Lawlessness and Righteousness
When you stay entrenched in your sin and do not cease to remove from your lifestyle (intentionally) then that is what we be known as lawlessness. For instance, if the will of God is in you and you continue to get drunk and sleep with different people, then that would be an example of lawlessness. In 1 John 3:4-10, John is telling the reader specific ways of how to look at lawlessness. It can be harder for us to understand as it appears that the text is saying you can never sin. While we should do what we can and also rely on God's strength to not sin, the text is specifically speaking about intentional and continual sin that is seen as a regular part of your life. No apologies for it. I have sins such as that. The text further explains that when you have sins like that you do not know the Father (God). What sin is still in your life?
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Loving the World
When you see scripture telling us to not "love the world" I hope people don't take it out of context. This is not anti green peace or go ahead and litter because what does it matter. This is the "world" in terms following what seems right to people that is actually not in line with God's will. The world can mean culture as it changes depending on the decade, century, era or millennium. Not loving the world is the best way to say "keep God at the center of your life." In 1 John 2:15 we are told " Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." That means if you have put culture over that which is of God in accordance with His will, then God is not in you directing your path because He would not lead you astray.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Fellowship and Confession
1 John 1:6 and 1 John 1:9 show us what it is to be honest about our fellowship with God. We can say we unite with God and walk with Him, but yet we live in darkness. Well, what does that mean? Living in darkness would be along the lines of 1) understanding what it means to be in unity with God and 2) actually doing it. If I meet someone and I say to them I am a manager of a job I have, knowing that manager is not in my job title or description, yet I give off the impression to others possibly to impress them that I am something that I am now, then I am lying. I might have similar responsibilities to a manager, but I am not the manager. So, when I say I walk with God and seek to be in unison with His will, someone would be able to see it by my actions and my words and compare them up against God's will. In addition, verse 9 isn't as deep with a diagnosis, yet it is just as important. Confession of sins is important as it shows us that our way of handling things, saying things, thinking and behaving isn't always in unison with God's will. Being in God's will is the focus. When we act outside of His will, we express selfishness and we sin. When we confess that we have sinned, we are admitting to God, "hey, I didn't get it right. I messed up, but I wanna be back in your good graces." When you can humble yourself and tell God that you want to try it again and get back on the right track, that shows God that we are willing to be humble and seek His ways over our own.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Unstable Twist vs. Stability
When reading through 2 Peter 3, I saw verses 16-17 and shook my head and gave an affirmative "mmmhmm" which signified my solidarity with what was written. Here was have Peter (yes that Peter) writing about the letters that Paul had written. Peter says that some things Paul wrote/writes are hard to understand and those that do not understand them and those that are unstable (not solid in their faith) will use them and twist the meanings to mean what they want them to say. He continues on and warns them to not get carried away (figuratively) with the lawlessness of the ignorant and unstable who twist the words of Paul as they have done with other scriptures. When I communicate with other be they believers or not, I see the same issue. People will use scripture to fuel their own sin and validate its existence in their life. We need to be careful not to fall prey as those people do and not let them whisk us away with them into those lifestyles and areas of thinking.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
All Fall Short
We have heard "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But do we know what it means and where that verse applies and in what context it was written? First, it comes from Romans 3:23 which was written by the Apostle Paul. Secondly, the words right before the "for all fall" part are "For there is no distinction:" This was in reference to the disputes Jews were having about being "better" than gentiles and Greeks. Their thinking was that they were better because they were Jewish followers of Jesus, similar to how the Pharisees spoke to people and treated people. God is not making distinctions of this group of people or nationality is better than this one. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior, welcome to the family. Period.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Rescue the Righteous
