully and meeting with Him in our prayer closets. You will never grow in love with God if you take lightly the necessary disciplines of the faith. Spiritual progression produces spiritual fruit which produces spiritual service which pleases God.

Living in God calms our fears of facing God on Judgment Day. Our hearts are full of His love and we rest in that love. We approach God with confidence knowing that we are His and He is ours.

Because we are His, we are like Christ here on earth. We act like Christ commands us to. We think about life in a way that reflects the life of Christ in us. We reflect the presence of Christ in all we do. We produce the fruit of the Spirit and we are known as a child of God. There is no fear in our souls because His perfect love casts out all of our fears. We know there is nothing to condemn us before God because all is well between Christ and us. We live in His love and act out His love in all we do.

TRUSTING IN GOD

 

TRUSTING IN GOD

I John 4:16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. NLT

One thing that I want you to really know is that God loves you so much. I want you to think about how much He loves you. Think about how bad off you were before Christ came into your life. Think about how miserable you really felt inside of you before you experienced Christ’s love and forgiveness. Think about those times you stubbornly rejected His love. Think about His faithfulness and patience with you since He saved you. Think about what a difference He has made in your life and outlook on life. Think about your blessings from God, the good things He pours into your soul because Jesus lives in you. The love of God for us is so much greater than we can even imagine!

We can trust God because we know He loves us so much. We know that He will only treat us with goodness. We know that He will always work in us to help us become the best we can be in Him. We know that because He loves us, He will never go away or turn His back on us and stop loving us.

God is love and His children love as He loves. We cannot love any other way when Christ lives in us. His love overwhelms our natural way of loving. He changes the character of our love so that we become more and more like Him in His love. His love is the natural fruit of living in a relationship with Him.

If you are a child of God, you will be a channel of His love. If you are not characterized by His love, then you are not a child of God. Think about how you relate to people. Is it obvious to them that you are a child of God because of how you act and talk? If you are a child of God, you will be an encourager. You will always seek the good of others. You will actively bring Christ into their lives by the example you set before them in how you are loving them.

The true measure of your standing with God is how you love and whom you love. A true child of God will not just love those who love them. He will love those who he has problems with as well, those who have no problem with making his life miserable.

Not everyone is going to respond positively to your loving them and some will outright want nothing to do with you. But, that does not excuse us from loving them. We may not get along with them or even like them, but we must love them.

Loving involves a genuine concern for their souls, wanting what is best for them in life, wanting them to know the Lord. Loving them includes praying for those who despise us and helping others as we are able whether it is appreciated or not.

Loving others flows from our trusting God to not let our acts of kindness return to Him void. We trust that what we do and say will be fruitful seed sown, no matter how hard the soil may be. Trust the Lord to be merciful and gracious to all those whom you love in the Lord.

LIVING PROOF

 

LIVING PROOF

I John 4:13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he is us. NLT

I don't know about you, but there have been times in which I have wondered if it could all be true. I stop and think about what I know to be true in the world around me and what I believe to be true of what I cannot see. In moments of weakness or times of trouble I have wondered if I might be basing my life on what I want to believe instead of what is for real. It is during those times of doubting that I discover just how true it all is. The Spirit of God speaks to me and reassures me that I do not believe in vain. It might be through the Word of God, the beauty and mystery of creation, something I hear, or just the peace I sense in my soul because of forgiven sin.

I know that God is in me and I am in God because the Spirit of God does for me and through me what no one or anything else ever could. There is a mystery to how He works, but it is undeniable that He does. I marvel at the way God confirms His life in me. I marvel at the changes He has made and continues to make in me. I marvel at how He continues to draw me to Him and keeps me from self-destructing.

God has given His Spirit to all who accept Jesus as their Savior to give them confidence that they are indeed children of God. He has given us the Spirit to help us make Jesus Lord of our lives. He has given us the Spirit to empower us to live for Christ now and lead us home to heaven when we die.

There is never a moment in which the Spirit of God is not with us when we live in Christ.

