Category:

1 John 3

5/17/2012

1 John 3:6 “Anyone who continues to live in Him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know Him or understand who He is.”

Think on this for a while; when we live in Him totally surrendered to our own desires we will choose the Spirit and life. The more we grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ and what right living looks like the less we will get caught up in sin. I like John’s warning in verse 7, “Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.” We can be righteous and not stuck living for ourselves and this world. To me this is motivating and I want to continue to grow so I become less of me and more of Him.

Verse 8 says, “But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.” We can and should live our lives not saying: I’m just a sinner I know I’ll mess up. But we should say I am a child of God and righteous and the Spirit will lead and I will follow. We are strong because of Him and we can live right because of Him. When we die to self and live for Him we don’t excuse our sins because we are sinners we repent and say no I am a child of God.

Verse 9 says, “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.” When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives we are different because our hearts have changed and God’s life is in us. We must stop and think (what would Jesus do) then do it knowing the Spirit will always give us the righteous way to live.

Verse 10 is clear and as I read it I think not of perfection but excited passion for Jesus and living as He did, focused on the Father. “So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.”

Be passionate and willing to grow everyday so our lives show that we are children of God and not helpless and stuck in this world. Amen

1 Comment

1 John 2:15-16

8/24/2011

5 Comments

1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."
Stop and read that again. Then ask yourself; what do I crave? Is it more important to achieve worldly things or money or do you crave to live a life that pleases God? Jesus came in human form and lived 33 years pleasing God and God said in Matthew 3:17, "...This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy."
Is our life bringing Him great joy? Is Jesus your focal point and who you aspire to be like? Are you seeking Him for a living relationship that makes you surrender your will? If you answered "no" to any of these questions ask yourself, why? And if you answered "yes" to all of these, is God looking down saying you bring me great joy? Crave wisdom, knowledge and action then love Christ enough to change. Amen

5 Comments

1 John 2

8/20/2011

1 Comment

1 John 2:5-6 “But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

This is so good to read over and over because it should be instilled in our mind and heart so it drives us to be different and Christ like. We need to have that changed life when we accept Christ. We haven’t been perfect but His sacrifice has freed us from our old selves so why is it so hard to change? I think it is because it takes work and constant learning on our part. We tend to struggle with being all in and dying to self. Also the devil is at work trying to make sure it is not easy for us to accept the free gift and walk as a light shining like Christ. What holds us back the most from saying thank you Lord and then having a true relationship with Him that make us want to change? Are you doing all that God requires and asking for true wisdom so this world can be impacted for Christ and we can do what it says in chapter 1 verse 7, “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

We can never be done growing and learning, we must always be seeking more and be willing to live out our salvation. Amen

1 Comment

1 John 5

12/30/2010

0 Comments

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

This is what keeps us from truly surrendering to God and the thing that leads us to death and separation from Him. We need to understand that nothing on earth is worth anything compared to God and the love He showed by sending His Son. We need to keep our hearts full of wisdom from God and open His word and learn to live by the Spirit.

Verse 19 says, “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.”

We need to remember this when we think about ourselves. When we open our hearts and fill them with what God shows us we can know that the Spirit will show us what is right. When we live in the world and for our own desires, the evil one will fill us with lies and make us think it is ok to do what the world wants. We must have the heart to put God first and do our best to realize where our strength comes from and turn to Him to guide us always. Devote your life to the Lord and live like Jesus Christ and let the peace that comes with that consume you. Amen

0 Comments

1 John 2

12/28/2010

1 Comment

1 John 2:27 “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true-it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”

It is so important that we always have this fellowship with Christ. As we learn from God everyday the Spirit is so loud for us to hear, we need to listen and obey it without hesitation. When we continue to grow and live by the Spirit we choose what is right, but when we are concerned about the world we choose what is wrong.

1 John chapter 2 verse 16 says, “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.”

Don’t let days go by with out learning and growing, ask God to show you something that can make you choose to live like Christ.

Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 18, “Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Put the time in to learn so you can experience all that we are promised. Amen

1 Comment

1 John 3:2-3

9/8/2009

0 Comments

1 John 3:2-3 “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as He is pure.”

I love that John says “all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure…” Are we eager to be like Christ, or are we coasting hoping we get the prize? It is so important to read God’s word and fill your heart with what it is telling you. But it is more important to read it because you are eagerly seeking all that God is telling you and actually living what you are taught. Our active faith is what keeps us alive and feeling the peace and joy of being fully devoted followers of Christ.

Truly listen to this statement by John in chapter 3 verse 6, “Anyone who continues to live in Him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know Him or understand who He is.”

When we fill our hearts with God’s word we learn everything we need to and our action become like Christ. If you are finding it’s hard to be like Christ open the word more and pray asking God to show you more. It is our job to fill ourselves with whatever we want. We have the world that is always there filling us with everything that is seen. And we have God’s word where we have to take the time to open and learn.

In Matthew 7:7-8 we are told by Jesus, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

We can’t sit around and hope our hearts will be filled; we need to eagerly pursue all the things God has laid out for us and be obedient to the Father as Christ was. Amen

0 Comments

1 John 2:16-17

9/4/2009

0 Comments

1 John 2:16-17 “For the world offers only craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

To me this shows how important it is to open God’s word and read so we can learn how to please God. The statement; “this world only offers cravings,” is so true. We want anything we can physically get our hands on. That’s why it is so easy for us to be deceived by the opposite sex. They tell you everything you want to hear and they do the right things to make you crave the physical pleasure. Then we get lured in by what we have, thinking that is what makes us who we are. We need to turn our focus on God and live as Jesus did, obedient to the Father. It is not what we feel or what we have that truly makes us have joy and peace, it is living for the Father and listening to the Holy Spirit. When we are full of the Spirit we become unselfish and will do the things that are pleasing to God.

Verse 28 says, “And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame.” Amen

0 Comments

1 John 2:3-6

9/3/2009

0 Comments

1 John 2:3-6 “And we can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments. If someone claims, “I know God, “but doesn’t obey God’s commandments that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

Wow, that should make you really think. It seems a little harsh, but it should be harsh. God gave His Son for us so we can have eternal life and what He wants is our hearts fully devoted and obedient to Him. If we think about it, it really doesn’t seem like too much to ask. John is just reminding us that our life should resemble Jesus’ in all we do and if you really love God we will learn and grow to obey.

Verse 6 says, “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

Jesus lived His life not for Himself but for doing God’s will. Whatever He did or said was from God and to glorify God. If we open God’s word and truly read it trying to get our wisdom from it we will grow to live for God as Jesus did. It will be a challenge and hard work but it is so worth it. We have the perfect example in Christ and the perfect owner’s manual from God so we need to forget our desires and truly live for pleasing God. John makes it seem like we have to be perfect but it is all a matter of the heart. God knows our motives so we need to remember as we are growing we will have our struggles.

John reminds us in verse 2, “He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins – and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

We need to read, pray and open our hearts to learn all we can so we can be the church where ever we are and be the light for people to see. Amen

0 Comments

1 John 3

1 John 2:15-16

1 John 2

1 John 5

1 John 2

1 John 3:2-3

1 John 2:16-17

1 John 2:3-6

Archives

Categories

Books to Read: