Thoughts From 1John 3 - Part 2

 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.   1John 3:4-9

          I'm watching a western on HBO, and the lawman is eager to turn in his badge and move to a town where there is no law. He is tired of risking his life to enforce the law, so this seems to be an attractive place to go. A city without laws would be called "lawless." And as you would guess as John says, "Sin is lawlessness." The city is filled with gambling, alcoholism, murder, greed, stealing and all the one preacher in town does is funerals. That's when he has a captive audience to read scripture and hope it sinks in.

         People who don't like the Bible because it has too many rules are advocating sin and lawlessness. I'm sure they would say, "no, I follow the golden rule", or "I practice love not hate", but yet they are a law unto themselves. There is no one they answer to but themselves, (if they go too far, obviously the law of the land) Therefore, following the golden rule or not practicing hate will go only as far as it doesn't interfere with their wants and desires being met because in a world without the law, self is the king and this is what the Devil wants. The first commandment in the Satanic Bible is not, worship the devil or hate God, it is worship yourself. That is the sin we are born into and that is the 180-degree turn of repentance we must make.

       John says that if we continue to live a self-seeking life, that's proof that we haven't repented and aren't saved. When is the last time a situation came up and you said, "I really want to do this, but God's word says that, so I'll do what God wants me to do"? Vice-versa, when's the last time you said, "I know God's word says don't do this, but I really want to, so I'll just do it because I know he'll forgive me"? If the second scenario is occurring more than the first, it's possible that you've never really given your life to God and are saved. Hard words from John but ones where we need to search our soul because eternity is on the line.

Thoughts From 1John 3 - Part 1

  If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1John 2:29-3:3

         It should be obvious by observing us for a little while that we are different. We are Children of God who think differently, act differently, react differently - we're just different in general. In fact one of my least favorite quotes ever is "preach the gospel always and if necessary, use words." This quote implies that we live lives so differently that people by observing us would come to Jesus. John is saying that the world does not know us or recognize us because they don't know God. Somehow through the opening of their ears to our words about God, our lives would make sense to them. What I'm saying is our words lead the way and our lives confirm the way. If we are living unrighteous, self-centered lives, we can share the truth, but it will immediately be rejected as false because our lives don't back it up.

        I know a number of people might disagree and quote 1Peter 2:12;

     " Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us "

          The hope is that our lives are so different that people would come up to us and like the Philippian jailor say, "What must I do to be saved?' Has that happened to you? I wish. The problem with both of these verses is that in both cases they imply prior knowledge from what you've said. You have preached about God, and your life backed it up so when crisis comes, they reach out.

          Satan, recognizing that a life well lived might point to Christ, has further obscured the view. I know Muslims that are more chaste than us. I know Mormons with better families. I know Jehovah witnesses that are nicer than Christians. I know homosexuals who are more thoughtful and gentler than believers. Bill Gates has probably given more money away to charities than 100 Christian philanthropists combined. People don't equate goodness with "religion" necessarily.

        Let's share Christ and back it up with our lives and through the power of the Holy Spirit, may we see some lives changed. And some day, when He appears we will finally lose this traitorous flesh and get a body that REALLY looks like Him. I can't wait!

Thoughts from 1John 2 - Part 7

  I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 1John 2:26-28

     Salvation is the receiving of the Holy Spirit. To think you receive him after salvation, as a separate blessing is a misunderstanding of what it means to be born again. John talked about it in his gospel, Chapter 3, where he describes two births - one our natural birth and one our spiritual birth. God told Adam and Eve, the day they ate from the tree they would die. They didn't experience physical death that day, but they became spiritually dead and salvation is in effect reviving that dead spirit with His Spirit. Salvation is this regeneration when we believe by faith. This is the anointing John is talking about. He also referred to Him as the Comforter in John 16 who would lead them into all truth.

      Once the Holy Spirit brings us to life we start becoming more like Jesus in our thoughts, actions, words etc, which we have discussed before, but here John talks about another effect of being born again. John says we can read scripture and understand it without a teacher, pastor, priest, commentary needed. When I sit here and journal or blog, I just pray, "God, I want to understand Your word. Let Your Spirit in me lead me into truth. Teach me what I need to learn. Amen." That's a prayer God loves to answer. That doesn't mean that I am going to understand every nuance. That doesn't mean that I won't occasionally read things into it that the Bible isn't saying. It just means that God is going to make His word come alive and speak to me and tell me what I need to hear.

