Victory through Faith, by way of the Holy Spirit

For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5 - NLT)

The 5th chapter of 1st John teaches about living in fellowship and about having faith in the Son of God. The 1st verse states very boldly, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God.” This belief comes from the Holy Spirit, by accepting (or receiving) this as truth we become empowered by that same Holy Spirit to love Jesus and other Christians as Christ loves. Also, by our faith we are enabled to obey God and overcome the evil temptations of this world. Through faith we can love God and live in obedience to Him (verse 4).

We all face adversity in our lives, believing in Christ, having faith that our Creator is in control does not shield us from the woes of this world. We must at times face disappointments, tragedies, and senseless death, we sometimes endure/witness the harshness of how men treat other men. I find comfort in God’s words here in verses 4 and 5, when we have accepted God’s grace we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome the passing hardships, (I stress passing here because this world is passing and we have a promise, from God, that these things will pass), by relying on Gods strength, Gods love, and Gods promise of eternal life with Him.

It strikes me as strange that as humans we are ready to accept the testimony of other humans, but struggle with the testimony of God. Verse 9, John states that “God has testified about His Son.” And verse 10, “All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about His Son.” I do not want to take that path, calling God a liar seems to be a very dangerous statement.

We know God has promised all believers eternal life, verse 11, “And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” If we have Christ in our lives we have life! On the other hand if we do not have Christ we do not have life. We talk about what God has promised from the point of life I rarely here about the promise of death if we do not have Christ.

Reading further in verse 14 and 15 we learn that if we talk to God He will hears us when we ask for “anything” that pleases Him. Knowing that He hears us gives us knowledge that He will give us what we ask for.

Now comes a subject most Christians prefer not to talk about, verses 16 through 21 talk about “keeping from sin.” Whew, touchy topic, but John writes that if we see a fellow Christian sinning in a way that does not lead to death, we should pray for that person and God will give them life. But if there is a sin that leads to death, “I (John) am not saying you should pray for those who commit it,” (Verse 16). “All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.”

Exactly what is John saying here? Lets see what Jesus had to say in Matthew 12:31-32: “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven – except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.” Wow, strong statement here from Jesus! What does He mean, “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”? The Pharisees’ had just accused Jesus of using the power of Satan to cast out demons, knowing that the Holy Spirit was the true power of Christ. We may stumble of Jesus revelation about Himself being the Son of Man and be forgiven, but we cannot be forgiven for attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. We cannot outright reject the convictions of the Holy Spirit concerning Christ; we cannot ultimately reject the Good News! Jesus Christ Himself states that we will NOT be forgiven if we reject Him period!

We know that God people do not make a habit of sinning, God’s Son, Jesus Christ, hold us securely, Satan cannot touch us. We know that we are God’s children and the world around us in under the control of Satan. We know that God’s Son has come and has given us understanding through the Holy Spirit, giving us the true knowledge of God. We can now live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with His Son. He is the only true God and He is eternal life.

The One True God, I humbly come before you know to give you thanks and praise for making provisions for us to have eternal life. Jehovah Jireh (the Lord Provides – Genesis 22:14), I ask that when we are troubled you heal us. I ask that when we are afraid you protect us. When we are discouraged to lift us up. Lord when we are in the midst of adversity please allow us to trust in you and your plan for us. Father make us humble and patient await your will for our lives. Abba Father, whatever we find ourselves in give us heart to always give thanks and praises and glorify you. In the name of You Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

Love, the very nature of God

Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Here we see that faith, hope and love are elevated above spiritual gifts because they “will last forever.” It seems that almost everything I have read in the past few weeks has talked about love and how this is a commandment from God. Faith and hope are indispensable but “love” is the “greatest,” we are commanded to love one another just as Christ has loved us (read, John 13:24). We are not advised to, or encouraged to… we are commanded to love. This is an enormous responsibility, but as Christ followers we are obligated to live according to this command from God.

I have learned through scripture that love is the quintessential nature of God himself. Jesus Christ demonstrated this at Cavalry, when He gave His life on the Cross opening a door for us granting us access to the Father. We are called upon to return His love by sharing it. Starting today, let us share the love of Christ with our families, friends, lets even share it with total strangers! If we do this others might come to know Him, who chose us. What a powerful way to love God, allow Him to reach others through us. I can think of no better way to bring glory to my Savior than to share Him.

Loving Father,
I understand that loving you and one another is a command from you. Father, I do not have the strength or the wisdom to carry out this commandment on my own. Please Father; help me to always remember that love is a gift from You, a costly gift, and one that I can never earn or repay. Give me the guidance I need to cultivate love and to treasure this precious gift, now and always. I pray this in the name of the one who showed us how to love, Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Spiritual Maturity

When I was a child. I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:11-13)

One thing I have learned is that spiritual maturity is a life long progression we have to continue to grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ until we have the benefit of meeting him face to face. Here in the 13th chapter of Corinthians, Paul is telling the people of Corinth that love is what defines our worth to God and the church, not the spiritual gifts we have received from God, in fact without love our spiritual gifts are of no value. Verse 11 Paul explains the process of maturity and how as God’s children we must be ever growing in our faith and knowledge, or as Norman Vincent Peale put it, “Ask the God who made you to keep remaking you.”

As we read on into verse 12 Paul talks about how our knowledge of God is limited here in this life, but how we will know everything once Christ establishes his eternal kingdom, then we will see everything with perfect clarity. Verse 13 Paul explains to us that faith, hope and love are more important than spiritual gifts because they last forever and of these three the greatest is love, because love is the exemplary nature of God himself. Read 1 John 4:7-12.

Abba Father, I have so many more things to learn, I ask that you give me the will and courage to never give up, to never stop want to learn more about you and to know you more. I need you to keep me yearning to grow Father and I need your strength to develop me into the man you desire me to be. I pray this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Obey - Ouch

1) My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2) He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

3) We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4) The man who says, :I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5) But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6) Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:1-6)

During this time of Lent, this scripture really tells me who I belong to and how I must react. In the first verse John makes a curious statement, “I write this to you so you will not sin.” We understand that as fallen humans we are born sin, however here John seems to think that if we follow what he is about to write that somehow it can prevent us from sinning. Then the very next line he helps us for the times we fail by saying, “But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father I our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous one.” John does understand that we will make mistakes at the same time we can strive to live a sin-free life.

This scripture, as well as this time of year, reminds us what Jesus has done, and continues to do, for us. First he became man and took on our sin in his death and then defeated death with his resurrection. Verse three John tells us that we know that we have come to know Christ if we obey his commands. Ouch, obey, this seems to be a four-letter word today, one that causes us discomfort, well feel threatened, that if we have to obey anything or anybody, our human rights are compromised. However, John tells us in verse four, if we say we know Christ, “but does not do what he commands,” we are liars, the truth is not in us. John goes on to say here, if we do obey Christ words, “God’s love is truly made complete in,” in us.

The world will only know God’s love if we try to live a God centered righteous life. We have the power of God’s love living in us in the form of the Holy Spirit; the power that created everything lives in us. We need to allow this power to work through us, to reach the world with God’s love, through obedience of his word and commandments. We must work together with the Holy Spirit and try hard to live by the words John wrote here in verse six; “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

Father permit Your Spirit to live through me, help me to live by the power of this Spirit to obey your commandments each and every day, and aid me in assisting other to live by your commandments. Father I need your wisdom to walk in the righteous footsteps of Your Son, to follow the path to Your kingdom. Father I need so much to trust in you not just for today Father but everyday until I get to come be with You. I pray this in the name of Jesus, Your Son, my Savior and Brother. Amen.

God Forgives

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Confess – not and easy thing to do. Doing a word search in the NIV I found 41 instances to the word confess, from Leviticus through 1 John, and each time the theme of turning from their sin goes along with it. We are promised that if we ask God for forgiveness, He will give it! He does not ask for explanations, He ask no questions, He just forgives. This is the very nature of God. God’s ability to love and forgive is immeasurable and immediate you ask He forgives.

Then there is the word Repent, which shows up 75 times in the NIV, and always, goes along with some sort of confession and turning from sin. In Merriam-Webster’s on-line Dictionary the definition of Repent is - to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life. To the amendment of one’s life, to turn from sin. Here in 1 John we are told that if we confess our sin God will forgive us. I think we need to take God up on His offer. Even though we may feel that we do not deserve God’s forgiveness, that our sins are to great, that there is no way a loving God would have a use for a sinner like me (speaking from experience). God shows no favoritism, God is bigger than any sin. There is no one living outside the Grace of God, NO ONE.

Also, on the subject of forgiveness, as I said God shows not favoritism in His Grace, neither should we. We have to forgive everyone that you feel has wronged you, not just those who ask for it or the ones who have made it up to you. God forgives everyone, completely, so should we, anything less is insufficient.

Heavenly Father, confessing my sins to you is one of the hardest things I do. I ask that you give me the courage and strength to be open and honest with you. I know that I have been forgiven in my heart. I want to feel confident that my honesty will not condemn me but free me. Your love and forgiveness knows no boundaries and that is where I want to live father, in Your love and forgiveness. Father I ask that you grant me the strength and ability to forgive as You forgive, without question, needing no explanation, just forgive as You do. You have given me the gift by forgiving me. Please help me to share that gift with others. In the name of Your Son and my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.