Coming to the Still Waters

Today's verses are 1 John 5:13-15, which say, v.13 - "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." John is coming to the conclusion of this letter and we will see a lot of summary in these last verses over the next couple of days.  A favorite word of John in this section to the end of the book is the word "know." "These things" - all the things that John has written in this letter, were written so that the genuine Christian may "know" some things.  John gives the simple description of that person here as the genuine Christian is one who has been persuaded by the conviction of a truth that Jesus is the Son of God and  he is holding it in confidence.   We see the word "name" here that means "everything related to one" so the genuine Christian believes in all that relates to Jesus, the whole of Him. John writes this so the ge...

Today's verses are 1 John 5:10-12, which read, "The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.  And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." John has been continuing to talk about the genuine Christian.  The genuine Christian has not only the testimony of God which is greater than the testimony of man but that testimony is within us.  Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us but also to be reminder of Him and what He has said.  I think it is a serious condition to call God a "liar."   This person is saying to God that he doesn't believe that God sent His Son Jesus to provide salvation and eternal life.  "God did not do this,...

Today's verses are 1 John 5:5-9, which read, "Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?  This is the One came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood.  It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  For there are three that testify:  the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.  If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son." John starts with what he ended with last time.  The person who overcomes is the person who believes that Jesus is the Christ, loves God and others, and obeys (guards) His commandments.  What John does next is take the focus off of the one who has overcome to the One who made it possible that we could overcome the world, Jesus Christ. Jesus "...came by water and blood,..." ...

Today's verses are 1 John 5:1-4, which read, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.  For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith." "Whoever believes.." means that John is going to describe someone in this passage.  The person who believes "that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."   The person John is starting to describe is someone who has been persuaded to a conviction of a truth (the truth is that Jesus is the Christ) and holding onto it with confidence. "...whoever loves the Father love the child born of Him..." is another descriptor of this person that John is painting for us.  The...

Today's verses are 1 John 4:17-21, which read, "By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  We love, because He first loved us.  If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also." John is repeating a lot of material that we have covered already.  The part that might be new is the section about "fear."   If we keep this in context that "God is love" and also the statement about "confidence in the day of judgment" then we who are genuine Christians who love God will not have fear...

Today's verses are 1 John 4:15, 16, which read, v.15 - Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. "confesses" - "to agree with" but it also has an element of speech and also a gathering of others We gather together with others who also agree with God that Jesus is the Son of God and we voice this agreement.  I guess I dragged that out so that we could see that this is a personal relationship with God but it is not private.  It is to be spoken and it is to be spoken in assembly of others who also confess that Jesus is the Son of God.  I think what I am saying is from the word "confess" is that genuine Christian not only has this very unique relationship with Jesus but also a unique relationship with other genuine Christians. v.16 - We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.  God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. John goes into...

Here is some material that I have went through and have been going through and it seems fitting to the passage covered today in our devotions.  --Adam-- Today's verses are 1 John 4:11-14, which read, v.11 - Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Pretty straight forward statement here.  We are to follow the pattern of God's love.  God's love was sacrificial by giving of Himself through His Son Jesus Christ.  Our love to others needs to follow suit and be sacrificially from ourselves.  The word "ought" means "to owe to another."    v.12 - No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. John starts with a fact here that God is not visible, but if we are a genuine Christian that is shown by the fruit of that calling, then they will see God's love through us because He abides in us.  Maybe this is where that phrase came from, "You maybe the only B...

Today's verses are 1 John 4:7-10, which read, v.7 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. We need to start with the fact that God is the essence of love.  When we try to define love or look it up in the dictionary it should say and we should say, "God."   We do not start with our own definition or the world's definition of love but we start with the Creator of love and the Giver of love and the Definer of love.   If God's nature is love and we are created in the image of God and being transformed into the likeness of His Son, then we are to love one another because that is essence of God.  A Christian = loving as God loves.  This is the logical and created progression of someone who turns and follows Jesus. v.8 - The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. I have that campfire song going through my head now.  "Beloved, let us love one another...1 J...