        This doesn't mean that we don't need pastors, teachers, commentaries, books and the like to keep us on track and stimulate our mind but to rely solely on podcasts, teaching videos, sermons and commentaries to learn from is not what God intends. In fact, John is saying that if you don't learn for yourself but rely on others, you could be led astray by false teachers. John, not knowing how long he will be with them is warning them to not believe everything they hear, but trust the Holy Spirit to guide them into the truth in their time alone with God. How did that work before the printing press and the general availability of the scriptures, I have no idea, but I can certainly apply it today.

       A popular YouTube video claims that those who engage with the Bible 4x a week (and I can't vouch for the veracity but I can believe it) are 59% less likely to view porn, 30% less likely to experience loneliness, 50% less likely to experience anxiety, 57% less likely to abuse alcohol, 32% reduction in anger issues, 228% more likely to share their faith, and 407% more likely to memorize scripture. Reading 1-3 times a week had minimal effect. God wants to meet with you today. Take advantage of that amazing offer!

Thoughts From 1John 2 - Part 6

 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 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. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.24 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. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life. 1John 2:20-25

         John has just warned the readers that apostasy, deconversion, false prophets are out there and coming to their fellowship to try to confuse them. The Devil was angry that so many people were choosing to follow Christ so he was trying to confuse the truth and bring doubt in their mind. The way he attacked was to get people to question who Jesus was? Was He really God or just a good man or prophet?

       Satan uses the same tactics today. That's why C.S Lewis' Lord, Liar, Lunatic argument was made and is as relevant today as it was generations ago.

Key Aspects of the Argument:

• The Choice: Lewis argues you cannot claim Jesus was just a "great moral teacher" while denying his divinity, as his claims make that logically inconsistent.
• Alternative Option (Lunatic): If Jesus claimed to be God but was not, he might be a "madman".
• Alternative Option (Liar): If he knew his claims were false, he was a "liar" or "demon".
• The Conclusion (Lord): If he was neither, he must be Lord. 

John would say that having lived with Him for three years, touched Him, ate with Him, 

saw His miracles, saw the sinless way He lived, saw Him die and rise from the dead, that

 He was and is the Son of God - God in the flesh.

       And John would also say that since they believed and received Him, they received the

Holy Spirit and that anointing helps them to know the truth and not be deceived. As John

can't be with them forever, he is counting on them not to be deceived but trust the truth.

       Likewise, we need to know the truth, abide in the truth and be alert to the Devil's on-

slaughts who daily is seeking to destroy our faith. He's not going to get me. How about you?

Thoughts From 1John 2 - Part 5

  Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 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. 1John 2:18-19

           My parents bought a condo in South Florida adjacent to "Bible Town". This was a community of believers - mean age 70 -(ouch, I'm 70) and the retirees would meet for potlucks, hymn sings, game nights but the coup de gras was weekly 3-day Bible conferences taught by some really renowned speakers. The favorite topic - the return of Christ. You can understand why, a lot of people close to death want to be encouraged about their future but also hoping it was imminent so they wouldn't experience death. My dad has since gone to be with the Lord, but I think he was pretty convinced the Lord would come before that. My mom is 94 and still waiting, as am I.

         I guess they weren't unique in this hope of the soon return of Christ because it appears from 1John 2, they were in good company. John, probably 80 -90 years old was convinced they were in the last hour. I wonder if he would be shocked to learn 2000 years later, we still think we're in the last hour. While we might be tempted to mock prognosticators or sooth sayers predicting Christ's imminent return, isn't this the way Jesus told us to live in Matthew 24 and 25? My dad would often end his conversations with, "Keep looking up!" and that's great advice. No one knows the date, but we are to live like it is today and I think that's how John was living.

      When looking at the signs of times, what do we usually point to? I would say it's wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, natural disasters, middle East unrest, global warming, nuclear threats, growth of Islam, AI or you name it. It's interesting that John's signs were apostasy, deconversion, false teachers. Paul in 1Timothy 4 would have concurred when he said; 

"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

Has there been a mass deconversion or introduction of false gospels? Maybe, but I think that it may not be worse than it always has been. John says it was bad back then and it's bad now. Let's stand firm in the faith and "keep looking up!"

