Thursday, April 1: 2John-pay attention to your faith-input

John writes a quick note to counsel a friend. Today we would probably put it in an email. It is so short I found it helpful to read it twice. To start, John sounds like a broken record… love = obedience. Having read his gospel and first letter, I have heard this refrain more than a few times.

Having reminded his friend of the foundation and without hesitation, John moves on. Pay attention to your input, make sure your faith-input is solid, consistent with what you have been taught, in my language, make sure it is biblical.

Verses 7-11: Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.

If people change or distort the truth, beware, do not even let them in your house.

Back in that day, the issue was traveling preachers.  Today we open the door into our lives through the things we read in print or on the computer/internet. We open the door into our lives through the things we see and hear on TV or download to our PDA. We have to be vigilant to guard the faith-information we take in. A little distortion here, another one there, and before we know it, we are outside the boundary of the Christian faith and in danger of loosing what we have worked for.

As I muse over this, the whisper of God is saying to me, “Stay in the Word, learn the content of the Word, stick to the content of the Word, build your life and faith-foundations on the Word, and measure what advice others give you by the Word.”

A quote by Martin Luther comes to mind. When asked to recant the faith he was teaching and believing, Luther said to the effect, ‘Unless I am convinced by Scripture and solid reason I will believe no other thing.’

Father, hem my life in by Your Word. Jesus, protect my life with Your Word. Holy Spirit, bring to my mind the full teaching of the Word, that I might not stray from You in my believing or my living… amen.

 

Wednesday, March 31: 1John 5-

John continues to repeat his main message; belief in Jesus is the entrance ticket into eternal life. Verses 1-5:  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1-5) and belief will lead to love and love means obedience to God’s command.

The comment, his commands are not burdensome, in verse 3 caught my attention. I had to pause and ponder that for awhile. Surely John is not saying that following God’s commands are a snap. Given all John’s warnings about not sinning, we must give effort to our carrying out of God’s commands, which do not come naturally to sin-stained humans. I pondered some more. What does it mean to be not burdensome?

An image emerged.  About a month ago, I was watching superior world class athletes compete in the Olympics. Lindsay Vann, Shawn White and Shannie Davis received a great deal of US attention. SI wrote reams on them and NBC interviewed them. One thing that came across through all of that was how hard they trained and worked. Lindsay Vonn, as an example, is the best conditioned and strongest female skier ever. Her workouts are the stuff of legend. Commentators were amazed that skiing on men’s skis, she could win the downhill on ‘one’ leg. Slow-motion video showed how little she used her right leg due to her injury. What I found interesting was that not one athlete bemoaned their training. Training was not a burden for them. Their training was rigorous, surely; exhausting, you bet;filled with pain and pushing themselves, absolutely, but not burdensome. They have an internal drive to keep at it. My mind flashed to other athletes, who when they retire say things like, “I just didn’t have the drive to get my body in shape…”

This athletic metaphor helped me understand what John was alluding to.

Keeping God’s commands requires energy. It can be a battle some days as my selfish flesh resists God’s commands, but through it all, it is not burdensome to give my all to Jesus. God, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, has worked a change in my heart. The Spirit living in me constantly testifies to the truth of God’s way (6) and this internal Spirit witness removes the ‘burden’ and instills desire to live for Jesus…

This thought helps me… I hope it helps you.

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for being the giver of life, the speaker of truth, and my ever-present counselor. Thank You, Spirit, for the strength You provide, for the witness to Jesus that You offer and for the motivation You give to follow the commands of God through love.

Lord, I don’t fully understand how You make it all work but I am thankful that You have placed in me the desire to love and serve You. Help that desire grow every day of my life, this side of eternity. I pray this in the name of the Father and in the name of Jesus and in the name of the Holy Spirit. Amen

 

 

Tuesday, March 30: 1John 4-reight belief results in right living

John is passionate about Jesus and Jesus is the connection into,or with God the Father. You can’t have one without the other. If you know God, then you will know Jesus and if you know Jesus, you will know God the Father…

Jesus (or Jesus Christ) is not just a name, He is a person and to know Him is to know and believe the truth about Him. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God (2) and more, If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God (15). Elsewhere in this letter John explains more right beliefs about Jesus (fill in verses). What I sensed is that John is passionate that the people to whom he is writing will understand fully and correctly who Jesus is. Jesus is God, God in human flesh, the purchaser of our atonement, Savior of the world, and so forth.

But John is never satisfied to leave belief in the realm of thinking. Right belief will result in right living.