Today we venture into chapter 4 of 1 John.  Verses 1-6 read, v.1 - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. John tells us that there are "other" spirits and that there are "false" prophets.  Those spirits we are to "test" (examine, prove, scrutinize) to see if they come from God.  Behind false teachers are false spirits and we have the Scriptures to show us what is right and true. v.2, 3 - But this you know the Spirit of God:  every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. The litmus test is the question of who Jesus is.  Does this teacher or teaching believe that Jesus was fully man(physically) and fully God(deity) ...

Today's verses finished out chapter 3 and they are 1 John 3:23, 24, which read, v.23 - This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. John is a good teacher and he is summarizing what he has already said.  Here are 3 things for the genuine Christian to remember, know, do, and be.   "...that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ,..." starts us out.  To believe is "to be persuaded of" and "to place confidence in" and that belief is in the name or "everything about" this one earthly named Jesus who is God's Son (deity) and the Christ (anointed One, prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament).   "...love one another,..." is the second bullet point in John's summary.  This "standing at the altar" type of love is for the church, your brothers and sisters in Christ. "...just as He commanded us." - is the third b...

Today's verses are 1 John 3:21, 22, which read, v.21 - Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;... Yesterday, our hearts condemned us because our feelings were bigger than our God.  God is greater than our feelings and God knows all but we choose to live our life based on our feelings and these facts are set aside.  If we live by the facts about God then our God is bigger than anything this world throws at us and our heart doesn't condemn but brims with confidence about our God.  These words are easier to type than to live out at times but John is giving those he loves dearly instruction to have a right relationship with God in action. I know that I have gotten myself into places I should not have been and thoughts I should not have had when my God is too small in my eyes.  I have short changed what He can do and what He knows that I don't know.  Our faith is not to be based on our feelings but on the facts of God...

Today's verses are 1 John 3:17-20, which read, v.17 - But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? This is a great verse to follow what John said yesterday about the genuine Christian having love for the brethren as Jesus did.  Yesterday it was about the ultimate sacrifice of laying down our lives but today it is the practical side of sharing what we have with those of the church who are in need.  The genuine Christian is not selfish because he or she realizes that what we have to give of the world's goods is just that "the world's goods."   They are things that can be replaced and will pass away or we will leave behind when we go.  They are temporary and not eternal.  God is the master of providing to us what we need of the world's goods and sometimes we are the distributor for God to those of the church who are in need of them.  The genuine Christia...

Today's verses are 1 John 3:13-16, which read, v.13 - Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. Don't wonder or be amazed genuine Christian if the world pursues to detest you.  "Wow John, what a great message to your brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is so uplifting." (sarcastically said)  This statement is becoming more real in our world every day.  There are people who are not tolerant of those of the Christian faith.  Seems so funny to write that after that has been the charge against Christians for so long. v.14 - We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.  He who does not love abides in death. How do you know that you are are genuine Christian?  Your actions show an unconditional love for the body of Christ.  John keeps going back to this point.  What does that love look like?  I know that it is not easy at times and sometimes requires apologizes, forgiveness, and ...

Today's verses are 1 John 3:11, 12, which read, v.11 - "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;..."     Yesterday we left off with John's second thing that we as genuine Christians need to be serious about.  We are to be serious about sin (that it is what God says it is) and we need to be serious about loving others.  This is a message that has not changed and has come to us from the beginning.  When we first heard about Jesus, we probably was told about His love.  "Jesus loves me this I know,..." or "Jesus love the little children..." may have been songs in those early Sunday School classes.  Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment and He directed the listeners to the "love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself" passage in the Old Testament. It is not optional for the genuine Christian to be lackadaisical about sin and it is not optional for ...

Today's verses are 1 John 3:9, 10 which read, v.9 - "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Context, context, context.  It could look like the one who is saved (born of God) never sins but in context what John is saying is the the one who is saved does not live a life characterized by sinful activity as the norm.  The one born of God should be known for his holy living by following the righteousness of Christ rather than his habitual sinful activity of following the devil.  This is one of the dangers of reading just a couple verses without the context of the whole passage or the whole book at times. Why can't we (those who are born of God) habitually sin as a pattern of life?  The answer that John gives is that Jesus' seed abides in us.  This is another great word picture to think about.  A seed grows and eventually produces fruit.  Jesus' seed is within us...

