1 John

The Ammunition Of Prayer - 1 John 5:14-16

11:00 AM


1 John 5:14-16


We as Christians are in a battle for our very souls. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that there is a great spiritual war waging around us even as we speak. As such, we are commanded to be warriors in God’s army. Soldiers armed against the Enemy’s attacks, and at the ready with our spiritual weapons. And some of the greatest ammunition we have is prayer.


There are some who definitely have God’s anointing when it comes to prayer. They pray easily, fervently, and persistently. Their prayers are filled with complete assuredness that God will answer their pleas. But for others, prayer doesn’t some so easily. To them prayer may feel awkward, or they worry they’re doing it wrong. Still others are too proud or too ashamed to come before the Lord. But God calls all Christians to pray; with no exceptions. So how do we strengthen our prayer lives and become mighty warriors? 


John tells us that the first step is knowing God’s will. To do this, we need to be reading His Word. For in it He has revealed to us who He is, and what He wants. And the more time we spend in the scriptures, the more in harmony our hearts and minds will be in praying according to God’s will. Next we are to have complete confidence that God not only listens to such prayers, but when they align with His plans, have faith they will be answered every time. 


Prayer is an unbreakable bond between us and God. There is no special formula, ritual, or words that have to be said. All God wants is for us to come to Him in complete and humble faith. Through the blood of Jesus Christ we have unlimited access to the Father and His throne. And He wants to hear from us! James 4:2 tells us we don’t have, because we don’t ask. So today I challenge you to ask! Go to God in prayer. Give to Him your heart and all it holds. And have unshakable faith that if it is His will, He will see it done! 


And don't forget to head over to our Facebook group to join the discussion at https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenintheword2

1 John

I’ve Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, Down In My Heart - 1 John 1:1-3

11:00 AM

 



1 John 1:1-3


When something exciting happens in our lives, we’re just bursting to share it with another. That’s how it is with John’s letter. When I read it I sense his joy as he shares the Good News of Jesus. And I feel his excitement at wanting others to receive Christ as their Savior. And who can blame him? For once we experience the Lord, up-close and personal, including His love, grace, peace, and goodness, we too want others to have that same beautiful fellowship with Jesus.


We’ve all heard it said that Christianity is a relationship not a religion. Which was always God’s plan. From the beginning He established a way for us to fellowship with Him forever through His Son, Jesus Christ. “The Word of Life” in the flesh, the Lord came to pay our sin debt and reconcile us back to our Father in heaven. And through His blood we now can have an intimate, unbreakable relationship with God. And even better still, wanting us to have everything we need to grow in the Lord, God gave us the Bible. 


It has always been God’s greatest desire for us to walk in fellowship with Him. And the Holy Bible is His blueprint; the atlas of life. For in its pages we’ll find a path. A magnificent path lit by the glory of God’s light. And one, that if we do not not stray from, leads us to a close relationship with our Creator, Father, Savior, and our dearest Friend. A path to the deepest joy we’ll ever know, and a unconditional love lasting an eternity.


So today I challenge you to spend time in God’s Word. Even if it’s only a few verses, make an effort every day to read the Bible. For it contains everything we need to live victoriously. It lifts, empowers, guides, and comforts. And the more you get to know its Author, you too will sing, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart!”

1 John

Friday Oct. 16th I John 3- God's children

12:00 PM

 

Friday October 16th   

I John 3

Children of God!

 





Have you ever really stopped and thought about being a child of God?  We are loved by a faithful, loving heavenly Father, Who is intimately acquainted with us and we are part of His family. 

In Psalm 139 , He knit us together in our mothers’ womb.  He is intimately acquainted with all of our ways. There is no where we can go that He is not there.  I encourage you to go and read this psalm today and let it sink in who you really are as a child of God. 

See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God!  And so we are!  For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  :1 [Amp. Bible]

. 

We are born again.

John 3:16-For God so loved the world, that He gave His  only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

One of the primary benefits of becoming a Christian is that we also become part of God’s family.

 






Eph.4:4-6-There is one body [of believers] and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when called [to salvation]-one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God the Father of us all who is [sovereign] over all and  [working] through all and [living] in all.

As His children we practice righteousness in our lives. We are continually striving to live a consistently honorable life-in private as well as in public and to conform to His will.  We do not habitually practice sin.   We are set apart for His purpose and live to please Him.  As we spend time in His Word each day we get to know Him and to know who we are in Him.  We hide His word in our hearts so that we might not sin against Him. 

God does not come and go in our lives.  He carries on a permanent relationship with us because He is always there for us and in us.  We sense His presence primarily through the work of the Holy Spirit. As we abide in Christ, He nourishes us spiritually the same way a vine gives nourishment to its branches. [Amp Bible notes]

We are also warned about the schemes of the devil, who practices sin, separating himself from God. 