So in verse 7, John pounds some more, the call to love. Love of God and love for others is the fruit, the result, of belief in Jesus. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (10-11).

As I ingested this lesson, my growth point is the second half of the equation. It is as if the Spirit whispered, “Bill, let your belief blossom and flower. Stretch your heart, risk loving, risk giving your life away as Jesus your Lord did. Love, go ahead and love, let My power and My love flow through you to others. Yes, Bill, let love flow to those you might not naturally love or affinity-wise be drawn toward. My Spirit will lead you… love as Jesus loved…”

O, God, help me. I admit and confess that this call of Yours is not innate to me. I cannot do it on my own. I can only go there as I am filled with Your love and empowered by Your Spirit.

Lord Jesus, this week I walk your passion. You forgave from the cross, those who nailed you there, Roman soldiers, Jewish leaders and priests, crowds who screamed for Your blood. Help me to love like that…to love like You. Amen

 

 

Monday, March 29: 1John 3-Lavish love

Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday and in 6 days we will celebrate Easter. In between, we walk those last days with Jesus. This week is a most penetrating week for me, spiritually, as I contemplate the sacrifice Jesus made for me and for my salvation. Reading verse 1 was like dropping the start flag at the Daytona 500. My mind launched forward contemplating the sacrifices of God for us… How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

‘Lavished,’ that was the word which released my meditation. God lavished His love on us. The love lavished upon us was not mere talk, it was active, action-love. (add a definition of lavished). God spared nothing, held nothing back, He gave it all. God lavished us with love. I played that refrain as I did a mental walk with Jesus through the week.

Lord’s supper meal

Washing disciples’ feet

Prayer in the garden

The whole of arrest through death

The dark time in the tomb

That’s lavish love.

After some minutes of pondering and thinking, I resumed reading… This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth (16-18). Never one to let me off easily, the Lord threw in a spiritual twist. Jesus’ lavish love is to be my example, my goal, for living and lavishing love on others.

(God never seems content to let my faith be merely lived in my head. No, God generally pushed me to transfer my contemplations into action.)

My eyes ran over verses 17 and 18 multiple times: And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth

God modeled it and now He transfers it to me (us). Love is more than mere talk, it is active-giving, action-oriented. That’s love and that’s how my Lord wants me to live…

Lord, as I enter the week when we remember all You gave for my salvation, how can I say ‘no’ to Your word asking me to love lavishly as You loved? Lord, I will need You Hold[HP1]  Spirit to live this out. Help me… please… in Jesus name. Amen.

 

 

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 [HP1]I don’t know what Bill means here.

Saturday, March 27: 1John 2-The plain truth.

Reading this morning, two sentences seemed to be flashing neon signs. My spirit perked up. Those sentences were where I lingered with the Lord this morning,

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

I don’t generally want to sin. By that I mean, I don’t wake in the morning and think, “Ah, this is the area of my life where I want to run from God and harm myself and others.” I do, however, choose to sin throughout the day. Situations emerge and I make ungodly choices. I can so relate to verses 1-2. I know God doesn’t want me to sin, but thankfully, God provides a way out when I sin… Jesus. But if anybody does sin, (that’s me daily!) we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, (Jesus paid the penalty –atoned for- my sin and not only that He is my defense attorney and my defense! Thank you, Jesus, for doing what I could never have done for myself!) and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (and Jesus offers the same for the whole world and everybody that obeys, loves and believes in Jesus accepts his offer and is covered by His atonement).

This first sentence helped me appreciate Jesus and what He has done for me.  Oh so much! I regularly marvel at the gift of life Jesus offers through belief in Him.

Sentence number 2 came in verse16: For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. Even though I routinely recognize my own sinfulness and sin, I still find it easy to fall into the trap of, “At least I am not as bad as so-n-so…” Well, my little ‘justify myself cocoon’ was torn apart when I read this sentence and this caused me to cherish verse 1&2 all the more.

These sentences opened my eyes to my propensity to sin, in areas I don’t necessarily consider. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man (cravings… what do I crave, seek after, desire, envy? each are doorways to sin… overt acts or mental dallyings, they are sin, nonetheless), the lust of his eyes (reading those words returned me quickly to a sermon I preached less than a month ago, Feb 28, 2010, on sexual purity. My life, our 21^st century lives, are inundated with lures to promiscuity. I have to be vigilant!) and the boasting of what he has and does (I live in a community of boasting…. the houses we own, cars we drive, handbags we carry, our college pedigrees, vacation homes, grand vacations, importance of our jobs, etc. Ugh, I am saturated with myself. This pierced deeply!)--comes not from the Father but from the world. In simple terms, it is sin.  So as I mentioned, God brought me back to verse 1-2 and my need for Jesus.