Today's verses are 1 John 3:7, 8, which read, v.7 - "Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;..." One thing to remember in this passage is that John is making a distinction between the sin and confession of that sin by the genuine Christian and compares that to the habitual sin or someone practicing sin as a way of life that leads to dismissal of sin.  This will be helpful to remember with the next devotional, too. The false teachers of the world will try to lead you astray to the facts about Jesus for they already don't believe Jesus is who He says He is and they disregard sin as something to abuse and/or redefine.  This is the main drive of the false teacher and they have a "great" teacher as their leader. John flips the coin.  Before he said, "Everyone who practices sin..." in verse 4 meaning all who make it a habit or way of life to sin and now h...

Today's verses are 1 John 3:4-6 which read, v.4 - Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. John continues to give his readers and us instruction in fact form.  If you practice sin you are also practicing going against God's word as if there is no law.  Going against God's word as if there is no law is sin.  The key here is understanding the word "practice."   Practice means "to make" with the emphasis on this being something you make a practice of doing.  "Everyone who makes it a practice of sinning on a regular basis."  We all sin but the genuine Christian should not be in the practice or looking for ways to sin but rather when they sin, they confess to go against the temptation to make it a practice. "Lawlessness" means "the condition without the law."  The person who makes it a practice to sin is also making it a practice to deny that God has a law of what is right an...

Here are just a few pictures from our new assignment - the event is called the SOUPER BOWL!!!

Today's verses are 1 John 3:1-3, which read, v.1 - See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.  For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. John bursts out this proclamation.  "Wow, look at how much God our Father loves us!" "great" - "this is out of this world" expression   "bestowed" - to give of something to another   "called" - to call aloud   "know" - "to learn to know" This is out of this world that God would give Jesus to us so He would call aloud that we are His.  The world does not learn to know this fact about us because they haven't learned to know that God sent His Son to save sinners. v.2 - Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.  We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. This is a ...

Today's verses are 1 John 2:28, 29, which read, v.28 - Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. John tells his readers to "abide in Him" in another area.  Yesterday it was to abide in God's teaching.  Today one of the ways is to abide in Jesus' second coming.  Let's look at some of the words. "appears" - to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way   "confidence" - freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech   "shrink away from Him in shame" - to disfigure   "coming" - presence Ones that I dearly love, remain in a love relationship with Jesus, so that when He makes Himself visible He will find us speaking openly and not becoming disfigured in the face of those who oppose the fact of His coming presence.  People over all ...

Today's verses are 1 John 2:26, 27 which read, v.26 - These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.   v.27 - As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. John gives us the third characteristic of the antichrist:  trying to deceive the faithful.  The first is they depart from the faith and the second is that they deny the true nature of Christ as presented in the Scriptures. "As for you,..." signifies again that John wants us and his readers to see God's way in light of the devil's distractions.  He points this out so that we will act upon it.  "...you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you..."   This phrase is the main one in the passage.  It is not I don't need to be...

Today's verses are 1 John 2:24, 25, which read, v.24 - As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.  If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. The "...as for you..." makes us compare to something else.  John has been telling us about antichrists and how they deny who Jesus fully is.  The antichrists can really look good but if there is not total allegiance to Christ, the fruit of their lives will reveal evidently another agenda (their own).   John says "...as for you...," his readers heard something from the beginning and what they heard was the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They heard the gospel, understood it, accepted it, bowed to it, and continue to live through it.  The word "abide" means "to remain" and the word "heard" means that along with normal hearing of the ear is the concept "to attend to" what is heard. You gav...

Our verses today are 1 John 2:21-23, which read, v.21 - I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. This is a very interesting verse in the way that it is written.  John has just told us about antichrists and that there is "one" coming in the last days and there have been "others" who have been among us (the church).  These are persons who have looked like us and sounded like us but true genuine Christians remain and don't depart from the church. John says I am going to tell you something that you already know and I am telling you this because you need to hear it again even though you already know it.  If we know the truth, we need to continue to hear the truth.  That is a big and important statement.  If we know the truth, we need to continue to hear the truth.  There I said it again.  I need to be reminded that no lie is of the truth.  Those lies wi...