“Thank you, Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank You for all that He does in our lives day-by-day. Thank You for the difference He makes in my daily living.”

LOVING OTHERS

 

LOVING OTHERS

I John 4:11-12 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us. NLT

It is unnatural for God's children to not act in love. Loving others should be as natural to us as breathing and eating. God is love and when He lives in us, we take on His nature. The thing that stands in our way is sin. We are born sinners. We are born with an inclination and desire to sin. Without Christ in us, we have no help to keep us from sinning. We act and react in sinful ways. When we are in Christ, He helps us to change from being sinful in nature to godly in nature. There should be a progressive change in our nature. We should become like Him in His holy love.

It should be our desire to be a people of godly love. We should want to treat others lovingly. We should want to be helpful and encouraging to others. We should want to set aside our differences and have fellowship with others. We should want others to be blessed and enjoy a good life.

When we can't love others, especially those in the faith, we have a heart issue with God. The Lord can, and longs to, help us, but we must be willing to let Him. He will give us loving hearts if we ask Him to. He will replace our hearts of stone with hearts of love, if we ask Him.

If you have a hard time loving someone, let the Lord change you. It may not happen overnight, but He will help you if you sincerely ask Him to. The more you pray for a change of heart, the more change you will see in your heart. It is God's desire for you to change. He wants to fully express His love for others through you. Will you let Him?

REAL LOVE: JESUS

 

REAL LOVE: JESUS

I John 4:10 This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. NLT

Love has many different meanings. We lump differing levels of affection all under the umbrella of love and often confuse what we mean by what we say. Love in its purest form is rooted in God. He defines love because He is love. We know He is love because of the multitude of ways He chooses to get involved in our lives.

God is holy and there is absolutely no sin in His presence. Yet, God chose to reach outside of His holiness into our sinfulness so that we might be made holy. His love for us compelled Him to do something about our sin problem. He became a man and offered himself up as an acceptable sacrifice for our sins. Although He never sinned, Jesus died for our sins that we might be released from sin’s death grip and be given eternal life. God loves us so much that He was willing to take upon His sinless heart our sin and His full wrath against it so we might be saved. There is no greater love than the love of a holy God who took upon himself all of our sins to set us free.

Think about what it means to be loved by God. His love is so powerful and pure. His love is such that it always works on our behalf to bring about that which is good in our lives. It is so strong that it will never fail us. It is not fickle like much of our love is. It is steadfast and strong regardless of circumstances. It never changes. It never moves away from us. There is an unlimited supply so that none will ever be without love. No one is beyond the reach of God’s love. No one can do anything to stop God from loving.

Dear friend, God loves you. He always has and always will. He longs to have fellowship with you and will never turn you away. The more you enter into His presence, the more His love will rub off on you. Cherish this precious truth; God loves you and me, always has and always will.

GOD'S LOVE SHOWN

 

GOD’S LOVE SHOWN

I John 4:9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. NLT

God doesn't just talk about love, He shows it and lives it. It is easy to proclaim love for another, but it is another thing to actually show it. God showed us the ultimate example of love by sending His Son into the world to die for our sins. Jesus is God; therefore, He had never been away from heaven. He had always been in the presence of holiness and the glory of heaven. He had always been surrounded by the choir of heaven singing His praises. Jesus left all of that behind Him to spend time on earth to become our Savior. He did not have to do it, but because He loves us, He did it.

He came to earth knowing exactly what He was going to have to endure in order to save us from our sins. He knew beforehand the agony of the cross and the agony of actually carrying our sins upon himself to set us free. He did what He did for us at Calvary willingly because of His love for us.

Love is not just a nice thing to say, it's a life to live. Without actions to back it up, love is a meaningless concept. We tend to toss it around way too much. If we really mean it when we say it, our actions will prove it. We will act in a loving way towards those we say we love. If you are a believer, you will act in a godly love, for He who lives in you is God himself.

The world doesn't need more talkers; it needs more doers. The world desperately needs to see God's love in action. They will only know God loves them when they can actually experience His love in their lives. They will know God loves when they see Him loving them through us.