Thoughts From 1John 2 - Part 4

  Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 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. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1John 2:15-17

         This was a verse I memorized when I was a child. How do I know? I recite it in King James. You can see why my parents or youth leaders had me memorize it. The point that we learned as kids was that if you want to live forever in Heaven avoid all those worldly temptations that look like so much fun and everyone else is doing and compiling. Those things are a no-no to God. If you do those things or even want them, you don't love God. It made you feel as a kid that God didn't want you to have fun or as Eve felt when tempted, "God is withholding something from me. Maybe I should try it." Satan's temptation has from the start to get us to doubt that He really is a good good Father.

       What we didn't learn was the meaning of lust. Tim Keller talks about this in a lot of messages and defines it as over or hyper desires. For example, God gave us our flesh. He gave us the pleasurable feelings of sex, and He encouraged us to experience it as much as we want when we are married with one person of the opposite count. Now people post their "body count" on social media and these people are "influencers". God gave us tastebuds and stomachs "growling" for a reason. He wants us to enjoy eating not just take a food pill or supplement to stay alive like The Jetsons or Snow Piercer. Why is every other video I see, one on losing weight? Because we have a hyper drive for food and it's killing us. 

      Our eyes see things that are beautiful. God made beauty - he could have made everything one color and uniform and drab but yet He wanted us to see beauty. Can we just experience it, enjoy it, take a mental picture of it, thank God for it or do we have an insatiable desire for it. It might be cars, boats, beautiful women, trucks, muscles and fitness to men that consumes their minds and we pursue those more than God. He has given us all these things to enjoy, not pursue. He wants us to pursue Him. He's more beautiful than all these things. What do women crave? I'm no expert but I would guess beautiful lips, eyelashes, bodies, men, houses, clothes - I don't know, ask Amazon. See beauty, enjoy it, take a snapshot of it, thank God for it and pursue the ultimate beauty in God.

      Pride of life might be an over desire for recognition for all "you've" accomplished and how great you are. In our age it could be seen as a desire for likes on posts, followers, fame, popularity, power, status rather than just being comfortable in the fact that God thinks you are amazing. After all, any ability you have is given by God and there is no reason why we should see the need to get recognition for it. I have 4 kids and 11 grandchildren. That's a study of 15 kids I've seen growing up. One was swimming one day and a coach saw him and said he moves well in the water and coached him up to be an All-American two-time state champ. The other 14 don't have it. One hears songs in his dreams and writes them down and is learning keyboards on his own. None of the others even care. One can solve a Rubick's cube in a minute and one builds Lego cities with infinitesimal details. What I'm saying is, let's be proud of our abilities God's given us but let's not think over the top that everyone should see our abilities and laud us. Let our abilities point to God, not us.

      God doesn't want us to miss out on everything in life - He gave those things. He just doesn't want them to point us inward to living for ourselves, which is the way we were born, in sin, but rather pointing us to the giver of good things and worshipping Him in gratitude thanking Him for all the good things we have to enjoy.

Thoughts From 1John 2 - Part 3

  Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 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.

12 I am writing to you, dear children,
    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one.

14 I write to you, dear children,
    because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,
    and the word of God lives in you,
    and you have overcome the evil one. 2John 2:9-14

     Watching Survivor 50 last night, I think her name was Angelica said, "Last time I played as the old Angelica. I've changed a lot since then. Now I'm playing as the new Angelica." Jeff asked if people could really change who they are and the person he asked changed the subject. John would say, "Yes, a leopard can change his spots because remember my gospel - through believing in Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit we are born again. We are new people." This passage tells the before and after. I once heard a man share his testimony and a key component was walking past a barber shop and on the window were posted 2 pictures - one of the barber before Christ and one after Christ. He was stunned that they were the same man and it made an eternal difference in the observer.

      What would our before picture look like? John says before Christ we walked around in the darkness. We stumbled, we were blinded, and we didn't know where we were going. The evil one was in control. When I look at the residents I train that don't know Jesus, they would probably say, "Wait, I know where I'm going, I have plans for my life. I'm not stumbling. No one is controlling me." This is why the lost are hard to reach until there's an interruption of their plan and they realize life is falling apart and they have no control. Life is a fleeting vapor and then what? There is a whole reality out there, the spiritual world that they can't see. It's like living in the Matrix and they prefer being blind.

