Sunday, April 27, 2014

God's Friends

God's love is amazing, steady and unchanging.



1 John 3:1-3  See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know Him.   

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.

Have you ever been amazed by God's love? The most holy and perfect God loves the one little piece of his creation that rebelled against him. All of the rest of creation was working perfectly except for the human race, they decided they wanted to be God, they thought that maybe God was holding them back. God has definitely proven that we were wrong about that.

God loves us so much that he adopted us into his family, just like an earthly family adoption, the parents get to choose to have a child join their family. Somebody that doesn't have any rights to such a benefit. The child that is chosen gets to enjoy the security and love that the natural born children have.
2 Samuel 7:19-23  "How great You are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like You. We have never even heard of another God like You!
If you think it's good to be a child of God then just wait because it gets better. We are his children and we have gained a lot of blessings as a result but we haven't received the full benefit. Ultimately we will look just like a blood relative, usually an adopted child doesn't look like his new parents, when Jesus returns for his children he will change us and we will look like him.
Romans 12:2  Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
We will be like him but that isn't something that we should put off until then, we should start the process of becoming like our Savior immediately, God wants to start making changes in our life right now. This process will look very strange to our friends that do not know our Savior. They won't understand us because they don't have a relationship with God, they don't know him so they don't know his ways and when we live according to his ways then we look very strange to them.
God's Love Is Huge
Ephesians 3:18-19  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.  19  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
God's love is sacrificial, eternal, and it is beyond measure. There is no end to what he will do for his friends, try as much as you want but we cannot understand it, anybody that would die for you has proven their love is huge. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Have you been adopted into the family? Are you on friendly terms with God?
John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Adoptions are very expensive and our adoption into God's family was no different. The Bible tells us that he paid the ultimate price to make it happen. The only thing we have to do is accept the opportunity to be in the family, we don't have to worry that we have to behave good enough , God's gracious love for us was proven while we were yet sinners. (Romans 5:8)

Thank you Lord for allowing me to come close to you as a child in your family and as a friend! I want to live each day with an appreciation for how incredibly well you have treated me.

Find out more about having a relationship with God.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

God's Enemies

Whose side are you on?



1 John 2:18-21  Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.   

19  These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.   

20  But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you His Spirit, and all of you know the truth.  21  So I am writing to you not because you don't know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies.

John 10:10  The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Can you imagine the nicest person that ever lived? Someone that always loved the people around them, they gave away everything they owned, they had kind words for everybody they knew. Can you imagine somebody hating that person? Sounds absurd doesn't it?

That's how crazy it seems to those that love God. We can't imagine that somebody so good could have an enemy and be so despised. We cannot understand the opposition in the New Testament from the religious crowd much less comprehend the hatred that was poured out on Jesus when he was beaten and crucified.

One terrible example of somebody that was against God in a great way:
Around 168 B.C. a man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes came to the fore of Jewish history. Epiphanes means "the great one." He gave himself that name. He instituted the death penalty for anyone who circumcised a child or owned a copy of the law. He erected an altar to Zeus in the courts of the Temple. He sacrificed a pig on the altar in defiance of Jewish law. He turned the Temple chambers into brothels.
This man took deliberate steps to go against God and desecrate the Temple. The things that he did give us a picture of the coming Antichrist.
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first."
The Bible warns us that in the last days the Antichrist will come but we need to watch out because there are a lot of other smaller antichrist that are already here. Some of these antichrist were people that had been a part of the local church but they left to follow some false teaching. Some of the people that you think are backsliders may have never been true believers.

The early church had to deal with a lot of false teachers, the devil had to do everything that he could to oppose the beginning of the church, he couldn't allow the gospel to spread without protest, he was ready to infiltrate the church with false doctrine to take away from the gospel. (Acts 20:29-30)
“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me." 
 We have to be careful about where we stand. Jesus drew a line in the sand and said you have to decide which side you are on. We need to be very cautious, anybody could step across the line and be opposed to the work that God is doing, the opposition can be so subtle.

Just look at how quick and easy it happened to Simon Peter when he opposed the idea of Jesus being crucified. Even Jesus had to decide whose side he was going to be on when he was tempted by Satan. (Matthew 4:1-11, 16:23)
God's Enemies Will Lose
Isaiah 54:17  But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from Me. I, the LORD, have spoken!
We have been warned, the ultimate victory belongs to our God, it doesn't matter what the devil or his followers do or what weapon they use. This is another fact that is difficult to understand, doesn't he know he isn't going to win? The Bible tells us that Satan's power is inferior to God's and it shows us many examples of God's power defeating Satan but he won't stop his war against God.

I have to decide if I am going to be friends with God or if I am going to take sides with his enemy. There are way too many people that claim to be a child of God that are being way too friendly with the world. A backslider is in a dangerous situation, we must wonder if he is really a backslider or maybe he wasn't ever a true believer, only God knows for sure. (James 4:4, 1 John 2:19)

If you think this world is a battle ground, just remember the unseen world is doing battle far greater than what we can see and we don't know everything that is going on behind the scenes, Jesus told Peter, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you." Peter didn't have a clue about the battle and that Satan was after him. (Luke 22:31–32, Ephesians 6:12)

Lord help me to be aware of the devils strategy and to stand my ground.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Who Do You Love

If you really love God then you will love everybody.



1 John 2:7-11  Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment--to love one another--is the same message you heard before.  Yet it is also new.

Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

If anyone claims, "I am living in the light," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.  10  Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.  11  But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

Oh no, not that commandment again, do we still have to love everyone? We were told to love a thousand years ago way back in the book of Leviticus and now Jesus comes along and starts telling us to keep on loving. (Leviticus 19:18)

You need to realize that the Bible is a love story, it is the story of a loving God falling in love with his creation and desiring to have a relationship with man. The Bible teaches us everything we need to know about love and how to make relationships work the way they should. If you do a search on the word love in the four gospels you will find the word mentioned 73 times in 53 verses.

