1 John 2

How Do We Know (1John 2)

11:30 AM





Reading:1 John 2


I love how this chapter provides answers to so many questions.  Perhaps there are answers here to some of your questions. God wants us to have wisdom and understanding. He wants us to live an abundant life and He wants to provide us with an even better hope of an eternity spent with Him. 


How do we know that we have forgiveness of our sins?  Jesus is our advocate.  He presents His righteousness before the Father on our behalf.  “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (v1-2)


How do we know that we have truly surrendered our life to Jesus? How do we know that we are “His”?

  • We keep his commandments. (v 3)
  • We live our life with Jesus as our example “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (v6)
  • We love others with Christ like love. “Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble” (v10) This love for others is a recurring commandment in the Scriptures, a recurring theme from cover to cover. If you don’t have genuine love for others and think only of yourself, then you have been greatly deceived. In fact, you are just fumbling and stumbling through life with no lasting purpose. “But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.” (v11)  Sadly, it just takes a quick view of the current news headlines to see that there are plenty of people who are stumbling in the dark. 
  • We do not love worldly things. “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” (v16)


How do you know that you have power over Satan?  “...because you are strong , and the Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one”. (v14)


How do we know that we have eternity to look forward to? “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (v17) We must remain faithful to seek His will and apply His commands. “As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.” (v24-25)


How do we recognize those who are trying to deceive us (have the spirit of antichrist vs the Spirit of God) ?

  • They deny Christ. “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.” (v22)
  • They leave or turn away from faith in God. They don’t pass the test of time. . “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (v19)


How do we prepare for seeing Him face to face?  “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.” (v28-29)


Isn’t it comforting that His Word provides answers for the seeking heart. His Word is our blue print, our roadmap, our guide. His Word is a beautiful, compelling, true love story about God’s unequaled and unmerited love for all of mankind. His Word is our nourishment, our hope, our light, our truth. Bring your questions to God and ask Him to reveal answers and instructions to you, How do we know?  We remain in His Word. 

1 Corinthians 14

Appetizer Tomato Cheese Bread

7:22 AM





Appetizer Tomato Cheese Bread

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch rubbed sage
2 cups biscuit/baking mix
2/3 cup 2% milk
3 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
Paprika

In a small skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise and seasonings; set aside. In a bowl, combine the baking mix and milk to form a soft dough. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface; knead lightly for 10-12 times. Pat into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, pushing dough up sides of dish to form a shallow rim. Arrange tomato slices over top. Spread with topping; sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.





1 John 2

A Vital Priority: to Abide in Christ ( 1 John 2)

3:18 AM



1 John 2

Perhaps you have heard the motto “ to know Him and make Him known”. That is a good summation of what should be a high priority in the life of a Christian. John begins this chapter reminding us that Christ is “the propitiation for our sins.” Propitiation means He is the One who covers our sins and restores us to a right standing with God.  The whole purpose of having our sins atoned for is so that we can have a relationship with God. Accepting Christ as our Savior is the basis for that relationship but God wants us to know Him in an intimate way. How do we know Him? 
“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” (V3) 
He sent Jesus to this Earth to teach us, to be an example to us of His love and to guide us in how to live out the Christian life in the here and now. We are told numerous times in God’s Word to “ abide in “ Christ.  What does that mean?  
“whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (V6)  

Christ modeled to us what it means to express love, genuine concern, and devoted involvement in the life of others. Our relationship with Christ should impact our relationship with others. This is a dark world because of the impact of evil but Christ brings into this world the light of genuine love and truth. We are to shine that light into the lives of others by treating them as Christ would.  
We can’t “abide in Christ” if we do not love each other. “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” (V9-10) 

 I just attended the funeral of a loved one. After the service I was at his home where all of his “stuff” still filled the rooms and the yard. It reminded me that we truly do not take anything from this world with us. All that really matters when we draw our last breath is our standing with God, our relationship with Christ. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (V15-17) 
There are many things that compete for our attention in this life. Our priority as Christians, however, should be on Christ and abiding in Him. “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” (V 28-29) 

 We came into this world enveloped in sin and selfishness, separated from God. We desperately needed a Savior which God provided to us through Jesus Christ. He freely offers us all that we need in Christ and He tells us that it is vital for us to abide in Christ. God wants to transform us through His Spirit at work in our lives to make us more and more Christlike. By making our relationship with Him a priority, we can be used to impact the world around us.  

