Tag: #ReadGodsWord

1 John Challenge

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This week in reading 1John, and walking through the week with family and friends, I learned something valuable. I love the way God allows us to read something, or brings it to our attention, just at that moment where He is going to give us a real life example. I believe that I learned more from reading 1John this time than any other time. For me, it became one big thought. And, what is that thought? IF YOU HAVE SEEN JESUS, there is an excitement in your relationship with Him. (1John 1:1-3) When that excitement is there, He wants you to hold on to that joy (1John 1:4-5). He then tells us what we gain from this relationship with Him… we can walk in the light and the truth and have a cleansing from our sins (1John 1:5-9). And, yes, we continue to mess up. Who doesn’t ever, ever sin? (No one according to 1John 1:8, except, of course, Jesus Christ.) But, He forgives us when we confess those sins. He does not see us as the failure, He sees us as someone who has done something wrong and we have the chance to make it right!

In 1John 2, John reminds us that it is only Jesus Christ who has given us this ability to be continually in right relationship with God. Jesus is the one who took the penalty for our sins… and not only ours who accept it, but even those who do not. In other words, God does not love someone who does not believe in Him any less. However, they have chosen to not have relationship… which is what the rest of John’s first letter seems to be about… relationship (fellowship).

In 1John 2, we are told how to have fellowship. If we truly know Jesus and understand what He did for us, we will want to follow His ways. Why? because they bring us a peace. He perfects us or completes us. When we are made whole, there is a peace in our lives. If we do not understand the love of God, how can we possibly love others? And, when we do not show love to others, there is such contention. John continues in 1John 2 to show us that we should love the Father and His ways and not the world’s ways. This world WILL pass away. We will come to an end! The talk this week in our home brought to light the concern with the way the world is going right now. John even addresses that! There will be people who are against Christ and against Christians. However, no matter what others might say about you or to you, “This is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life.” (1John 1:25) This is our hope and so we should abide in Christ.

John then seems to stop and reflect on that great love of Christ all over again in 1John 3. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” (verse 1) That love that we accept from God makes us different! The world cannot understand (1John 3:1). I see this truth in those who are not Christians, those who seem to just not understand me. That is okay. There is a peace. “We are the sons of God” (1John 3:2) Because we are the sons of God, we purify ourselves as Christ is pure. Why would we do that? Because we love Him! When we are trying to please our spouse, we do those things that we believe will please that spouse. Why would it be any different with Christ? He was manifested (shown to us) to take away our sins… (v. 5) Because He did this, we should love one another because we should see the great love He has shown us as an example. “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” (1John 3:13) A follower of Christ may look different, and those around them may see them as “holier than thou” or “just ignorant and stupid.” The Apostle John anticipated that too. He said in 1John 3:19 “And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him”. Also, in 1John 3:24, he said, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” What a peace we gain from stepping back and remembering that we are children of God… and that He loves us enough to fellowship with us… to have a relationship with us.

Then in 1John 4, we are warned that not everyone will understand, and that not everyone even wants to. However, we are assured that we overcome what the world throws at us (1John 4:4). When in our hearts we only and always want to speak about God and His ways and His doings, the world does not understand: “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (v. 6) And how does this truth work itself out in our lives? We love one another because love is of God. God proved that love to us by sending His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. (1John 4:9) If we are living through Him, then we abide in Him, and we do those things He wants us to do and we love others: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” (1John 4:11) And, “We love Him, BECAUSE HE first loved us.” (1John 4:19)

John then ends his letter with a great excitement… “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world.” (1John 5:4) And how do we overcome? “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” But, this is not a blind faith as some will say. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself” (v. 10) “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may KNOW Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (v. 20), which He hath given to us in His Son (v. 11). John tells us that He wrote these things so that we may know that we have eternal life and that we might believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1John 5:5)

Why would John be so bold as to tell us this? Who is He to tell us anything? That brings me back to where I first started… BECAUSE John HEARD, SAW, LOOKED upon, and HANDLED with His hands the Lord Jesus Christ. (1John 1:1) And not only that, John bore witness to what he saw and he so wanted us to all know too. Why does John want us to know? He wants us to experience eternal life because He understood the joy of the relationship with Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father. Thus, John wrote these things unto us “that our joy may be full.” (1John 1:4) This is always my hope too… that others would come to know the Love that God has bestowed on us through Jesus Christ and that this love is worth more than life itself. I want to share what God has given to me because I have that joy of which John spoke. Would you consider, if you have not already, seeking that joy as well? It begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ!