If you really love God then you will love everybody else. Jesus made it even more obvious that "the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13), he redefined love and took it to the next level and then he challenged us to love in the same extreme way that he did.
Who Do You Live For
1 John 2:15-16  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.  16  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.
The people of the world belong to the age of darkness, they do not live in the light and they make their decisions according to their own desires. They long to have many possessions, to be busy indulging in pleasure, achievements, or status.

Christians belong to the new age of light, the eternal kingdom where God’s values rule and his will is done. We are not to love the world or it's idea of what is important or pleasing. The only thing that we should love in this world is our Savior and our neighbor.
John 14:31  But I will do what the Father requires of Me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let's be going.
I need to live like Jesus wants me to live so that the world will know that I am in love with him. Jesus knew the requirements that the Father had put on him and he was willing to be obedient to prove his love for God the father and for his neighbor.

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Living As Jesus Did

Are you living life God's way or your way?



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.

Most of us remember being separated from our parents in a large store when we were young. They told you not to wonder away from them but you disobeyed and now you are standing there all alone in a panic.

All of a sudden you realize that you cannot do life without them. This brief encounter makes it obvious to you that you are helpless without them and you swear that for now on you will stick to them like glue. How long does that last before you start to drift apart from them again?

We treat God the same way, he tells us how to live and that we should stick by his side but then we decide to wonder off and before too long we find ourselves in a panic. Living life our way seems like fun for a while but then something happens and we don't know what to do. We know that if we live the way that Jesus told us to live then we will have the peace and security that we desire to have in this crazy world.

The Bible makes it clear that we cannot do anything to earn a ticket to heaven but it also makes it clear that getting a ticket to heaven isn't the end of the story. We don't get to behave the way that we want just because of grace. We don't get a free ride just because we said a special prayer. In case you overlooked 1 John 2:6 let me show it to you again:
"Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did."
How can you think that you know him when it doesn't have an effect on the way you live? Do you really understand what Jesus did for you?
Obedience Matters
Psalms 119:4-8  You have charged us to keep Your commandments carefully.  Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect Your decrees!  Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with Your commands.  As I learn Your righteous regulations, I will thank You by living as I should!  I will obey Your decrees. Please don't give up on me!
It is disturbing to me that many people die that didn't have any signs in their lifestyle that they "knew Him," their life didn't show any signs of a relationship with God, they were not obedient to God's commands yet their family suddenly gets all spiritual about them after they are gone. Do we have any reason to believe that they really "knew Him" and that their eternal destiny is heaven?

Human nature wants to live life to satisfy our own desires until life throws something difficult at us but for those who really know God, their love for him will bring about obedience, their lives will become increasingly like the life of Christ.

The best thing for us to do is to obey God but first we have to get to know God and know what he expects from us. The Bible makes it clear that if we really understand who we are and how bad our situation is while we are lost in our sin then obedience to God's rules won't be optional. If we really understand who God is and get to know him and realize how much he did for us then it must have an impact on the way we live.

Help me Lord to fully comprehend how much you did for me that I could never do for myself. Only then will I desire to obey you completely.

More scripture on love and obedience: John 14:15, 14:21-24, 14:31, 15:10, 21:17

Thursday, April 03, 2014

Stop Picking On Me

God is our refuge, our strength and salvation, a mighty fortress is the Lord Almighty!



1 John 2:1-2  My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the One who is truly righteous.  He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins--and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

John 14:16  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.

There is a lot of talk these days about bullying, one of the greatest challenges as a kid is trying to feel good about yourself and attempting to fit in, I didn't achieve either one of those goals until I was way past childhood. Insecurity is one of our greatest enemies and none of us are ever completely free of this battle.

There is a bully that stands strong against us with exceptional power, his goal is to cause us great harm, he wants us to feel as insecure as a little child. Satan wants to keep me from realizing my position as a child of God, he wants me to continue living in the guilt of my past mistakes, he wants me to believe that I will never be good enough.

I don't have to stand in the courtroom in front of God the Father with only the Accuser by my side. Thank God I have a defense, I have an advocate that stands there with me before the judge, he speaks on my behalf to protect me from every attack that the Accuser brings. The work that Jesus did through his death and resurrection and continues to do for me
Who dares to accuse me?
Romans 8:33-34  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one--for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself.  34  Who then will condemn us? No one--for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us.
Who is accusing you? Who is condemning you? Is he greater than your defender? While Jesus was here with his disciples he was their counselor, a guide, and a friend. He had instructed them, he endured their prejudices and ignorance, and he consoled them when they were hopeless. We have the same care that they had, the Holy Spirit is our comforter, teacher and helper in the same way that Jesus disciples had him.

If you are a child of God then the Accuser has already been defeated and you don't need to listen to what he has to say about you. I love the way this song reminds me of the power and help that we have on our side:

Defender (Call Upon the Name)
Words and Music by: Travis Doucette

He is near to the broken
Close to the weary of heart
In His name is a refuge
A safety for the weak and discarded

There is help for the hopeless
For the wounded in need
In the presence of Jesus
There is power unleashed

Call upon the name of the Lord
He's our defender, our deliverer
A shelter in the midst of the storm
Jesus, our Savior
He is King over all

I will sing of my Redeemer
Testify to the touch of His hand
Lifted me from disaster
Set my feet on a solid rock to stand

God is our refuge, our strength and salvation
A mighty fortress is the Lord Almighty!
There is no equal, no power beside Him
Forever our champion is the Lord our God!
Thank you Lord for loving me and taking care of me everyday!