In reading through 2 Peter, verse 9 jumps out at me. It says "the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials." This stems from the understanding in verses 4-8 regarding saving angels, saving Noah before the flood and saving Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah. Knowing that God saved those that were righteous when they were among evil, then we also see that God will save us, if we too are righteous and amongst evil, God will save us. The rest of verses 9-10 tell us "and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority." That means if you are doing wrong and living wrong God will punish you. You cannot escape God even when you use various sins to escape. God knows all and sees all.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Be, Just Be
Be, just be is my take on a directive given by Paul to the Corinthian church and the men in it. These directives can come for any number of reasons, but this one was in response to waiting for Apollos, another church leader who was to come to the Corinthian church and lead. Before Apollos arrived, Paul wrote the Corinthians a letter telling them to "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love (1 Corinthians 6:13-14)." Being watchful like when Jesus wanted the disciples to stay up through the night and keep out a watchful eye. Stand firm in the faith meaning do not waiver and dilute the faith and add unto it, but stand strong in what is whole, virtuous and true. Acting like men may get taken to mean not to be effeminate, but I think here in this context it means be strong like men as men are naturally stronger than women (that's not sexist). The strength here isn't about physical strength, but emotional strength or endurance and perseverance and courage while waiting for Apollos to arrive. Lastly, let all you do be done in love. If you hold God up high first and foremost and you love and honor His word and His will, then you can love people (even unbelievers) as God loves them. So, be, just be. Be strong. Be a man. Be loving. Be like Jesus. Be, just be.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Take the Steps
When you follow Christ, 2 Peter 1:5-8 shows you how to reflect that decision. If you have faith in Jesus yet have no virtue (high moral standards), isn't that a contradiction? What about the steps of knowledge, self control and steadfastness (fixed focus)? Didn't Jesus have knowledge of the Scriptures? Didn't he exhibit self control and have a fixed focus on doing God's will? Round everything out with godliness, brotherly affection and love and you are in the realm of what it is to be Christlike among those who also striving to do so and those who are on the outside watching. Your journey is your journey and not for comparison, but for you to honor God.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Shepherds of the Flock
1 Peter 5:2-4 tells the reader to remember that leading a flock should be done with God given oversight (direction) and not human compulsion. Also it tells the reader to not dominate the flock but to be an example to them in said leadership. No one wants a leader who is telling you what to do and not being a good example of that. If my leader says that we should serve and read the word, and they don't serve or read the word, then they aren't being a good leader nor are they being a good example to the flock. We need flock leaders to hold themselves accountable and also be held accountable.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Suffer and Glorify
When someone murders, steals, meddles in others business or generally does evil and gets caught it can be very shameful. No one feels good after getting caught in doing something wrong. They suffer from the shame. But, if someone is to suffer as 1 Peter 4:16 points out for being a Christian, then do not be ashamed. Why would you be ashamed for being a Christian/Christ follower? instead of being ashamed, glorify God's name as the rest of 1 Peter 4:16 says. That is our focus in our life. Yes we slip, stumble and fall, but overall, where are we centered and where and to what are we grounded? Let the Lord be glorified.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Make a Defense
1 Peter 3:14-15 tells us that when someone attacks you for your righteousness (in being with the Lord's will) then be ready to have a defense for your faith when asked why you have hope. This does not say "make sure to argue with people" when they disagree with you. This is defend your faith with your story. Understand who Jesus is to you and who he was historically. Tell people about the work God has done in your life and tell your story. Be a witness. Show and tell them why you have hope in God and in Jesus. Share when asked.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
God Still Loves You
Do you ever look at yourself like you don't deserve to be loved? Have you committed a sin that you think is unforgivable? Maybe you committed a crime and had to serve a prison term, now you don't respect or like yourself very much. With all that being said, God still loves you. There is nothing that can make God stop loving you. Yes, He can be disappointed or mad, but that doesn't mean he stops loving you. God forgives all sin and blasphemy, except when it is against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32). We can still repent for those sins that we commit (Acts 2:38) and know that God does want us to be saved and with Him (1 Timothy 2:4). And let us not forget, further solidifying God's love for us in 1 John 4:9-11. If He didn't love us then we wouldn't have Christ to redeem us to God.