Jesus, Father, Spirit, on the one hand I don’t like times like these; times of brutal honesty about the real me, the me underneath with whitewashed façade of pretending to be, ‘oh so good.’ Even if I was the ‘goodest’ person on the earth, which I am not (!), I would still fall far short of Your measure.

Yet, in Your grace and wisdom God, this honest look, as painful as it is, brings me back to the cross, back to the atonement Jesus provided, back to my defense attorney and Lord Jesus. That never ceases to refresh my soul and bring joy to my spirit. Thank You, God, for washing me clean again this morning through honest reflection of my life and renewed recognition of my need for You… cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean and wash me whiter than snow (Ps 51), I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

 

 

 

Friday, March 26: 1John 1-

As a family, we have taken a number of ranger led hikes in our National Parks. It was wonderful! On at least one occasion we have taken a night hike into forest. Our world is not pitch black at night.  Stars and the moon, depending upon its’ phase, cast some light which can be more or less given the cloud cover. Generally after a few minutes, with no artificial light out, eyes can begin to distinguish some features.

On our forest-night hike, after our eyes adjusted, the ranger taught us how to walk at night. The key to night walking is lifting ones’ knees and placing your feet squarely on the ground, not sliding your feet along the earth. Even though our eyes can distinguish some features, the ground is relatively indistinguishable. Branches, rocks, roots, holes, dips, twigs, gravel, etc. are all lying there waiting to trip up the impatient and inexperienced. Hiking at night is quite different than hiking during the day. Even with the best of night-walking techniques, stumbles and falls occur.

John writes, God is light in and him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth (5b-6). Darkness is a metaphor for living outside or apart from God, living outside or apart from what has been passed down to us about God in God’s Word.

‘Be truthful with yourself,’ says John. However, we are fooling ourselves and lying to others when we say we live by the truth but don’t.

God, honesty is my word for this morning.I must be honest with myself and with You. I must be honest enough with myself to ask myself, ‘Am I walking according to Your word and Your precepts and Your ways?’ Only then am I walking in the light.

Lord, I am thankful, too, that when I stray and sin, You will not leave me or forsake me because You have provided a way out. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (9). I love that when I confess, You purify me from ALL unrighteousness.

O, Lord, today I make my confession to You…

 

Thursday, March 25: John 21-In the end. grace.

Have you ever hurt someone you care for and love? Significantly hurt them? I don’t think I am alone in this, but I find crossing the divide, caused by my hurt, to be ‘oh so difficult’. Reestablishing a link so the broken relationship can be mended and restored is huge, at least for me. Life’s inertia, for me, is to remain disconnected, to avoid rather than speak, and so forth. Oh I feel the ache and it is not good.

Maybe this life-pattern of mine is what provided the connection, but I could ‘feel’ the tension between Peter and Jesus. The last direct interpersonal connection between Peter and Jesus was Peter’s triple denial of knowing Jesus. We are told in multiple gospels that Peter wept bitterly after the third denial. We know when we have failed someone we love.

Peter and Jesus saw each other in the upper room when Jesus said “Peace be with you” (20:19). But there is no record that they spoke to each other. Maybe Peter avoided direct contact with Jesus because of his guilt. If Peter were me, I would have longed to be reconnected but afraid to reconnect.

Here in chapter 21, Jesus makes contact; Jesus approaches and speaks. I could feel my blood pressure lowering. The question may come across strong, but I imagined how I would feel in the moment.  For me, the fact that Jesus approached me and spoke to me would speakvolumes. Jesus crossed the divide, Jesus sought me out, Jesus made the first move of reconciliation. O, my heart leapt! Jesus came with grace and love. Jesus said in effect, “No longer will I allow the awkwardness and pain of Peter’s denial mar our relationship. I love him too much. I will make the first contact.”

I realize much of this scenario comes filtered through my life. Still this morning I marvel how often that’s the way it is with Jesus. I screw up and Jesus crosses the divide I caused and reconnects, offering me forgiveness and grace and love.

Lord Jesus, thank You for reconnecting with Peter on the shore of the lake and thank You for doing the same for me countless times. Yes, Lord Jesus, I, too, love You… I do, yes I do… amen.