1 John 1: Fellowship and Confession

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. 

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Friday Focus #27

Making a Rash Decision

Life is full of frustrations. Sometimes it seems like no matter what you do or where you turn, there is a problem. It could be a money problem or a relational problem or a job issues, but whatever it is, it seems like the issues are never ending. Job issues may lead you to want to quit, but then what? You need money to live and pay bills and eat. You could open up another credit card and pull all of that money out, but how will you pay it off? Could you cut spending rather than increase debt? In relationships, people will rub us the wrong way and we can be tempted to cut ties. But, have you thought about the the possible repercussions? Better yet, did you ask God for direction? 

One thing you can do is go to God humbly and ask Him to show you what you could have done differently. It is hard to be humble when we get upset at people or life. Making more money is great, but if you do not know how to save and budget, then what difference does it make. Finding a new job is great but if every job you have had there are issues you have that irreconcilable with coworkers or upper management, then maybe that needs to be addressed before quitting. Finding a new friend or significant other is fine, but maybe there is a way you talk to people that pushes people away instead of pulling them in. In Job 6:24 we read that Job was asking Eliphaz to show him where he was wrong regarding a rant. But do we do this with ourselves, others and Go?. When there is an issue you can just "fix it" or you can humbly seek to find out what went wrong and where.

Also, just know that God will guide you, but you have to be humble enough to know that God's way is the best way. If you are not reading your Bible and seeking to understand it and see what God's word has for you, it will make life harder. Life can be hard anyway, why make it harder by not checking the manual. You can't fix a car without looking at the intricate parts of the engine, transmission, and the owner's manual. With people, our brain and our heart (emotions) and owner's manual (the Bible) need to be connected in order to help us through life. In Psalm 31:3 we have to see that God is our rock and our fortress and He will lead and guide us. We have to seek Him and His way.

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Friday Focus #22

God's Power is Bigger Than Your Biggest Problem

Do you know the story of David and Goliath? Not the claymation cartoon from the 1960s (as us old people may remember) but the boy who slay a giant that struck fear into the Israelites. There are some points to take home from 1 Samuel 17.These points were taken from a message by Pastor Kerry Shook from Woodlands Church (link at the end of the blog).

First, we you must attack the giant in your life. We do not do this with reckless abandon, but with God's power and direction (1 Samuel 17:45). How do we know what God wants from us? We must read His word. We must talk to Him. We also have to look at who we are and how we are designed in order to carry out the plans God has for us. David did not cower in fear or pretend like it wasn't there. He faced it head on. What is your biggest fear right now? Is it a relationship? Is it health? Money? Job? 

David's instinct after knocking Goliath down was to cut his head off (1 Samuel 17:51). He did not celebrate and pat himself on the back. He wanted to be rid of the Goliath and the fear he was causing in the battle. David didn't want the giant to only be knocked down, but wanted to be rid of the fear and problems Goliath caused. How can you cut off your giant's head? Are you spending too much money? Cut up the credit cards! Are you always getting drunk with your friends? Find new friends that can keep you accountable. There is something major in your life that is causing a problem that needs to be severed from your life. Extreme measures are needed for extreme problems.

David also had an expectation of more giants to come. Life has issues that will not always be the same thing over and over again. But what do we learn by doing the same thing over and over again. 1 Samuel 17:40 tells us that David selected 5 stones from the stream. Why 5 stones? We learn in 2 Samuel 21:15-22 that there were 4 more giants that were related to Goliath. David may have known this before hand which is why he could have selected 5 stones in stead of just one. He was preparing for what else may be around the corner. Once one giant is destroyed we must be ready to face more in the future.

If you would like to see the message from Kerry Shook on David and Goliath in a message called "Giant Killers" please click here.

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Mark 11:23-24- Faith to Move Mountains

Faith to Move Mountains

Sometimes I don't pray and I just complain. I gripe. I moan. I grumble. I tell friends the issue, but I "forget" to pray. I put forget with quotations because I did not actually forget. I have become accustomed to doing things that way. I try to figure it out. There is nothing wrong with using your God given problem solving ability to figure out some of your issues. But, what about using that ability to speak to God and pray?

In Mark 11:12-14, Jesus curses a fig tree that was no longer producing any fig (fruit). It wasn't doing what it was supposed to do. It wasn't doing it's job. It was useless. Just sitting there looking pretty with leaves. After he cleansed the temple from the "thieves" in verses 15-19, he and the disciples walked by the fig tree that he had cursed and they saw that it had withered to its roots. He uses this moment to teach them to have faith in God. He says that you can tell a mountain to to be thrown into the sea and it will if you do not have a a doubt in your heart. Bam! Right there, he said a "doubt in his heart."

When we pray about our mountains (money, relationship issues, living situations, jobs, health) do we really pray with that kind of faith? Do we have doubts? Then when the prayer is not answered we think God is ignoring us. But, if we read and seek to understand and have faith that God is not only listening but truthful in fulfilling his promises.

He follows up this command by also saying that when we pray we are also to forgive any trespasses (wrong doing) against us by other people. In school, we are not encouraged to get F's, but here Jesus wants us to have F's with Faith and Forgiveness (see what I did there?) How can God here our prayer and come through to move the mountain if we do not believe that He will and when we have bitterness and an unforgiving heart toward others.

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