1 JOHN 2:15
"DO NOT LOVE THIS WORLD nor the things that it offers you, for when you love this world, you do not have the love of the Father in you."
Most people love and even crave the physical pleasures of this world. Many people crave everything that they see and their desire is to accumulate as many possessions as possible. The fact is that most of us fall in love with this world and everything that we can obtain in it. We are proud of our achievements and possessions. All these things are of this world and the truth for today is that the Lord tells us, DO NOT LOVE THIS WORLD. In fact His equation is laid out for us; the more we love the world, the less we love the Lord. The more we love the Lord the less we love this world.
What do you love? What do you cherish? Are they the things of this world? Everything that is in the world such as the lust of the flesh, and the craving for sensual gratification is not of God. The lust of the eye and the greedy longings of the mind lead to pride and a sense of separation from the Lord. Are you upset when you can not have the car or home or clothes that you see and desire? Do you spend a lot of your life trying to maintain your youthful appearance? Do you have a great fear of loosing your life and facing death and leaving this world? The Lord Say's DO NOT LOVE THIS WORLD!
Some see a contradiction in the world that only God can explain. Those who love and are devoted to the Lord and His Word are truly His children. Just as an earthly father knows how to give gifts to his children, so God gives gifts freely to His children. That is why those who are faithful and righteous and love the Lord with all their heart never have a concern for the things of this life. They do not worry about what to eat or wear or where they will live. In fact the Lord showers down blessings on those whom He loves. The ones who give the most in this world are the ones who get the most in this world. The thing that remains clear is that those that receive this bounty love the lord and they DO NOT LOVE THIS WORLD!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
LIVING IN HIM
1 JOHN 2:5-6
"Those who obey God's word truly show how completely the 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."
How can you tell if someone is LIVING IN HIM? How do you know if you are LIVING IN HIM?
If any person says that they live their lives like Jesus, by definition they would be LIVING IN HIM. In fact the truth for today is that there is a perfect way to know if you are living out what you are saying. That you are a doer of the Word and not just a hearer of the Word. The question that you have to ask yourself is; am I obeying God's Word? Those who obey God's Word truly show how completely they love Jesus and that they are living in Him!
In our present vernacular we would say that you have to walk the walk, not talk the talk. If you say that you abide in Jesus then you ought to walk like Jesus walked. The ones who treasure His Words and understand His precepts and observe His messages truly love and obey God. That is what is known as LIVING IN HIM! That is how we can know and recognize and be sure that we are living in Him. We have reached maturity with our relationship with Jesus Christ the Lord God.
If you say you abide in Jesus Christ you ought to walk and conduct yourselves in the same way that the Lord walked and conducted Himself. This is your personal debt as a believer. So the threshold question to ask yourself is; am I truly obeying God's Word and do I completely Love Him? Am I becoming more like Jesus all the time? Am I walking in His path and footsteps? Am I trying to live like Jesus did, by obeying God the Father and doing His will? Do you completely Love the Lord? Then you know and can say the I am LIVING IN HIM!
"Those who obey God's word truly show how completely the 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."
How can you tell if someone is LIVING IN HIM? How do you know if you are LIVING IN HIM?
If any person says that they live their lives like Jesus, by definition they would be LIVING IN HIM. In fact the truth for today is that there is a perfect way to know if you are living out what you are saying. That you are a doer of the Word and not just a hearer of the Word. The question that you have to ask yourself is; am I obeying God's Word? Those who obey God's Word truly show how completely they love Jesus and that they are living in Him!
In our present vernacular we would say that you have to walk the walk, not talk the talk. If you say that you abide in Jesus then you ought to walk like Jesus walked. The ones who treasure His Words and understand His precepts and observe His messages truly love and obey God. That is what is known as LIVING IN HIM! That is how we can know and recognize and be sure that we are living in Him. We have reached maturity with our relationship with Jesus Christ the Lord God.