: 8 [Amp. Bible]

Practicing sinfulness- separating himself from God and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion is of the devil and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. 

The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Some warning signs to look for:

Disobedience

Indifference,

Rebellion,

Not seeking His will in thought, action and purpose.

The evil one is crafty and sly wanting to destroy and kill and we need to be on our guard esp. during these difficult days we are living in.  Don’t let the tactics of the devil deter you from walking with the Lord. 

Remember the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Are we spending time in His Word daily?  Do we run to Him for everything and I mean everything?  Does He has first place in our lives?  What do you practice day in and day out of our lives?

Fight the good fight of faith and stand firm in His armor and let us encourage one another from His Word.   

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  II Cor. 13:14

Lyn

 


1 John

Fully Known & Loved {1John 1-3}

12:00 AM


This quote from Tim Keller grabbed my attention:

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything..."  Don't you think? I think this was why John felt compelled to write this letter of First John.
 
I believe God purposely created us to desire to be fully know and fully loved by both God and man because...
John explains right at the beginning of his letter that his purpose in writing is to tell us how to enjoy fellowship with one another and with God,

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  We write this to make our joy complete.” (1 John 1:3-4)

He wants us to know that the path to a joyous life is found in fellowship!

Fellowship actually means sharing in common, or sharing together. We were never meant to travel through this life alone, but think about this a moment... we, who were so defiled by sin, can have fellowship—can share together—with a holy God, not just in this life, but for eternity! That one thought should overwhelm us! 

John Calvin explained it this way in Calvin’s Commentaries p. 162:

True is that saying, “Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.” (Matt. 6:21) Whosoever, then, really perceives what fellowship with God is, will be satisfied with it alone, and will no more burn with desires for other things. “The Lord is my cup,” says David, “and my heritage; the lines have fallen for me on an excellent lot.” (Ps. 16:5, 6) In the same manner does Paul declare that all things were deemed by him as dung, in comparison with Christ alone. (Phil. 3:8) He, therefore, has at length made a proficiency in the Gospel, who esteems himself happy in having communion with God, and acquiesces in that alone; and thus he prefers it to the whole world, so that he is ready for its sake to relinquish all other things.


This fellowship with God and one another that John is writing about here is really just the fulfillment of the two Great Commandments; to love God with all your being, and to love one another (Matt. 22:37-40). The goal of the Bible is to help us glorify God as we experience the deep joy of a close relationship with Him and one another. 

So, allow me to ask you, how is your fellowship with the Savior and others? And did you know that there is a difference between “sonship” and “fellowship”?

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1John 1:5-7)

Each child of God knows Him in two ways:
·         Sonship, when we were born into His family and He becomes our heavenly Father
·         But we also grow to know Him more deeply and intimately through fellowship.

When we were born into His family our standing as His child was settled forever and nothing can change that, but our fellowship with God from that moment is forever evolving. Theologians call this our state, or current condition before God. And it is truly up to us to seek to grow our fellowship with Him. 

Trust me when I say, I believe some of His children have chosen to settle for less than God’s very best for themselves, and God will allow them that choice. 

·         If all a body wants is to spend time in worship on Sunday mornings, that’s all they’ll get.
·         If others choose to fellowship a bit with other believers at times, that’s all they’ll get. 

BUT if you refuse to settle like Paul, who counted all else refuse and dung in the hopes of knowing all there was to know about our Savior, God will make your joy complete, by coming to fellowship (share this life together) with you. And John is here to explain how that is possible, which begins by getting honest with God and others (walk in the light). 

Our fellowship with God begins when we admit to God that we’re not satisfied with our relationship; that we, like Paul, David and others want more of God, and refuse to settle for less than the abundant life Jesus came to give each of us!

I want to encourage you ...don’t settle for an occasional, distant relationship. Make time to spend with Him each day in His Word and in conversation (a.k.a prayer). And both the Apostle John and I can assure you, you will be so very glad you did, for the One who know you fully and loves you best desires that too!




1 John

ASK IN CONFIDENCE!

9:00 PM

ASK IN CONFIDENCE!




Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

Today we are memorizing 1 John 5:14 and 15…

And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.

Here is the amplified version…

This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.

Confident, abiding faith combined with God’s power can produce amazing results, if the request is in harmony with God’s will. God is fully capable of doing what we may regard as impossible.

John outlines in these verses three keys to effective prayer:
  1. ask for anything
  2. seek according to God’s will
  3. knock until He hears

If God has given each of His children the ability to pray for anything, it only follows that He expects us to rightly use this power of prayer to accomplish His great and glorious will. 

Commit yourself to prayer. What practical steps can you make to make your life count for Him? Ask the Lord to train you to pray and be prepared for an wonderful journey with your hand in His!


Have a blessed and precious day everyone!

1 John

Praying According to God's will {1 John 5}

3:33 AM


BORN AGAIN OR NOT?


Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

What are the signs in your life that God has caused you to be born again? 

Evidences of the New Birth according to 1 John

* Those who are born of God keep his commandments. {1 John 2:3-4, 1 John 3:24}
* Those who are born of God walk as Christ walked. {1 John 2:5-6}
* Those who are born of God don't hate others but love them {1 John 2:9 ,1 John 3:14, 1 John 4:7-8, 1 John 4:20}
* Those who are born of God don't love the world {1 John 2:15}
* Those who are born of God confess the Son and receive (have) him. {1 John 2:23,1 John 4:15,1 John 5:12}
* Those who are born of God practice righteousness. {1 John 2:29}
* Those who are born of God don’t make a practice of sinning. {1 John 3:6, 1 John 3:9-10,  1 John 5:18}
* Those who are born of God possess the Spirit of God.{1 John 3:24, 1 John 4:13}
* Those who are born of God listen submissively to the apostolic Word. {1 John 4:6}
* Those who are born of God believe that Jesus is the Christ.{1 John 5:1}
* Those who are born of God overcome the world. {1 John 5:4}

Nevertheless, mistakenly we tend to make two conclusions based on these verses:

“If you’re born again, you’re perfect. If you’re born again you don’t sin at all. There is no defeat in the Christian life. There is only victory.”

" we can loose our salvation. That is, we can be born again for a while and then begin to fail in these tests and die and lose the spiritual life that we were given in the new birth."

But John knew that his words could be misunderstood, so he explains further that Christians are not sinless, and born-again people cannot lose their spiritual life and be lost.

He says in 1 John 1:8-10, “If we say we have no sin [present tense], we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins [present tense], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” So John is at pains to say that “walking in the light” (1:7) does not mean walking flawlessly. It means that, when you stumble, the light of Christ causes you to see it and hate it and confess it and move forward with Christ.

1 John 2:19 says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

Jesus never promised that obeying him would be easy. But the hard work and discipline of serving Christ is no burden to those who love him. And if our load starts to feel heavy, we can always entrust Christ to help us bear it  {Matthew 11:28-30}

PRAYING ACCORDING TO GOD'S WILL




1 John 5 vs 14 and 15 teach us about prayer and God's will.

It is only when we know God's will for our lives that we can certainly ask for those things boldly.

In everyday situations when we are unsure whether something will be God's will or not {specially because we don't have a Bible verse to back up our specific petition} we must pray that His will is done and not ours. 

Another  thing to consider when praying for God's will in our lives is his timing. Many times we can pray for something that is the will of God, but until His timing is right in our lives we will not see the physical manifestation for our answer.

To ponder:

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:11) If you have the word of God to back up your requests, stand in faith and persevere in prayer until you see the results. But remember, real faith causes us to enter the rest of God, so waiting on Him should be a pleasant experience, not one of frustration and depression :-)

LET'S PRAY

God, thanks so much for the confidence we have that if we ask anything in Your name, according to Your will and in agreement with Your plan your are always faithful to listen and hear us (1 John 5:14)

1 John

Ramblings from a Grateful Heart on this Thanksgiving Eve {1John 3)

12:00 AM



On this Thanksgiving Eve here in America, I found I couldn’t move past the first verse of the chapter!
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not.” 1 John 3:1

The apostle John has always been my favorite of Jesus’ disciples, for I love that in John’s gospel he always refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. I can’t prove it, but I tend to think Jesus loved all the disciples, but the fact that Jesus loved him was  all consuming to John and all that mattered to him in terms of his identity! Can you relate?
The Strong’s Concordance defines the word, “behold” as a Greek imperative meaning – literally, "Be sure to see . . . !," i.e. "Don't miss this! It is an observable, objective fact!"
Can you see how important it was to John that you and I grasp how much the Father loves us? John is calling us to turn our attention to something extraordinary in his mind! "John is utterly spellbound in holy awe. “Behold,the love of the Father.” This was something that the apostle could not get over and he never will. Eternity will not exhaust its marvel.” - John Murray


Look and See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. —1 John 3:1-2

There are very few places in the Old Testament where God is referred to as Father. Jesus radically changed that when He came, by speaking of God as, “My Father,” “Our Father,” and “Your heavenly Father.” And John is desperate for us to grasps the manner of love the Father has “bestowed” on us, for when we do, it will change everything!

We worship a God who adopts His enemies through the sacrifice of His Son!  A God who makes us His children at the price of His only begotten. Can you imagine such a love!? That’s how much He loves YOU. It's overwhelming and awe inspiring! And John stands breathless in awe of this incredible truth. “Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us that we, we should be called children of God.” 