Resource:
http://www.biblestudy.org/question/does-god-love-believers-who-repeat-the-same-sin.html
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Servants and Masters
With reading 1 Peter 2:18-22, I didn't want to address the servants and masters issue that some Bible detractors will try to bring up to discredit scripture and say how it encourages slavery. When if read properly the reader (detractor will see) that the Bible was not seeking to institute slavery, it was trying to show people how to respond in various situations and circumstances. Even doing this ministry over the last few years, God has told me some things that I was not ready for and didn't want to do, including starting the ministry itself. But in this regard, we have Peter speaking to servants who, of course, would want to fight back for being beaten/whipped for sinning against the master. The first part is the sin of the servant against the master. Compare that to the way we as God's children sin against God and we are punished for it. Are we supposed to fight God, our master? No. The same "rule" applies here as servant hood was not the same during this time or in this example as the slavery we understand from American slavery. This was servanthood to pay off debts. So Peter's words here are about enduring when being punished for wrongdoing against the person you went into an agreement with. Even when you are innocent, Peter's words are to "endure" the punishment as Christ was also innocent and that endurance will be a testimony to you in honor of God through Christ and his endurance.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Just Ask God
Just ask God for what you need and what you want in life. There is nothing wrong with asking God. The worst He will answer is no. He may say yes...or he may say wait. Either way, you can ask God for your needs and wants. God wants to hear from you. Just like a parent that says call all the time to their children it is a way to stay connected. It is also a way to prioritize what you want to ask God, not that He can't take all of your requests on (God is all powerful), but when you are requesting something from God it may spark some "would God want me to have this" thinking. Sometimes we want things just because we want them. Like "God please get me approved for this loan so I can get this sports car cuz I look so cool in it and I know that will attract women." Or "God please help me get this job so I can get discounts on their clothes." Whatever you take to God, needs or wants, asking Him will allow you to double check your intentions before you ask. This is what we learn in 1 John 5:14. The name of Jesus is strong as Jesus is the son of God, so whether we ask Jesus or the Holy Spirit or God himself for what it is we want or need, let it be in God's will. Check yourself. You may see that your intentions are not God honoring and it may allow you to reset your aims.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Brotherly Love
1 Peter 1:22 reminds us that we "love one another earnestly from a pure heart" after being obedient to Christ. No one else has loved others the way Jesus did. When you follow Christ and use him as your example as how to live you will see how to love others selflessly.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Warning to the Rich
One verse that jumps out to me in this chapter was James 5:5 which serves as a calling out of the rich who were focused more on their wealth than anything else. This warning is a prophecy of what will happen to their wealth and also them oppressing the poor. The oppression of the poor is not a 2016 problem but one that existed during/after/before the times of Jesus. The rich are in a powerful position to even the playing fields, but they do not. God will have the final say.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Draw Near to God
No matter how strong of a believer you are, we all need reminders. These reminders come in various ways from different sources and are solidified by other reminders. We are reminded to draw near to God and know that He will draw near to us (James 4:8). We cannot be double minded and me must purify our hearts and minds. We do this by drawing near to God. Also, we need to resist the devil (James 4:7) and not make friends with the world as in James 4:4 (live according to what the world says is okay).
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Tame the Tongue
James 3:5 compares the tongue to a ship's rudder or the bit places in a horse's mouth. Those items are used to control a ship and a large land animal. Our tongues also guide us and should be used with caution. Verses 7-8 tell us that every beast can be tamed, but no one can tame the tongue. We use our tongue on a contradictory basis to bless God and curse others made in the likeness of God (James 3:9). These things should not happen as they do not exemplify what it is to be a Christ follower.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Faith Without Works
James 2:19-20 exposes the view points of those who claim to be Christians/Christ Followers, but they lack evidence to prove their status. Just because you known that Jesus is God in the flesh doesn't make you more of a believer than others nor does it solidify your belief either. Even the demons know that Jesus is Lord (James 2:19). Once you know Jesus is Lord then how does that play into your life? What do you do with that? Sit on it? Tell others? Serve others because you are a good person or because you serve the Lord and serve others? basically,m just because you have faith, if you do nothing with it, then what is the point (James 2:20).
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Love Like Jesus
There are time we read parts of verses and never fully quite understand fully what is being said when it was spoken. For instance, we can read part of a verse like Ephesians 5:2 and simply think that loving like Jesus might mean just being nice. Jesus wasn't a "nice guy." His acts of healing and his service were not because he was nice. It was because he was loving. In love is being nice and acts of kindness, but without love, then can kindness and being nice even exist? Ephesians 5:2 states "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Remember the part that says "gave himself up." That means sacrifice for others. How do you know when to do that? Would you be willing to sacrifice getting your daily Starbucks and save that money to buy homeless people lunch each day for a week? Would you be willing to do something as small as carry water in your vehicle and pass it out to those that are in need? What will you sacrifice for others that honors God? Without love there is no sacrifice, kindness or being nice.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK,
PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Do What It Says
James 1:22 jumps out to me as it reminds me of how may people see Scripture. They can read it and even understand it, but do not follow through with it. In verses 23-24 it says that anyone who is not a doer of the Word after having heard it is like someone who forgets what they look like as soon as they look away from a mirror. So, why hear and understand the Word of God and and then not do what it says? Do you disagree? Did you forget? You have heard it and you understand it. There are resources to seek further understanding. There are no excuses.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
How Tough Is It Right Now?