We are God's chosen vessels of love to the world. How well do others know God loves them by the way you love them?

WORKING LOVE

 

WORKING LOVE

I John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love. NLT

Love is not something that you can turn on and off. It is constant, regardless of circumstances. Basic to the life of the Christian is the love of God. God loves us always, no matter how we act or react. He loves us even when He doesn’t like what we do and say. In the same way, we are to love one another.

We tend to turn away from people whom we have a problem with. We avoid them as if they had the bubonic plague. We prefer to not even see them, let alone have fellowship with them. We seek to avoid being around them. We think negatively about them and don’t really care much about what is going on in their lives. So often, this is true in the fellowship of the church.

As believers in Christ, we are commanded and compelled by God to love one another. There is no allowance for us to act in an unlovely way towards each other. When we allow things to come between us that prevent us from loving each other, it is sin. God is love and if His love is in us, we will treat others in a loving way. It does not mean that we will always get along with everybody, but it does mean that we won’t harbor bad feelings towards one another. We will be gracious towards others regardless of how another may respond. We will desire their good and support them in our prayers when they act in an unlovely way. We will commit them to the Lord and as far as we can, live at peace with them.

Anyone who does not love in a godly way does not know God—for God is love. We live in sin when we fail to love one another in a godly way. Love for God demands that we repent of our sin and strive to love others even as we love God. Godly love is a working love. How well are you let it work for you?

REAL LOVE, GOD'S LOVE

 

REAL LOVE; GOD’S LOVE

I John 4:7-10 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love. God showed how much he loves us by sending his only Son into the world so we might have eternal life through him. This is real love, it is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. NLT

You cannot love God and not love others. God loves everyone, no matter who they are, what they have done, where they live, what color of skin they have, or what church they go to. No one is excluded from God's love for them. We put conditions on whom we love, but God doesn't. It is God's will that we let Him strip away our conditions of love. The more conditions we put on whom we love, the less like God we are. If we are not becoming more like God in His love, we are drifting away from God, for God is love.

You cannot love God and not love those in the church. We don't often get along well with each other in the church. The Church is very segregated and isolated. We hold one another at arm's length and are suspicious of each other. We lack trust in each other and are fearful of one another. Think about it. How many people from other church bodies do you really know and have fellowship with? How many people from the church down the street can you honestly say you love, especially those churches you have strong disagreements with? When was the last time your church had a community church fellowship without any agenda except to have fellowship and grow in love for each other?

You cannot love God and not love yourself. The heart of love is respect and until you learn to respect yourself, you will never truly love yourself or God. I don't mean an ego gone wild. I mean that you must have enough respect for yourself that you live confidently before God. You don't see yourself as a nobody. Rather, you see yourself as the somebody you are in Christ; you are His child. Loving yourself means you aren't easily swayed by the critical spirit of others or those who simply disagree with you. It means you find your identity in Christ and not in the opinions of others. How we feel about ourselves directly affects how we feel about God and others.

God has shown us what real love is like by sending us His Son to die for our sins. Jesus lived sacrificially and gave His life for us unconditionally that we might be saved. Our natural response to Him ought to be for us to sacrificially and unconditionally engage ourselves in the lives of others. Let us ask the Lord to help us do just that today.

THE ONLY TRUE SPIRIT

 

THE ONLY TRUE SPIRIT

I John 4:4-6 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. These people belong to this world, so they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God; that is why those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. NLT

The Spirit of God is the only true spirit. He will not lead you astray. He will not let false prophets lead you down a path that takes you away from God. He will not cause you to misunderstand or misinterpret the truth. If we embrace that which is not true, it's because we are not listening to Him. We are listening to the voices of the false prophets instead.

The Spirit is far more knowing, wise, caring and powerful than the voice of the false prophet. When we are in tune with Him, we have gained victory over the deceivers of our souls. We must be careful to discern the genuineness of those whom we listen to. It is one of the reasons why being a part of a local church is so important. We can best learn about the genuineness of the heart of our leaders by observing them in daily life. If their way of living does not match up to the Word they speak, no matter how well they speak, they are not worthy to be followed. It is only as we see the Word lived out in the flesh that we know it is true. Learn from those who speak the truth and live it so that you too can be inspired to live it. You will know the truth, and it will set you free.