Bill Keynes, C.S. Lewis Institute 
“Abiding in Christ is the essence of the promise of the New Covenant—the God who commands us from the outside in the Old Covenant now comes to live within us in the New. Christianity is not a self- help religion, but a relationship with God through Jesus Christ that brings new life by the Spirit. In our union with Christ we are forgiven and in that union we are regenerated. We now participate in Christ—he is in us by the Spirit, and, in Martin Luther’s words, Christ himself is “the basis, the cause, the source of all our own actual righteousness.”  As we entrust ourselves to Christ and depend upon him, we are like branches that draw on the vitality of the vine to produce good fruit.”” 

1 John 2

Reconciliation (Philemon 1-25)

9:00 PM




Paul writes this brief letter to Philemon, a Christian brother, asking him to forgive and take back Onesimus (his former slave). Onesimus had run away from Philemon and apparently he had stolen from him. But now he has become a Christian and is helping Paul in prison.

As Paul greets Philemon showing his love and respect, he also appeals on behalf of “his spiritual son” Onesimus:

“I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.” (12-14)

Paul’s appeal is powerful because he stood beside a guilty man and said to the owner of the slave, “I know this man is a criminal and deserves punishment. Yet this slave is now of my family, so if you punish him punish me also. I stand beside him to take his punishment.” This is what Jesus does for us before our master, God the Father!

“My little children (believers, dear ones), I am writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God’s law. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father’s will in every way—purpose, thought, and action]. 2 And He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins [the atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us because of our sinful nature—our worldliness, our lifestyle]; and not for ours alone, but also for [the sins of all believers throughout] the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

“Here we see how Paul lays himself out for poor Onesimus, and with all his means pleads his cause with his master, and so sets himself as if he were Onesimus, and had himself done wrong to Philemon. Even as Christ did for us with God the Father, thus also does Paul for Onesimus with Philemon. We are all his Onesimi, to my thinking.” (Luther)

Now that Onesimus is in Christ he is not a slave of sin anymore, just as we were, too:

“For we too once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various sinful desires and pleasures, spending and wasting our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” (Titus 3:3)

In Christ Onesimus is now a useful person -by the fact: Onesimus means profitable, useful- (1:11)

 “It is significant to note that Paul claims that in Christ the useless person has been made useful.” (Barclay)

When Paul said to Philemon, “charge the wrong of Onesimus to my account,” (18-19) he essentially did for Onesimus what Jesus did for us in taking our sins to His account:

“ He personally carried our sins in His body on the [a]cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been [b]healed.” (2 Peter 2:24)

 Paul mentioned one more thing. “Philemon, remember that I have a lot of credit on your account, because you owe me even your own self besides.” Paul could afford to pay Onesimus’ expenses because there was a sense in which Philemon owed Paul his salvation!
Onesimus was obligated to return to his master. When we wrong somebody, we must do our best to set it right. We must make an effort for reconciliation!

“So if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and while there you remember that your brother has something [such as a grievance or legitimate complaint] against you, 24 leave your offering there at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come and present your offering.” (Mat. 5:23-24)

 Being made a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) does not end our responsibility to make restitution; it increases our obligation, even when restitution is difficult.

When Paul mentioned: “Knowing that you will do even more than I say” (21), he writes with confidence and hope, knowing through Philemon’s testimony (4-7), that he was a generous man. So that is why Paul could expect that Philemon would take Onesimus back, not as his slave but as a brother in Christ! (Gal. 3:28-29)

“Philemon was Paul’s son in the faith, yet he entreated him as a brother. Onesimus was a poor slave, yet Paul besought for him as if seeking some great thing for himself. Christians should do what may give joy to the hearts of one another. From the world they expect trouble; they should find comfort and joy in one another.” M. Henry

When I try to put myself in Philemon’s place I ask myself: “Would I have accepted Onesimus back into my house liberally, with joy and in total forgiveness?

“Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave [a]you.” (Ephesians 4:32 AMP)
“… bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive.” (Colossians 3:13 AMP)

I pray my Heavenly Father for this to become a reality in my life!
Mari




1 John 2

“This is how we know we are in Him” {1 John 2}

12:30 AM

November 21, 2017

John is now very old, and he writes with so much love in his heart.  And the words he shares with us should help in our assurance of our salvation.  I mean we all want to ‘make sure’ we are saved, right?

How do you know?  The first answer is in verse 6.  “Whoever claims to live in Him, must live as Jesus did.”

We are surrounded by people who claim to be Christian, but simply do not have Christ in them.  These people are doing different things by being involved in the church, but they are not truly belonging to the Church.  That’s called superficial faith.  John talked about it back in his gospel (John 2:23-25).  You can believe in Jesus, but not know Jesus.

Saving faith, on the other hand, looks different.  There are multitudes of people who will one day hear Jesus say, Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:23).

“We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands.” v. 3

“But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them.” v. 5

“Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.” v. 6

“…, its truth is seen in Him in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.” v. 8

“Anyone who loves their brother or sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.” v. 10

“If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.” v. 29

In order to have the assurance of our salvation, you can answer the questions John asks here.  “Who is the liar?”  It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ (v. 22-25).  We know that we’ve come to know Him if we keep His commands.  Okay, you’re thinking, but we keep sinning.  Here’s the thing – it’s not based on your performance.  It’s based on Christ’s performance in you!  That’s the mystery of our faith!  Okay, so you’ve sinned, how do you have the assurance of your salvation then?  “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.  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”  1 John 7-8

Once we’ve been born again, sin is not completely gone from our life and we are not perfect!  When we sin and we are followers of Christ, we hate that sin.  We see it for what it is, and we don’t continue to indulge ourselves in it.  We don’t continue to sin because we are in the light and the light exposes our sin, and we have an advocate who has forgiven us of our sins.

The work of Christ in your life is the assurance of your salvation.  Every time He gives you victory over sin, He reminds you “You are mine.  You have my power.”  (Isaiah 43:1)

Victory over sin

Think about it – have you ever battled a sin in your life and you tried and tried to do better only to fail over and over, or possibly felt victory because of something you choose to do differently, only to fall flat on your face and eyeball deep, face-to-face with the ugliness of your sin?  So you try one more time.  Confess.  Repent.  Breathe.  True, heart-felt sorrow for your sin.  Overwhelming sadness because of your behavior.  You hate your sin.  You never want to taste the bitterness of that sin again.  Then one day…. holy smokes…. you no longer have the urge, the slightest inclination to do ‘that’ again!  That’s all Jesus’ performance in you!  And that’s the assurance of your salvation!

The assurance of our salvation is really what we become.  We become more like Jesus.  Even the secular world tells us “you become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” (Jim Rohn). 

A friend of mine shared how she had to recognize that a certain behavior was a sin before she could get over it and move on.  Sometimes we have been so hurt by someone, usually it’s a family member or a very close friend, and it’s usually because we are Christian and they are not.  They always claimed to follow Christ, yet lived in the world too.  Yet, until the scales fell from your eyes, you always saw this person as an equal, as a Christian.  But then, they noticed you were different, you stopped using certain words, you stopped hanging out with them, and they may even have made mocking jokes about your bible study, or church activities, or any number of things.  And you were hurt – hurt so much, and you tried to go back to them, tried to participate in your old activities or family events.  Or possibly you invited them to something new you are doing with your ‘new’ Christian friends.  They notice you are different!  And you feel fantastic for your new freedom in Christ and you want to share it!  But they become more and more hurtful towards you and say nasty things to you.  But you have that one common dominator in your life.  Typically it’s either a parent or another mutual friend that keeps bringing you together and you are going to bump into them.  This is where we have to stop being so blind (blinded by darkness) and bring the light of Christ to them!  Allow Christ to heal you from clinging to this anger you have for them not being what you thought they were or could be.  Stop expecting them to be different.  Ask Christ to remove that ugly stick in your eye and allow you to love like Him. 

Visible proof of Christ in your life is your ability to love – everyone – the assurance of your salvation is your ability to love.  Ladies, let go of what prevents you from loving your neighbor, your co-worker, your former best friend, your sister, your brother, your mother or your father.


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