If you say you abide in Jesus Christ you ought to walk and conduct yourselves in the same way that the Lord walked and conducted Himself. This is your personal debt as a believer. So the threshold question to ask yourself is; am I truly obeying God's Word and do I completely Love Him? Am I becoming more like Jesus all the time? Am I walking in His path and footsteps? Am I trying to live like Jesus did, by obeying God the Father and doing His will? Do you completely Love the Lord? Then you know and can say the I am LIVING IN HIM!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
FOOLING OURSELVES
1 JOHN 1:8-9
"If we claim we have no sin, we are only FOOLING OURSELVES and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to the Lord He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
I have met some christians that believe that once they accepted the Lord into their lives they never committed a sin after that. I have met some people who believe they are "good people" and they are not sinners. I have met many people who while in the midst of committing habitual sin, deny it to others, but, most of all they deny it to the Lord. What are they thinkng? The truth for today is that we are all sinners. We were born in sin. We continue to sin even after we become "christians". I for one sin every day and I know it. I also stopped fooling myself a long time ago. I know how wretched and filthy I am and if it were not for Jesus Christ the Lord God I would die in my sin and never achieve eternal life.
How about you, do you claim you have no sin? Are we FOOLING OURSELVES? If you claim you have no sin, you are not living in the truth and you are calling God a liar! In order to live in the light and have true fellowship with each other we have to be truthful and acknowledge that we are and continue to be sinners. It is the blood of Jesus Christ and our repentence of sins that cleanses us. We can not lie about our choices and actions. We need to bring them before the Lord and confess them to Him and ask for His forgiveness. That is the only way to get rid of all the wickedness that enters our life.
If the Lord's Word has a place in your life and in your heart you must confess your sins. By accepting the truth that no one is good, no not one and that no one is free from sin except God we take the step needed to be a righteous and faithful servant of God our Saviour. God is light and there is no darkness in Him. If we do not want to live in spiritual darkness and we want to live in the light then must have the blood of Christ to cleanse us of our sins. If we are not willing to do this then we show that His Word has no place in our hearts. We are just FOOLING OURSELVES if we claim we have not sinned. Confess your sins today and ask for forgiveness!
"If we claim we have no sin, we are only FOOLING OURSELVES and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to the Lord He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
I have met some christians that believe that once they accepted the Lord into their lives they never committed a sin after that. I have met some people who believe they are "good people" and they are not sinners. I have met many people who while in the midst of committing habitual sin, deny it to others, but, most of all they deny it to the Lord. What are they thinkng? The truth for today is that we are all sinners. We were born in sin. We continue to sin even after we become "christians". I for one sin every day and I know it. I also stopped fooling myself a long time ago. I know how wretched and filthy I am and if it were not for Jesus Christ the Lord God I would die in my sin and never achieve eternal life.
How about you, do you claim you have no sin? Are we FOOLING OURSELVES? If you claim you have no sin, you are not living in the truth and you are calling God a liar! In order to live in the light and have true fellowship with each other we have to be truthful and acknowledge that we are and continue to be sinners. It is the blood of Jesus Christ and our repentence of sins that cleanses us. We can not lie about our choices and actions. We need to bring them before the Lord and confess them to Him and ask for His forgiveness. That is the only way to get rid of all the wickedness that enters our life.
If the Lord's Word has a place in your life and in your heart you must confess your sins. By accepting the truth that no one is good, no not one and that no one is free from sin except God we take the step needed to be a righteous and faithful servant of God our Saviour. God is light and there is no darkness in Him. If we do not want to live in spiritual darkness and we want to live in the light then must have the blood of Christ to cleanse us of our sins. If we are not willing to do this then we show that His Word has no place in our hearts. We are just FOOLING OURSELVES if we claim we have not sinned. Confess your sins today and ask for forgiveness!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
LYING
1 JOHN 1:6
"So we are LYING if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth."
Man is born in sin. That means that his natural instinct is to commit sins. You can see it in a little baby or child who tells lies and does it with a smile. You can see it in those who try to hide their real persona and put on a fake smiling face while they lie and sin. It is so apparent when those who professed to know and love the Lord commit egregious acts against society, man and God. Examples would be preachers who run off with and commit adultery with someone other than their wife, and wives who have adulterous relationships while they are peers of the church. There is only one way to overcome our sinful nature and that is by accepting Jesus Christ.
When we open the door to our heart and ask Jesus to come in and dwell with us, we become a new person. Old things pass away and a new spiritual man if born. We put away our old sinful nature and become a righteous child of God. The closer we come to the Lord, the more we become like Him and it would be impossible for us to return to our old nature and our old sinful ways. In fact, that is what the truth for today is all about. The truth is you can know if you are lying about your relationship with God right now.
Are you living in spiritual darkness? Are you committing habitual sin that has never changed since you came to the Lord? Are you an adulterer, a drunkard, a liar? Do you put God first in everything that you do? Do you honor your parents? Do you commit murder or steal or testify falsely about others? In short, are practicing the truth and spiritual righteousness of God? When you do sin, do you repent and stop practicing what you know to be wrong in God's sight? If you say you have fellowship with God but you go on living in spiritual darkness you are not telling or practicing the truth. You are LYING! God is light, there is no darkness in Him. If you are His child you must be like Him. Confess your sins, He will be faithful to forgive you and cleanse you from all wickedness. Stop LYING!
"So we are LYING if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth."
Man is born in sin. That means that his natural instinct is to commit sins. You can see it in a little baby or child who tells lies and does it with a smile. You can see it in those who try to hide their real persona and put on a fake smiling face while they lie and sin. It is so apparent when those who professed to know and love the Lord commit egregious acts against society, man and God. Examples would be preachers who run off with and commit adultery with someone other than their wife, and wives who have adulterous relationships while they are peers of the church. There is only one way to overcome our sinful nature and that is by accepting Jesus Christ.
When we open the door to our heart and ask Jesus to come in and dwell with us, we become a new person. Old things pass away and a new spiritual man if born. We put away our old sinful nature and become a righteous child of God. The closer we come to the Lord, the more we become like Him and it would be impossible for us to return to our old nature and our old sinful ways. In fact, that is what the truth for today is all about. The truth is you can know if you are lying about your relationship with God right now.
Are you living in spiritual darkness? Are you committing habitual sin that has never changed since you came to the Lord? Are you an adulterer, a drunkard, a liar? Do you put God first in everything that you do? Do you honor your parents? Do you commit murder or steal or testify falsely about others? In short, are practicing the truth and spiritual righteousness of God? When you do sin, do you repent and stop practicing what you know to be wrong in God's sight? If you say you have fellowship with God but you go on living in spiritual darkness you are not telling or practicing the truth. You are LYING! God is light, there is no darkness in Him. If you are His child you must be like Him. Confess your sins, He will be faithful to forgive you and cleanse you from all wickedness. Stop LYING!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE
2 PETER 2:20
"When people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, the are WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE."
They say that a dog will return to its vomit and a washed pig will return to the mud. This is an expression of what the nature of the beast really is. The question is, will man return to his sinful nature once he has escaped from wickedness in this world, as a result of knowing Jesus Christ? The unfortunate answer is that some get tangled up and enslaved in sin again. The problem is that they are then WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE! It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness, than to know it and then reject the command they were given to a holy life.
When this happens it causes the faithful and true believer's great agony and pain. It is heart breaking to see someone who professed to love and believe in Jesus Christ fall away from the truth and the way. They may have been pastors or leaders in the church. They may have been your family member or a close personal friend. They were someone you looked up to and they reinforced your belief and faith. Then for whatever reason, they fall of the path to righteousness and they return to sin and this wicked world. You know that they are even worse off then they were before they became Christians, but, they have returned to their mud and their vomit.
Many of those that walk away from Jesus Christ never come back. They are lost in their sin and they did not hold out to the very end. The admonition throughout the bible is that as believer's we are expected to hold fast and remain faithful until the very end. The Lord knows how to rescue Godly people from their trials. But He keeps the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgement. Are you one of those people that escaped from this wicked world and then returned to sin and became tangled up and enslaved again by the devil. Wake up, the devil wants to kill and destroy you. Get on your knees and beg the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you and treat you as the prodigal son, welcoming you home again with His Mercy and Love. If you do not you are WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE!
"When people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, the are WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE."