For, the Father’s love is the highest form of love; a devoted love as of a father for his child.  It’s a love that looks beyond our past with all its mistakes and failures.  It looks beyond our present faults and weaknesses!  It sees the potential in all of us as to what we can become with God’s help.  It sees in us what we can do when we put our lives into His hands and let Him shape us into His image.  
What manner of love is this?  It is a love that claims us as a true daughter/son, as one of the family, even as a soul worth dying for.

I remember as a young Christian, I had a hard time calling The Lord Jesus, my Friend. I could call Him, Lord, God, Savior, but Friend seemed so foreign that I actually prayed and asked Him to help me be able to call Him, "Friend"! Has that ever happened to you? Up until that time, my view of God had been of a righteous Judge! One to be feared and revered, but as I drew closer to The Lord (James 4:7-10; 1Pet 5:6-8) and as He began to reveal more and more of Himself to me (Phil 3:8,10), it really wasn’t long at all that one day, as I was praying I whispered, “...my Friend”. I can still remember the moment and the joy that filled my heart! It was in becoming more and more deeply and intimately acquainted with all He is that caused my love to grow and our relationship to deepen.  It seemed so trivial then, to share that moment with anyone else, but this is exactly what John is trying to convey here in this chapter!! For I believe John already understands that when we truly grasps the depths of God's love for us, constant sinners, that, this will be what will motivate us not only to obey and follow the Lord, but to turn and lavish His love on others as well!

Jesus told us, “If you love Me, you’ll keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever—  the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” - John 14:15-18

He also gave us a new command,


We know that God’s love (1 Cor 13) is not a feeling, but has always been active! It’s been proven time and time again by actions, which is precisely what John is pointing out in this chapter. He draws a line in the sand with those who are children of God on one side and those of the devil (3:8) on the other, and he exhorts those that are His to actively be about demonstrating the love that dwells within each of us!
And what better time to be reminded of these truth than on the eve of Thanksgiving; the day we set aside to give God thanks for all He has given to us!?
O Father, Please help us to continue to marvel over how amazing Your love for us is!! May we never loose sight of the depth of Your love for each one of us!! And may it cause us to love You all the more abundantly, so that it will begin to spill over unto others around us! 
If we could only grasps how deep and wide Your love is for each one of us today, I do believe we could hugely impact this world all for Your glory, honor and praise!! Amen

1 John

Walking In The Light {1 John 1}

12:00 AM




When John was in Ephesus he learned of false teachers infecting and dividing the church. And so he responded with this letter reminding believers of the foundational beliefs of the faith, and giving them assurance of their salvation. He packs a lot into this first small chapter of 1 John,  including the most beautiful teaching, “God is Light”.

To clear up any false ideas about Jesus, John begins by telling us exactly who Jesus is. First he says that Jesus is the “Word of Life”. John 1:1-4 says, “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” John goes on to say, “and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaimed to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” (v. 2) Jesus who is fully God, and who dwells eternally with the Father, “became flesh and dwelt amongst us” (John 1:14). He left His throne in heaven beside Almighty God, to save the world by ransoming Himself as a payment for the sins of all to whoever would receive Him as Lord and Savior. 

In response to this awesome truth, John tells us that he felt implored to share what he knew. “what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also” (v. 3) Why does John have this calling? “so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write so that our joy may be made complete.” (v. 3-4) John had a joyful relationship with the Lord, and this joy was made complete by leading others to having the same kind of relationship with Jesus. We too can have that same kind of joy with the Lord by walking in the light of God.

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (v. 5) John doesn’t say that God is a light, he says that God is Light. That means that He is righteous, pure, glorious, perfect, and holy. There is absolutely no sin to be found in Him. Not an ounce of immorality, nor a hint of injustice. We can trust Him completely, because He will never fail, forsake, or betray us. 

And not only is God light, but so is His Son. Jesus says in John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” Following Jesus means that no longer do we walk a path of darkness. No longer do we live for ourselves and the world, but instead we live for Him and to walk in His light. We let Him shine brilliantly through us by practicing love, humility, repentance, and obedience. “If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (v. 7)Walking in His Light helps us in our relationships with one another, and most wonderful of all, it allows us to experience continuous forgiveness for our sins through the blood of Jesus.




“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (v. 9) Confessing our sins means that we agree with God that what we’ve done was wrong in His eyes. And how does God respond when we tell Him that we’re sorry? I love this by Dr. Charles Stanley, “When you pour out your heart in genuine confession and repentance, God forgives you completely and declares you justified, no longer guilty in His eyes. The Lord understands your struggles and He wants you to find victory in them-not to continue to feel shame because of them. He is merciful and loving, which is why once you confess and repent, you are absolutely forgiven!”

Guilt and shame are powerful weapons of the enemy. They keep us from experiencing God’s very best for our lives, and the freedom that comes from His forgiveness. Our Father knows the very worst about us and loves us all the more. So the next time Satan whispers his lies in your ears, remember God’s truth. You are so very precious in His sight, so hold your head up high and walk in His Light!