Anyone who opposes the Gospel message is not a child of God. Anyone who tries to change the Gospel message is not a child of God. Anyone who will not listen to the Gospel message is not a child of God. Anyone who would selfishly use the Gospel message is not a child of God. Be wise and discerning. Do not cater to such people or listen to them. What they say will poison your mind and soul.

GOD'S GREATER SPIRIT

 

GOD’S GREATER SPIRIT

I John 4:4-5 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. These people belong to this world, so they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them. NLT

There were false prophets in the early Church. Some people were going around preaching a different message than what the apostles were teaching in the churches. They were undermining what the apostles were doing and dividing the body of Christ. They were seeking to promote themselves and gain popularity amongst people. They were using the church for personal gain. Some things never seem to change.

John reassured the Church that she was winning the battle over these false prophets. They were listening carefully to what was being taught and evaluating it in light of known Scriptures. They were careful not to discard the teachings of the apostles just because someone came along and tried to discredit them.

As believers, John reminded them that they had the Holy Spirit within them and He always guided them in truth, not error. The Spirit of God is far greater than the lies of Satan and He makes sure that we have an understanding of truth when we sincerely seek it.

There will always be people in the Church who preach and teach under false pretenses. They may claim to be children of God when in reality they are children of Satan. They teach from the world's perspective and are motivated by worldly ambitions. They tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. They often rise to the top in popularity and gain much at the expense of the church.

We must always listen carefully and examine closely what we hear in light of God's Word. We must always sincerely seek to know and understand the truth, and when we do, the Spirit of God will make sure that we do indeed get it. We shall know the truth, and it will set us free.

There are many spirits roaming around in the Church. In order to know the Spirit of God, you must first know Jesus as your Savior. You must seek to know God better and better. You must tune into His voice as you consistently read the Word of God. And, you must not cave into the voices that may lead you away from God and truth. Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.

FALSE PROPHETS

 

FALSE PROPHETS

I John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. NLT

I don't know if I have ever heard anyone preach about God who did not claim to be a messenger of God. No matter what religion a person may adhere to, every speaker claims to understand God and speak for Him. We are plagued by a lot of voices in and outside the Church who would have us believe that they are led by God to speak. There is a great confusion amongst men as to who is telling the truth and who isn't. Some voices are obviously not of God. We can recognize them as false prophets because what they say is not in agreement with the Scriptures. But, what about those voices in the Church? Everyone who speaks in the Church about God can't be right. There are a lot of differences in what people are saying God says. Who are we to believe? How can we be sure that we are hearing the truth?

We must test the things we hear in light of the Scriptures. We have to examine what we hear for ourselves and think about what the Scriptures really say about the matter. It is so easy to abuse the Scriptures and make it say what it doesn't say. It is our responsibility to study it, meditate upon it, and pray over it before we embrace it. Our understanding of truth is not based on what church we grew up in or the faith of our parents. We have to think for ourselves and embrace truth based on the leading of the Spirit in us.

There are many false prophets (and spirits) in the world and in the church. They are exposed only as we examine them in light of the Word. We won't recognize them for who they are until we do. It is critical for the well-being of our souls that we do not let the false prophets lead us astray. If you suspect that you are surrounded by false prophets, do not stick around. Either get rid of the prophets or get out of the environment where they are at. Eternity is at stake.

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

 

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

I John 3:21-24 Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God's commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us. NLT

God gave us a conscience. It is that part of us that urges us to do what is right and when we fail to do it feel guilty about it. It is the working of the Spirit in us to help us become godly people. When we are doing right before God, we can come before Him with bold confidence. There is nothing to fear, even though we know God is holy and no sin can be near Him. It is Jesus alone who can keep our conscience clear.

