John was known as the Apostle of love, but that didn't mean he was a 'softy.' He showed great affection for Jesus as he followed Him through the seasons of His earthly ministry; was found leaning against Jesus' bosom at the final Passover in the upper room. But Jesus had also nicknamed him and his brother, James, the "sons of thunder!" There was also something energetic, loud, even explosive about John. The Spirit of Jesus guides that personality and the pen of John in this tiny epistle.
John says there is grace and mercy and peace in Christ, but these gifts of God's love do not render our relationship with him free from discipline. John says our love for Christ must still take the form of a very disciplined lifestyle. A life of true love exhibits careful obedience to the teaching of Christ. One might think with all that mercy and grace and forgiveness, that the Christian walk wouldn't sound so much like the Old Testament compliance to the Law. And it's not the same, as the love of God in Christ has set us free from the Law. But John, as a disciple who liked to sit and follow close to Jesus, still has the Master's words ringing in his ears - "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Obedience is still a huge part of the Christian faith.
We must devote ourselves to pressing in close, leaning on the bosom of our Lord, attending carefully to His words as captured by the Scriptures and reinforced by the convicting and guiding Holy Spirit. Obedience to a clearly defined teaching, the teaching of Jesus, is the hallmark of the one who truly loves God. The word "disciple" was not invented by Jesus. That idea and the reality of that idea existed long before Jesus came on the scene. The people of Jesus' day who recognized Him as a Rabbi, a master teacher, saw Him as 'disciple-worthy.' He was worth leaving home and occupation for. He was worth traveling behind and crowding near so that the pearls of His teaching would fall into their palms. It was worth getting into trouble with Him and watching Him enflesh His teaching, for Jesus did not practice what He preached - He preached what He practiced. This required of His disciples devotion and discipline and sacrifice and hard choices.
Do you love Jesus? Are you His disciple? Do you love Him? Are you obedient then to His teaching? Do you know His teaching? Do you love Jesus? Are you committed and sacrificing and making the effort it takes to sit at His feet to learn the truth of the Master? John did, and remembers Jesus saying this ...
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:9-11
So to grace and mercy and peace -- add another gift -- joy! Know God's commands. Obey them. This demonstrates your love for Him. And in this lifestyle of careful obedience, the joy of Jesus comes to fullness in you.
Pray: Master, make me a disciplined, studious, imitator and follower of Yours. Help me to know the teaching that John is talking about and help me to obey it. If obedience is an act of love, then help me to obey -- because I love You.
1 John 5:1-21 - Accept No Substitutes
A young adult textbook on the history of American advertising has chapter titles with the familiar phrases - Satisfaction Guaranteed, Ask For It By Name, and New & Improved. In fact, the title of the book is the classic exhortation of manufacturers to "Accept No Substitutes!" However, the variety of choices one faces within a single product category let's you know that people did NOT just stick with the 'genuine article,' the original. People DID accept substitutes. And they did for myriad reasons. They got bored with the original. They had a bad experience with an original. They couldn't afford the original. The newer version was better than the original.
Our text today is the final chapter of 1 John, and it ends in a quirky, abrupt manner. There is no farewell, no greetings sent by John from his partners in ministry, no benediction. There is just that one short sentence, detached from the previous paragraph. One brief exhortation that stands alone; the parting shot meant to ring and linger in the readers' ears.
"Keep yourselves from idols."
Considering that John has made so much of the necessity to believe in and trust Jesus as the Son of God and our only hope of eternal life, this final salvo from the pen of the apostle resonates as an ancient
"Accept No Substitutes."
Southern Seminary President Al Mohler, Jr. expressed in an interview with Newsweek's Jon Meacham that "The post-Christian narrative is radically different; it offers spirituality, however defined, without binding authority. It is based on an understanding of history that presumes a less tolerant past and a more tolerant future, with the present as an important transitional step." To this Meacham responds, "The present, in this sense, is less about the death of God and more about the birth of many gods." Mohler is observing happening in the 21st century what John warned against in the First! People are not keeping themselves from idols.
Mohler's interview is part of an article Meacham wrote entitled, "The End of Christian America." The subtlety here is that self-identified Christians are already idolaters because they are devoted to a religious culture that they understand to be Christianity, but have very little devotion to Jesus Himself. Others call themselves Christian because they have mined some values and principles out of the text of Scripture and are living by them. They are devoted to ideas but not devoted to Jesus Christ. This is the de-personifying of God and the mythologizing of the Biblical narrative. These are forms of idolatry.
And John gave us a twenty century head start on recognizing and resisting these idols. Thus, his heavy emphasis on the reality of God incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. 'We saw Him, we heard Him, we touched Him!' John emphasizes Jesus' person and His work and the outcomes of that divine life. He came by water - He was born of Mary as an actual human being. He came by blood - born to die the atoning death for the remission of sin for all mankind. He came by the Spirit - who led Him and raised Him victorious from the grave, and resides in each believer to assure us of these truths.
Do you want to know truth? Do you want peace and joy and hope? Do you want freedom from the burden of evil and strength to walk in a new way of life? Do you desire eternal life?
It is all to be found in Jesus and Jesus alone. He is the 'genuine article.'
Accept no substitutes.
Pray: Jesus, engage me and place Your Spirit in me that I may know for certain that you are not fiction or force, but a living personal God who loves me beyond measure. Help me when my faith wanes and I begin to entertain the idolatrous substitutes of the world. Testify with water, blood and Spirit; take me to the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb.
Our text today is the final chapter of 1 John, and it ends in a quirky, abrupt manner. There is no farewell, no greetings sent by John from his partners in ministry, no benediction. There is just that one short sentence, detached from the previous paragraph. One brief exhortation that stands alone; the parting shot meant to ring and linger in the readers' ears.
"Keep yourselves from idols."
Considering that John has made so much of the necessity to believe in and trust Jesus as the Son of God and our only hope of eternal life, this final salvo from the pen of the apostle resonates as an ancient
"Accept No Substitutes."
Southern Seminary President Al Mohler, Jr. expressed in an interview with Newsweek's Jon Meacham that "The post-Christian narrative is radically different; it offers spirituality, however defined, without binding authority. It is based on an understanding of history that presumes a less tolerant past and a more tolerant future, with the present as an important transitional step." To this Meacham responds, "The present, in this sense, is less about the death of God and more about the birth of many gods." Mohler is observing happening in the 21st century what John warned against in the First! People are not keeping themselves from idols.
Mohler's interview is part of an article Meacham wrote entitled, "The End of Christian America." The subtlety here is that self-identified Christians are already idolaters because they are devoted to a religious culture that they understand to be Christianity, but have very little devotion to Jesus Himself. Others call themselves Christian because they have mined some values and principles out of the text of Scripture and are living by them. They are devoted to ideas but not devoted to Jesus Christ. This is the de-personifying of God and the mythologizing of the Biblical narrative. These are forms of idolatry.
And John gave us a twenty century head start on recognizing and resisting these idols. Thus, his heavy emphasis on the reality of God incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. 'We saw Him, we heard Him, we touched Him!' John emphasizes Jesus' person and His work and the outcomes of that divine life. He came by water - He was born of Mary as an actual human being. He came by blood - born to die the atoning death for the remission of sin for all mankind. He came by the Spirit - who led Him and raised Him victorious from the grave, and resides in each believer to assure us of these truths.
Do you want to know truth? Do you want peace and joy and hope? Do you want freedom from the burden of evil and strength to walk in a new way of life? Do you desire eternal life?
It is all to be found in Jesus and Jesus alone. He is the 'genuine article.'
Accept no substitutes.
Pray: Jesus, engage me and place Your Spirit in me that I may know for certain that you are not fiction or force, but a living personal God who loves me beyond measure. Help me when my faith wanes and I begin to entertain the idolatrous substitutes of the world. Testify with water, blood and Spirit; take me to the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb.
1 John 4:1-21 - Digging Down to the Heart of the Matter
Bear Grylls filters water (< see the video) from a stream by digging a trench parallel to the stream. As his trench goes below the level of the stream, water filters through the earth and sand and seeps into the trench. The water drawn from the trench looks brown and unappealing, but it has been filtered and will not carry the parasites that would have been ingested from drinking directly out of the stream. On the surface, one source of water looks just as good as the other. But one is safe and free from disease and the other isn't. Funny, the good stuff is NOT the water drawn from the mainstream, but from a smaller source off to the side.
Love is like that. The definitions and behaviors called love in our mainstream culture are tainted and unhealthy. It is the less obvious, off to the side definition of love found in the gospel that is the good stuff. "I wanna know what love is," anguished Foreigner in the pop rock ballad. It is an age old question asked every minute of every day. What does the apostle John tell us about love? How do we filter out all the many-varied definitions and worldly behaviors and come to the real thing? Here's what he says ...
Love comes from God.
God loves us.
God demonstrated love when He sent His Son into the world.
God's love was self-sacrificing.
Love will give up something so that another may gain.
Our love can reflect God's love.
God's love can be made perfect in us if we will strive to be like Jesus.
Love never frightens or intimidates because love never seeks to harm.
Love doesn't discriminate; love is for all.
Jesus Himself said, "No greater love has anyone than this - that they lay down their life for a friend." Love is willing to give up everything for the one it loves. Jesus did more than that. "Even while we were still sinners Christ died for us." He laid down His life for an enemy. His is the ultimate love.
He gave up everything, that we might gain everything.
Pray: Dear God, teach me how to love!
Love is like that. The definitions and behaviors called love in our mainstream culture are tainted and unhealthy. It is the less obvious, off to the side definition of love found in the gospel that is the good stuff. "I wanna know what love is," anguished Foreigner in the pop rock ballad. It is an age old question asked every minute of every day. What does the apostle John tell us about love? How do we filter out all the many-varied definitions and worldly behaviors and come to the real thing? Here's what he says ...
Love comes from God.
God loves us.
God demonstrated love when He sent His Son into the world.
God's love was self-sacrificing.
Love will give up something so that another may gain.
Our love can reflect God's love.
God's love can be made perfect in us if we will strive to be like Jesus.
Love never frightens or intimidates because love never seeks to harm.
Love doesn't discriminate; love is for all.
Jesus Himself said, "No greater love has anyone than this - that they lay down their life for a friend." Love is willing to give up everything for the one it loves. Jesus did more than that. "Even while we were still sinners Christ died for us." He laid down His life for an enemy. His is the ultimate love.
He gave up everything, that we might gain everything.
Pray: Dear God, teach me how to love!
1 John 3:7-24 - What's in a Name?
What do these surname prefixes and suffixes have in common? O' , von, Fitz, de, sen, Mac, vander, son. Yes, these beginnings and endings indicate a family relationship. I have known an O'Brien, a Fitzgerald, a deJesus, a Pedersen, a MacDonald and a Richardson, among others. Now, can you imagine a last name of Satansen, Fitzdevil, or vanderDemon?
In our text today, John appears to group all people into one of two families. There are those who are "of the devil," and those who are "of God." This is not a description of actual genetic family linkage; John is not saying that there are actual spawn of Satan out there. Membership in these families is dependent on whether one has believed and received the Spirit of Christ or not. This is the same John who wrote in his gospel (John 1:12) - 'to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.') In a sense, the last name of every believer becomes, 'Christian.'
Did you ever live in a neighborhood where a particular family had such specific attributes that you knew the minute you saw one of them that they were members of THAT family? There is a family resemblance that is unmistakable. John says you can pretty much do that with 'the Christians', too. "Oh yeah, she's one of the Christians. She stands for doing the right thing." "Yup, he 's one of the Christians. He has that special love for people." "I see compassion in him. I see generosity in her. I know what family THEY belong to." Do you demonstrate the same values and character qualities as God? Your relationship to Jesus is showing.
The 'other' family is known by its values and character as well. The FitzDevils are known for living with moral standards that fall short of what God prescribes. They exhibit hatred. They have murder in their hearts, but no pity. Their love shows up as lip service; it doesn't follow through and proves false. John says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are."
If you call yourself by the name of Christian, then you must uphold the reputation of your family name by living with a noble and godly character. One of my favorite old world words is 'besmirch.' It means to soil or tarnish, and also to defame or dishonor one's name. May we never besmirch the name of Christ with FitzDevilian behavior.
Pray: Jesus, you died to grant me the opportunity to live as a member of your family. You've given me your Spirit to enable me to live up to my new name - Your name. Help me when I start leaning toward and living like the child of another. Help me to remember whose I am.
In our text today, John appears to group all people into one of two families. There are those who are "of the devil," and those who are "of God." This is not a description of actual genetic family linkage; John is not saying that there are actual spawn of Satan out there. Membership in these families is dependent on whether one has believed and received the Spirit of Christ or not. This is the same John who wrote in his gospel (John 1:12) - 'to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.') In a sense, the last name of every believer becomes, 'Christian.'
Did you ever live in a neighborhood where a particular family had such specific attributes that you knew the minute you saw one of them that they were members of THAT family? There is a family resemblance that is unmistakable. John says you can pretty much do that with 'the Christians', too. "Oh yeah, she's one of the Christians. She stands for doing the right thing." "Yup, he 's one of the Christians. He has that special love for people." "I see compassion in him. I see generosity in her. I know what family THEY belong to." Do you demonstrate the same values and character qualities as God? Your relationship to Jesus is showing.The 'other' family is known by its values and character as well. The FitzDevils are known for living with moral standards that fall short of what God prescribes. They exhibit hatred. They have murder in their hearts, but no pity. Their love shows up as lip service; it doesn't follow through and proves false. John says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are."
If you call yourself by the name of Christian, then you must uphold the reputation of your family name by living with a noble and godly character. One of my favorite old world words is 'besmirch.' It means to soil or tarnish, and also to defame or dishonor one's name. May we never besmirch the name of Christ with FitzDevilian behavior.
Pray: Jesus, you died to grant me the opportunity to live as a member of your family. You've given me your Spirit to enable me to live up to my new name - Your name. Help me when I start leaning toward and living like the child of another. Help me to remember whose I am.
1 John 2:18-3:6 - What Child Is This?
It's time for Christmas music! You have to love the fact that for a little while we can walk about in public places and catch phrases like "Jesus, Lord at thy birth" and "Joy to the world, the Savior reigns." Spiritual truths in secular places - awesome! Now if we can get people to really hear and consider the lyrics that are floating past their ears. If we could get folks to seriously and sincerely ask the hymn question, "What Child is This?"
In 1865, at 29 years old, William C. Dix fell suddenly and severely ill. Out of his suffering and the accompanying depression, he wrote the lyrics ...
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
In 1865, at 29 years old, William C. Dix fell suddenly and severely ill. Out of his suffering and the accompanying depression, he wrote the lyrics ...
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
- On Mary’s lap is sleeping,
- Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
- While shepherds watch are keeping?
- This, this is Christ the King,
- Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
- Haste, haste to bring Him laud,The babe, the son of Mary!
Out of an experience that placed the young writer face to face with the fleeting nature of health and mortality, he communicates to us our urgent need to settle the identity of Mary's baby and to worship Him. "Haste, haste ..." Wait no longer to acknowledge the son of Mary as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. He is your Savior and mine. Laud Him, praise Him, honor Him ... now.
Today's reading in 1 John also speaks to identity - the identity of Jesus and the identifying marks of the true follower of Jesus. In regard to the identity of Jesus: He is the Messiah, the Christ, He is co-equal with God the Father, He is righteous, without sin, pure, He is the giver of eternal life, and He is coming again. John says a lot about Jesus in a few sentences! Do we embrace these clear and powerful truths? When we imagine Mary's baby on the hay, a swaddled newborn, is this who we say that He is? If you do, you bear one of the marks of a true follower of Jesus.
In regard to the identifying marks of a true believer, a child of God, John declares: they remain faithful to the doctrine and to the church of Christ, they have an "anointing," which is John's poetic way of saying that God's Spirit lives in them, they pursue right living, purity, and put aside sin, and they recognize the blessed condition and hope that they have as a lavish gift of great love from their heavenly Father.
Who do you say that Jesus is? Are you a child of God? Do you possess the marks of a true follower of Christ? When the Christmas carols ring, do you understand the lyrics deep in your soul and sing with a heart of worship? Or will you have to be diseased and depressed and near death for the light bulb to finally go on?
"Haste! Haste ..."
Pray: Jesus Christ, son of Mary, Son of God, Savior of the world, have mercy on me. Heal my unbelief. Anoint me with your Holy Spirit. Adopt me as a true child of Yours. As Philips Brooks wrote in 'O Little Town of Bethlehem,' "be born in me today!" Grant me your truth, hope and perseverance.
1 John 2:1-17 - Loving Jesus is Living Like Jesus
This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world or anything in the world... The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world or anything in the world... The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
November 30 - 1 John 1:1-10 - Light is Pretty Heavy
The galaxies are awe-inspiring. An AP release today stated ... "The universe may glitter with far more stars than even Carl Sagan imagined when he rhapsodized about billions upon billions. A new study suggests there are a mind-blowing 300 sextillion of them, or three times as many as scientists previously calculated. That is a 3 followed by 23 zeros."
300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That's a lot of zeros. That's a lot of light and mass and energy, too.
Today's text tells us that God IS light. I know that this is a metaphorical use of the word and John is actually referring to God's holy character, but I wonder. If the amount of light in the universe can make our jaw drop, what should the pure and unfathomable light of God's character cause us to do? And then to consider that John is saying that that Person of incalculable light was seen and heard and touched by him. The Light took on the mass of a man, retained and exhibited some of His miraculous energy. Einstein's E=Mc2 takes on a new luster as we consider mass and energy as functions of the speed of Light. Perhaps G=E2M2c2 ! Maybe Jesus is God at a slower speed.
300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That's a lot of zeros. That's a lot of light and mass and energy, too.
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| Our Sun |
John wants people to know that Jesus did walk among men and that He was indeed the God of holiness, forgiveness, unity and joy. He is light and mass and energy -- He is Life itself. And so we embrace Him and honor His Word.
There is no darkness at all in God, that is, there is no evil. But there is darkness in us. It manifests as sin and this is a condition that must be acknowledged. Not to do so is to call God a liar. With His light of truth He reveals it; with His incarnational mass He destroys it, and with His resurrectional energy He triumphs over it. And all this is for us, if we will but believe.
Paul wrote to the church at Rome, "what may be known about God is plain...because God has made it plain... For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made." (1:19,20)
Yes, it's as plain as the stars in the night sky. All 300 sextillion of them.
Pray: Creator, Sustainer, Savior God, let me see you in all You have made. Help me to feel the reality of being connected and intertwined with You and your universal purposes. Help me to shine with the light of Your glory.
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