Cypher: I know this steak doesn’t exist... Ignorance is bliss | The Matrix

We have to share and then pray that when they reach a point of reflection in their lives, when the Holy Spirit opens the window to their soul, that they would, like my friend, remember the picture in the barber shop window.

       What is the condition of the believer? A transformed life down here. We are no longer slaves to the devil but under control of "the Word of God living in us". We are born again and instead of pursuing our desires living for self and hating anyone getting in the way of our kingly reign, we love and consider others above ourselves. We know where we're going, the light of God's presence and His word light our paths and give us assurance that we are headed in a correct direction with an eternal reward. We know the Father, which is huge. The creator who created us to be in a relationship with Him has restored that relationship. The very reason we exist has been restored. We know the meaning of life! And we have power over the devil, and we are getting stronger every day. Using the Matrix example, it may not be an easy life but it's the right one - we aren't living a lie, and every day is a new adventure.

      Pray today that God would lead you to someone that is walking in the darkness that you might shed a little light on. Don't be discouraged if they don't immediately believe. Maybe someday, something you said will shine into their souls.

Thoughts From 1John 2 - Part 2

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 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. 1John 2:7-11

        Here's where the epistle of John starts getting weird. God makes sure what the authors are writing is truth but He uses their personality to say it. For example, Paul says that he wishes those people who teach circumcision wouldn't stop cutting. (think eunuch or Reek in GOT) Here, John, probably 90 years old maybe starts rambling or waxes poetically but says things like "I'm not writing you a new command" followed by "I'm writing you a new command." What is He talking about? I think that he is talking about loving your neighbor which isn't necessarily mentioned in the 10 Commandments, but when Jesus summarizes the commandments into two - Love God and love your neighbor - we see it may not be in there but it's all throughout there.

       Going back to the previous verses, he says that the way to know that you are truly saved is to be obedient to what God is telling you. God is telling you to love people, even your enemies, and that's how Jesus lived His life too, so if we are truly believers, we need to be doing that. In the world where there is so much hate for Muslims, wokeness, Democrats, terrorists, illegals, Trump, Republicans, socialists, Fascists, ICE agents, racists, and the polarizing list goes on, we aren't supposed to join in on that. Yes, we are to hate the evil one who is behind all this hatred and division, but we are to love the people seeing them as unfortunate pawns in the devil's schemes.

      Our posts on social media should be loving seeking peace - not division but reconciliation. We should wake up thinking - who can I love today and seek ways to show that love. And what is love? Commitment of my will to your needs and best interests regardless of the cost. It's considering other's needs above my own. How does that play out in this hateful and divided world we live in? Let's see today!

Thoughts From 1John 2 - Part 1

   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. 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 keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 1John 2:1-6

            We are currently rewatching Survivor season 23. Some friends of ours are Survivor fans and we get together and work our way through them all starting at season 1 usually including dinner. I remember watching it the first time and loving it because one team lead by Coach, Brandon, and Rick always pray in Jesus' name before meals, challenges, after wins always giving God credit. Now I watch it knowing the history of these guys, none of whom have remained faithful to Jesus, one even serving time in prison and it's too painful to watch. What a mockery of the name of Jesus! People that truly are followers of Jesus will live in obedience to Him. We have so many politicians in the public eye like Pete Hegseth, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Kristie Noem, Tallarico who claim to be Christians, but their lives tell us differently in a lot of cases. Who are we to believe?

          I think John would say, "Don't worry about them - you obey Jesus." If we say we know Jesus, every day gives us a choice - do I obey or do I not obey - and we say, "I'm following Jesus and I'm going to do it His way." He gives us His word to show us what is right and His Holy Spirit to alert us to those forks in the road and to help us choose rightly. And when we choose His way, we are demonstrating our love for Him because we chose God's way over our way.

       There is a young man at our church that recently got saved and baptized and the other day he was asking people if they knew of a place he could stay. People were concerned. "Are you homeless?" "Where have you been staying?" He replied that he has been living with his girlfriend and God has been telling him that he needs to move out because that's a sin. Isn't that interesting? He didn't clean up his act before getting saved, he got saved and now is walking in obedience to what the Holy Spirit is telling him. Now I don't know if 20 years from now he will be a Coach, Brandon, or Rick but I do know that currently he is on the right path.

     What about you? What about me? Are we going to choose to obey Jesus in everything today? I know with God's help, I am!

Thoughts From 1John 1 - Part 2

   And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 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.8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1John 1:3-10

      This passage has always confused me. How does walking in the light cause fellowship with fellow believers and how is that related to the blood purifying our sins. It could be that walking in sin interferes with fellowshipping because the sin and guilt will be difficult to hide from real deep fellowship and therefore maybe the one in sin will confess to the group and be cleansed? That is deep fellowship. That is getting together and talking about spiritual things rather than getting together to watch the Super Bowl, having a pot-luck, or game night. It would be more like a small group coming over to your house for prayer and a Bible Study. Unfortunately, most of the time if a person is in sin, they will avoid coming because they aren't ready to be convicted or give it up.

      Here's a weird thought. I've never heard it before so it probably isn't right, but what if the "one another" is the trinity. In context that makes so much more sense. Verse three talks about our fellowship being with the Father and the Son. Verse 5 talks about God being light and in Him there is no darkness. We know that the glory of God shines light. Paul was blinded by it, Moses glowed from a glimpse of it, and Peter, James, and John saw it of it on the Mount of Transfiguration as Jesus briefly "unzipped" his flesh. Light can't coexist with dark, it wipes it out. This is why sinful man can't be in the presence of a pure God, we would be disintegrated like those who looked in the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

        So in context what if these verses are giving the gospel? We are walking in darkness or sin and we can't lie to ourselves and say we haven't sinned. All have sinned and are separated from the consuming purity of a righteous God. If we confess our sins and receive God's blood sacrifice of Jesus to atone for our sins by faith, the sin is cleansed and the darkness has been removed and turned to light. We can now have fellowship with the Father and the Son because we are light. Then we should walk in purity so we can continue to have fellowship with them. The Psalmist said, "if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord does not hear me." You see, sin separates our intimate relationship with God but if we get back on the righteous path and confess those sins, we can be back in fellowship with God and walk in His light.

       Either way, both interpretations would be consistent with the teachings of the Bible, but one thing is sure, we are created for relationships with God and people. Leave the loneliness of self in your cave and come out into the light.

Thoughts From 1John 1 - Part 1

  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing this that our joy may be complete. 1 John 1:1-4

          I once memorized the whole book of 1John, so I guess I never blogged on it because I figured what's left to know? Haha. As I read the first 4 verses, the first thing I notice, which I never noticed before, he doesn't say "I", he says "we" or "our" 13 times. Who is he with or including in his letter? By now he has outlived all the apostles and Mary, so it appears that he is writing on behalf of all those eyewitnesses like him who knew Jesus personally probably 50 years after Jesus' death. He's saying," this teaching doesn't come from me but from Jesus who not only I heard, touched, saw, lived with for 3 years but others did, too. There was Peter who was crucified upside down for preaching about the resurrected Jesus, who is no longer with us. Herod killed my brother John in Jerusalem by beheading him, but God avenged him as Herod died of worms eating him from the inside out. Andrew, Peter's brother, was crucified on an X shaped cross in Greece, Philip was crucified in Hierapolis and Simon the zealot sawn in half for testifying about Jesus. Matthias and James were stoned, Thomas was speared in India, Thaddeus killed by an axe, Matthew killed by a sword in Ethiopia and Bartholomew flayed alive all because they wouldn't deny that Jesus was God come in the flesh who died for our sins and rose from the dead. If it wasn't true at least one of them would have recanted but it was and I alone am left to boldly speak about Him." 

       I know I just put words in John's mouth, but he must be thinking, I must be alive for a purpose so I'm going to get this message out as long as I have breath left. Therefore, the epistles of John take on extreme importance to us as a summary of what he thought Jesus would want us to know from His closest friend speaking on behalf of all His other friends who are no longer with us.

       The first thing he wants us to know is He is life. He previously recounted in his gospel that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life". He wasn't just alive on Earth, but He was alive in Heaven with the Father and sent down here as a human so we could get a glimpse of God without disintegrating. Not only was He alive here and previously in Heaven, but as God he is the source of life. The Achilles heel of evolution and secular biology is "how did life begin?" Since every effect has a cause, in order to have life there must be an uncaused cause that started it. That being would have to be eternal, thus God is life. He never had a beginning. He just is and even once, for which they took up stones to kill Him, said "I am." That's the cosmological argument for the existence of God and 2000 years ago, John is giving it and saying this person, Jesus, who we all lived with was and is that God.

       Christianity and the Bible is to be believed because it was given to us by eyewitnesses recorded by themselves, circulated in their lifetime and we have the manuscripts, in some cases, the first copy. These eyewitnesses died for their faith in brutal ways because they knew it was true. It gives eternal life to those who believe it, along with fellowship with God and fellow believers here on Earth and a joy to life that one can't experience without knowing Him. Are you in?

Thoughts From Ephesians 6 - Part 7

 Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.21 Now that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tych′icus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love undying.  Eph. 6:18-24

         So, I've been studying Ephesians for two months now, and I had no idea from any of the previous passages that he was in jail. He just never brought it up. I would have made mention in Chapter 1 verse 1 of the lack of food, coldness, lack of light, shortage of writing supplies, aches and pains from sitting and sleeping on a hard floor and asked for prayer especially for deliverance. What does he ask for? Pray that he would proclaim the gospel without fear. What is his concern? That the readers would be encouraged when they hear from him.

       I've been watching Young Sherlock recently and in episode one he finds himself in jail for contempt of court. When his influential brother gets him out, they discuss jail and why it didn't bother him. He states that only his body was in prison, but his mind wasn't. It seems to me that Paul has mastered this skill. As we will see in the next book he will say he has learned the secret to be content in all circumstances and this is it - to mentally be living in the Kingdom of God even though your body isn't. 

       As he finishes up on how to defeat the devil in spiritual warfare, he reminds us to pray constantly. Talking with God, who is in the spiritual realm, helps us get in the mindset that our battle is not against flesh and blood but powers and principalities. Praying without ceasing helps us to separate mind from body and live with a kingdom of God mindset. Talking with God is the key to overcoming and not succumbing and without it you can put on all the spiritual warfare garb you want but you will just be like Bill and Ted playing in suits of armor. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure-"Heavy Metal"

     Are you overwhelmed by life, stress, pain, temptations, bills, relationships? What kingdom are you living in? How's your devotional life? Are you practicing the presence of God throughout the day? If not then Satan is winning and has sidelined you. We need people in the battlefield not in the playground as A.W.Tozer would say. Today is the day to start.

Thoughts From Ephesians 6 - Part 6

 besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Eph. 6:16,17

       This group of verses that I have been meditating on deals with our battle in this world is not with unbelievers but rather the power behind them. In Edge of Tomorrow, my favorite Tom Cruise movie, the world was battling drone aliens and losing badly, but thanks to the blood of an alpha being spilled on him as he was dying, the day kept being reset allowing Tom Cruise to become a better fighter and leading him eventually to the Omega alien, the controlling force behind the drones and alphas. His ultimate battle was against the Omega rather than all the others. The same principle was seen in Matrix 3 where if Neo defeated Agent Smith all the other robots would stop their invasion and also in Game of Thrones where if the Night King was defeated, all the white walkers would stop. You see, Hollywood understands this principle that there is an ultimate evil controlling force in this world and it is Satan and our fight is with him rather than people.

      Satan has several plans of attack. We saw previously that if he can get us to be quiet either by isolation or fear of being different, he has neutralized us and he can move on to other targets. If he can destroy us by ruining our righteousness or testimony by succumbing to his temptations to sin, we will become ineffective and our light goes out. If he gets us to believe we have our truth and they have theirs and lets just get along, he has wiped us out.

     In this passage, Satan wants us to lose our faith - to doubt our salvation. If he can do that we won't pray, we won't value the Word of God, we won't witness - in all, we won't be a problem for him. Do you have doubts about the truth of Christianity? Lately it seems teachers are encouraging us saying, "It's OK to doubt. Everyone doubts. Look at Jesus in Gethsemane. Look at Gideon's fleece. Look at the disciples going back to fishing and cowering in a room not believing the women's testimony. Look at the prayer meeting for Peter's release from prison. It's normal to doubt." I'd rather hear preachers quoting Jesus saying to Thomas, "Stop doubting and start believing!", and then addressing these doubts to melt doubts into shields. One original quote I have (to quote myself, ha-ha) "I'm 99% sure that the gospel and Bible are true but I'm 100% sure that the devil put that 1% of doubt in my mind." There is tons of internet content available to help you doubt your doubts from Mike Winger and the Bible Thinker to Cliff Knechtle and his son doing apologetics answering kids on college campuses shoot the same flaming arrows of the devil at them.

      Lastly, how well do you know your Bible? Did you know that Satan can destroy you with God's word? He succeeded with Eve and he failed with Jesus. With Eve he said, "Did God really say?" and he distorted God's words and she bit. With Jesus, he misquoted a Psalm and Jesus didn't fall for it. God's word has power to fight Satan. In the aforementioned Game of Thrones the Night King couldn't be hurt by anything except dragon glass. Everything else was ineffective. In the same way, the Bible is the only weapon that works. It's amazing how little we know it. Satan loves that and even tries to get us to lessen its value by doubting Genesis, authorship, translation errors, relevance of Old Testament, Paul expressing opinions vs. inspiration, etc. I even wonder if 90% of the body coming to Church without a physical Bible but having the App on their electronic device is devaluing the Bible. Am I just showing my age? Maybe - maybe not.

      Are you a force to be reckoned with or are you on the bench sidelined? We need warriors. pick up your Bible and let's go!

Thoughts From Ephesians 6 - Part 5

 Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; Eph.6:14,15

         A lot of seminars, youth conferences, even kid's figurines made by Christian companies trying to make a buck have dealt with the armor of God. I've always thought that they were making a whole lot of adieux about what was meant to be just an added and word picture emphasis to the previous passage about our battle is with the devil so be ready. As I look again at it, maybe there is more to it than that.

         First of all, we see that if you don't interact with people, if you don't put shoes on and go, you probably won't get attacked a lot. A spectator at a football game doesn't need equipment on. If you only hang out with Christians and don't interact with the world you are not in the game and the devil doesn't need to waste his time on you. If, however, you are interacting with unbelievers at work, on social media, in relationships, you need to put on some armor. Did you see that when you step out with those shoes the reason is to share the gospel. Do your coworkers and friends know you are a Christian. I'm always amazed by going to someone's Facebook profile (yes stalking them) who is supposed to be a Christian and finding nothing that would give me a hint that they are a believer. Are we building bridges in relationships keeping in mind our goal is to win them to Christ, or are we just playing undercover Christian in order to fit in?

          Secondly did you see that it is called the gospel of peace? At first I thought, well that means we don't need to rile people up but share in such a way that it's peaceful. That's not entirely true. Jesus said He came to bring division and a sword that cuts through even families. Currently I've shared with a lot of people in Memphis at the University Medical Center, but it's frankly been in a way that is peaceful and maybe not effective? It's like, "Here is what I believe", and comes across maybe as you do you and I'll do me and non-confrontational. It's not coming across as mine is true and yours is a lie which would definitely not bring peace. I'm not sure it is even making them question their beliefs. I'm praying that God would guide me through this. Maybe the "gospel of peace" means recognizing that no unbelievers are truly at peace but have restless souls as they struggle with meaning, purpose, mortality, anxiety, worth, insecurity, failure and all other issues that a relationship with Jesus would cure. Is it possible that we need to share the gospel as my Church would say "helping people find Christ at their point of need" which for everyone is the lack of peace. Maybe lead out, "Do you have peace in your life?" I don't know - maybe try it.

         Third, it's important to be righteous. We live in a time where so much garbage is coming out about Christians in the public eye. It's like when Jesus said, "You are the salt of the Earth. If the salt loses its saltiness, it's good for nothing but being trampled on as it's spread on the road." If you have obvious sins in your life, sharing the gospel may actually hurt the cause. Live a life that doesn't negate the gospel. Live a life where people see a difference and that it does make an effect, at least on you.

         Lastly, as I alluded to earlier, don't apologize - you have the truth. Be assured of that, know the truth, and share it as truth. Be prepared to share why it's true when people question it. Read some apologetics. Can you answer, "Why should I believe the Bible is true?", With all the religions in the world, why do you think yours is true?" We have the truth, lets put those gospel shoes on and get out there and live it and share it as something that will bring peace to a troubled soul.