Why Read the Word of God?

Why not?  Why do people, even Christians, avoid reading the Word of God? Why is it that the Word of God is not always the main focus at Sunday services? God says that His Word is living and powerful.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

The Bible is NOT just a history book with a few bits of poetry interspersed.  It is History (HIS Story) AND it is the living word.  Have you ever read something and the words just jumped off of the page at you?  It was like someone was reading your thoughts and these words directly spoke to your heart.  This is what God’s Word does. 

In 1 Corinthians 10, we are told that God’s Word in the Old Testament is for our example. In Deuteronomy 18, God tells us that we are to keep watch for God’s Word. So, both the Old and the New Testament must be pretty important for us.

Do you have a child, or watch a child, or know how children are raised?  When they are small, they are told not to touch certain things (the stove for instance).  They aren’t given explicit instructions as to why or how to use the stove safely or anything else.  They are simply told to not touch the stove.  They are warned (although it is doubtful that a very small child will understand the why) about the consequences of touching the stove (they may get burned).  As they grow, the child’s parent may then teach the child how to start cooking.  Okay, so not the entire stove is dangerous all of the time, but the burners are dangerous when the burner is on.  Next, the child is taught how to safely turn the burners on and then later, when he is tall enough, the child is taught how to cook using the stove (or even the oven).  The child still has to remember the first commandment (don’t touch the stove), but there are many more explanations to this commandment that clarifies what is meant by that.  One still does not touch a burner when it is on.  That commandment remains, for the child’s safety.  It never changes.  However, the “do not ever use” part of the commandment changed as the child was able to handle the change. In other words, the mystery of the use of the stove was revealed by the parent to the child over a period of time. The parent never lied to the child or changed their mind about what he told the child; it just took the child time to discover the mystery of the use of the stove. And, when he was young, he needed to know, “Don’t touch the stove.”

This is an analogy to how God’s Word is revealed to us.  For instance, in the Old Testament, there were many rules and regulations spelled out for how to love God (things to do) and how to love others (again, things to do).  Jesus took all of these commandments and summarized them into two  commandments

Matthew 22:37-40  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

In the Old Testament, God gave commandments, very specific commandments.  And, there were a LOT of them.  However, He told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 18:15-18 that He was going to send a prophet (a Messiah) in whom the people should listen.  This prophet would come from the Israelites and God would put His Words into the Prophet’s mouth and we are to listen to His Words as they will be commanded by God.  This is exactly what happened.  Jesus came and told us about God.  He stated that He came to fulfill the law.  He taught many things… so many that the people were surprised by His teachings.

Do you know what excites me and makes me want to believe Jesus?  Because of the prophecies that God shared years before Jesus ever came to this earth.  For example, in Daniel 9 the exact day that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt was predicted!  Did you ever stop to think why all of the disciples were looking for the “Messiah” or “that Prophet” during the time of John the Baptist?  They KNEW what was taught in the Old Testament and they were looking for Him!!  They were looking for this Messiah!

He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ

John 1:41

So, when Jesus remarkably stated that all of the other laws hang on his two commandments, he was generalizing the law… much like the stove analogy. (Please note that I know this is not a perfect analogy… )

This is just one reason to read the Bible.  It consistently reveals God’s doings from the beginning of time until the very end of time (as shown in Revelation).  It shows what God’s desire is for each of us, whether we are Jews or Gentiles. 

When people tell me that the Bible is just a book of stories, I cannot accept that.  God intertwined History and prophecy and instruction all together.  And the Bible is God’s Word that speaks to our hearts individually.  We may not be able to accept that at first, but when we start to see how awesome God is in the Words that He did provide from the beginning … then it should make us desire to find out more.  So, read the Word of God!  Find out more…. You may want to start by reading Deuteronomy 18 and John 1 and meditate on it today.