They say that a dog will return to its vomit and a washed pig will return to the mud. This is an expression of what the nature of the beast really is. The question is, will man return to his sinful nature once he has escaped from wickedness in this world, as a result of knowing Jesus Christ? The unfortunate answer is that some get tangled up and enslaved in sin again. The problem is that they are then WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE! It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness, than to know it and then reject the command they were given to a holy life.
When this happens it causes the faithful and true believer's great agony and pain. It is heart breaking to see someone who professed to love and believe in Jesus Christ fall away from the truth and the way. They may have been pastors or leaders in the church. They may have been your family member or a close personal friend. They were someone you looked up to and they reinforced your belief and faith. Then for whatever reason, they fall of the path to righteousness and they return to sin and this wicked world. You know that they are even worse off then they were before they became Christians, but, they have returned to their mud and their vomit.
Many of those that walk away from Jesus Christ never come back. They are lost in their sin and they did not hold out to the very end. The admonition throughout the bible is that as believer's we are expected to hold fast and remain faithful until the very end. The Lord knows how to rescue Godly people from their trials. But He keeps the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgement. Are you one of those people that escaped from this wicked world and then returned to sin and became tangled up and enslaved again by the devil. Wake up, the devil wants to kill and destroy you. Get on your knees and beg the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you and treat you as the prodigal son, welcoming you home again with His Mercy and Love. If you do not you are WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE!
Monday, December 15, 2008
MORE AND MORE
2 PETER 1:2
"May God give you MORE AND MORE grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Lord."
Peace, peace and there is no peace. That represents the lives of non believer's. They never know the peace that passes understanding. The peace that comes from the grace and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The peace that allows us to go through the trials of this world with the complete knowledge and understanding that we are just passing through and our heavenly reward is yet to come. What can men do to us or our body, nothing! We fear the one who has control over our eternal soul and our renewed heavenly body. That is why we have peace and that is why it passes over the understanding of non believer's.
The truth for today however addresses the believer and is a prayer we should all want to come true in our own lives. It is understood that we will have peace and grace in this world, the question is how much. Peter is praying that God will give us MORE AND MORE peace and grace as our journey with the Lord continues. We know that this is the truth because we have experienced it in our lives. The more we learn about the Lord, the more peace and grace we have. The knowledge of His Word is powerful and helpful. It gives us reassurance and security to know His truth, which sets us free.
We should all pray that the Lord will give us MORE AND MORE of His love, grace and peace. The way to ensure this is to continually grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. The more you understand the Lord and His plan, the more confident you will become in His promises. He has assured us of eternal life with Him if we just believe Him and His Word. We need to read and understand His promises as given by the prophets, commandments and Laws of God. The more they are a part of our lives, the more and more grace and peace we will have. It is the personification of the justice and fairness that is God.
"May God give you MORE AND MORE grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Lord."
Peace, peace and there is no peace. That represents the lives of non believer's. They never know the peace that passes understanding. The peace that comes from the grace and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The peace that allows us to go through the trials of this world with the complete knowledge and understanding that we are just passing through and our heavenly reward is yet to come. What can men do to us or our body, nothing! We fear the one who has control over our eternal soul and our renewed heavenly body. That is why we have peace and that is why it passes over the understanding of non believer's.
The truth for today however addresses the believer and is a prayer we should all want to come true in our own lives. It is understood that we will have peace and grace in this world, the question is how much. Peter is praying that God will give us MORE AND MORE peace and grace as our journey with the Lord continues. We know that this is the truth because we have experienced it in our lives. The more we learn about the Lord, the more peace and grace we have. The knowledge of His Word is powerful and helpful. It gives us reassurance and security to know His truth, which sets us free.
We should all pray that the Lord will give us MORE AND MORE of His love, grace and peace. The way to ensure this is to continually grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. The more you understand the Lord and His plan, the more confident you will become in His promises. He has assured us of eternal life with Him if we just believe Him and His Word. We need to read and understand His promises as given by the prophets, commandments and Laws of God. The more they are a part of our lives, the more and more grace and peace we will have. It is the personification of the justice and fairness that is God.
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