God promises us that when we come before Him with a clear conscience, we will receive whatever we ask of Him. He does that because we obey Him and desire only that which pleases Him. He knows that we won't ask for anything outside of His will for us. And, God's will for us includes only that which is good for us.

God commands us to first believe from the heart in Jesus, His Son. Jesus is God's absolute provision for our salvation and means into His presence. There is no other way we can approach God. None.

Jesus forgives our sins and instills within us God's love. We cannot love God or one another apart from Christ in us. When we live in Christ we will live with each other in a loving way. We will have fellowship with Christ and each other.

The way we will know whether or not these things are going on in us is by the presence and working of the Spirit in us. It is the Spirit of Christ who confirms our standing with God and enables us to live lives that are pleasing to Him.

When the Holy Spirit is working in us, we are going to change from our old sinful selves into godliness. We are going to start exuding the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. We are going to have power to resist sin and be witnesses for Christ. We are going to understand better the Scriptures as we read them. We are going to have greater assurance that we are right with God.

If there is any doubt at all in your mind today about your standing with God, I urge you to flee to Jesus now and get things right with Him. Linger at His feet until you know for sure all is well with your soul. Only Jesus can give you peace and bold confidence to approach God.

 

A PURE HEART

I John 3:21-22 Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him. NLT

Having a clear conscience is a key to successful Christian living and an effective prayer life. A clear conscience is the result of a pure heart. There is only one way to keep our hearts pure before God, and that is to stay properly connected to Christ. There must be an active humility before Christ and a desire to not allow sin to take up residence in our hearts. A pure heart recognizes sin when it shows up and deals with it before Christ whenever it is known. A pure heart has a heart sensor that goes off whenever sin enters in. A pure heart does not excuse sin, but confesses it and seeks forgiveness for it. A pure heart is vigilant regarding sin and strives to avoid it.

Having a clear conscience enables us to approach God with bold confidence. We don’t have to fear that we will be rejected by God. We don’t have to wonder whether or not it is permissible to approach Him and ask for things from Him. When we have a clear conscience we are one with God in holiness and we become one with Him in our desires.

The Lord promises us that when we are one with God in fellowship, having our hearts and minds cleared of all that would hinder us, we will have our prayers answered. When our fellowship with God is right, we live to obey Him and we seek to please Him in all we do. We ask for things that honor and please Him. We ask in total submission to His will. We ask knowing that our Father knows best and how He answers our prayers is best for us and others whom we pray for.

So often we don’t have what we ask for because we fail to come before God with a pure conscience. We do not pursue godliness and expect God to be okay with that. We pray out of selfish hearts and often demand our own way. We have not because we ask amiss. First, deal with sin in your heart before Christ. Then, ask from the Lord what your heart desires with a submissive spirit. Boldly ask from Him expecting to receive what you ask for with the attitude always of not my will, but His be done. Then, put feet to your prayers by always living in submission to His Word striving to always please Him. Then, stand back and see just what God can do.

 

SHOW YOUR LOVE

I John 3:18-20 Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other, let us show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, he knows everything. NLT

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were to just pay attention to God's Word? Talk is cheap. We can talk all we want to about loving each other, but until we actually do it, it means nothing. There is far more unloving things being said and done in the church than there are loving things. Think about it. How many churches are there that are not "one of us" does your church have real fellowship with? How many churches in your community do you work closely with to reach your community for Christ? How many churches do you treat with suspicion or outright have nothing to do with because you don't agree with some of their teachings? Let's be honest. All of us are guilty of doing it.

Now look within your own church. Can you honestly say that you truly love those you worship and serve with? How do you show it? Are you on speaking terms with everyone? Do you really care what is going on in their lives? Do you desire good for them? Are you willing to come to their aid in times of need?

It matters to God how we treat each other. God's love is an action word. We cannot say that we really love someone until we do things for and with them that prove it. If you are acting like a child of God, you can be confident about your standing before God. God knows everything and He knows if your heart is in the right place, if you really love others as you claim to do.

Show your love for someone today. Your act of kindness and caring attitude may just be what is needed to reaffirm God’s love for them in their heart.