Have you heard the saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going? There was even a song about it by Billy Ocean in 1986. But, from scripture, we can know and understand that when things get difficult for us it can be seen as discipline. Having money troubles? Maybe God wants you to cut back on your spending. Maybe God wants you to trust Him through hardships. Maybe you shouldn't have taken that job as it didn't pay enough and you made a bad decision. What ever happens is not always "God punishing me." Your earthly father disciplines you and you respect him, but God does it and you curse Him. Why?? In Hebrews 12:7 we read "It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" God is disciplining us. It isn't going to be easy. We can make decisions that back fire on us because we weren't doing what God wanted from us to begin with. See the discipline not as punishment but as a guiding for a new direction.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Faith, Substance and Evidence
Hebrews 11:1 is one of those verses that really describe what faith is for Christians. Faith is the "substance of things hoped for". That substance is what I hope for. This is not like hope for a new job or a better car, but we are talking about a hope in God and in our redemption to Him. "The evidence of things not seen" is the other part of faith. We have not yet seen the results. We have not seen the inner workings of what is happening as we hold on to our faith. We hope for things to happen as they relate to God's will for our lives and we have faith that they will.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Give Your Troubles to God
The Book of Psalm is full of crying out to God and venting frustrations and just letting God know you heart. In Psalm 120:1 we are told that the writer (possibly David or another- do some research) took their troubles to God, first. If you read through Psalm 119:169-176 we see that these troubles consisted of straying away from God and wanting to know God on a deeper level. But, first the troubles were taken to God. That takes wisdom to know to whom to turn. It also takes humility to not try and "fix it." The writer "cried out to Him" which is an expression of the writer's despair. If you don't talk to God, then how do you express to God what you feel and what you want? Simply, you don't. And finally God answered the prayer. But what prayer was it? If you read the through Psalm 119 again and see the problems that were spoken then you see that they were in line with what God wanted for them and for us.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Encouragement Toward Love and Good
The writer is pointing out in Hebrews 10:24-25 what some/many are not doing. They are not meeting together and loving one another and encouraging one another to be loving in the Lord. When that is lacking from our lives, discouragement from the enemy sneaks in and pulls us away from God when we should be trying to draw near to God.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Grace Doesn't Expire
I have had far too many conversations with people who only have so much grace for people. They really don't understand or see how much grace they have been given for things they say and do, or even more the grace that God has for them and their missteps. We give grace to people until we don't feel like it anymore. Our graces runs out, but does God's? First, we know that if it was not for God's grace there would not have ever been a Jesus for us. It was not because of the work we did or the bad behavior we didn't do. We didn't earn God's grace (Ephesians 2:8). Also, remember 1 John 14:9 that we love because God loves us first. He gave us Jesus. Think about it. We have received Jesus and still mess up. God still loves us. So, if God still loves us when we mess up (which He does) then why can't we have grace for others?
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Blood for Sins
The old covenant was solidified by blood (Hebrews 9:22). It was the blood of animals that were used as a sacrifice for sins of men. But when Jesus sacrificed himself, did that not hold more weight with sacrifice for sins than an animal? The writer makes this point once again by pointing what would be flawed logic for those that say Jesus was equal to or less than High Priests. Jesus shed his blood for your sins further solidifying his sacrifice. And that shedding of blood by Jesus was what we needed to be redeemed to God.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Established New Covenant
The writer here does a great job through thorough explaining and evidence and logic as to why Jesus is the new covenant. The writer does not just give his opinion but also backs it up with truth and even scripture from the Old Testament. In verses 8-12 the writer uses direct quotes from the book of Jeremiah which is an Old Testament book which clearly states that God will be establishing a new covenant. When you read through the life of Christ, the authority he had over the church leaders and culture with evidence from Old Testament scripture detailing the birth of Christ and his life, it further cements Jesus as the new covenant and our Lord and Savior.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Jesus the High Priest
Jesus was not equal to High Priests. If anyone sees Jesus as just another prophet then they are sadly mistaken. If you read the entire chapter of Hebrews (especially Hebrews 7:11-25) you will see how the writer explains in context how Abraham had a high priest to whom he would pay tithes and that priest was one of a number that would be named the High Priest (one at a time) and that also allowed for the belief that perfection could be attained this way (I hope I am understanding this correctly). Now, if that is the only way perfection can be attained then how did Jesus do it? He didn't go through the same process as the other High Priests. And it was written "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever'" in reference to Jesus. Therefore when we comes across Hebrews 7:27 we know that Jesus did not have to pay tithes or offer any kind of sacrifice to God for his sins (because he was sinless) we know that Jesus died for our sins so that we can be reconciled to God.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
