When we come into the saving grace and shed blood of Jesus for our salvation and sanctification, it is only natural that we desire to have fellowship with our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. However, throughout life that desire may not always be there because of the busyness of life and different hardships we may face. Despite these circumstances, we must not forget our first love, and He must be the center of our lives, where all that we do revolves around Him. Just as the sun is the center of the universe and all things in the universe revolve around it, if anything were to go out of orbit even slightly, it would disrupt the entire cosmos. Life without God disrupts everything that we do because we become our own god leaving our King and Lord out of all our decisions and the path that we should take. In order for God to affect the world, He chooses to work through those who have answered Him, “Here am I, send me!” By our complete surrender and devotion, God does amazing things that bring Him all the glory. Therefore, let us not neglect to have fellowship with our King and our friend. He is the reason why we live and have our being and makes our joy complete.
God is light and that is why the believers are called children of light. God is even brighter than the sun and when the old world passes away, the sun will not be needed anymore because the glory of God’s light will be sufficient for us. The penetrating brightness of God’s light shines even to the darkest places and nothing can hide from Him. For this reason, we must live in His light with a pure heart abiding in His truth.
I never thought of myself to be a liar if I chose to live in darkness, but this is true. God’s character and His laws are absolute. There are no gray areas and no room for compromise as some would like to think. You are either for Him or against Him, living in the light or the darkness, either for the truth or for deception. It sounds harsh and rigid, but following God requires holiness and strict discipline. We live in a world of so many compromises, and people have become their own god, still wanting to have the best of both worlds. However, to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God. Neutrality is not an option in the Kingdom of God. We can’t have fellowship with God and still enjoy the sinful pleasures, greed and pride of this world. The more we accept the world’s practices and mesh with their beliefs, the light and truth in us will be swallowed up by darkness. Do not be found a liar when Jesus returns. If there is anything that displeases God, we must cut it off now! I am a liar if I fail to follow God 100%.
Even though Jesus is the advocate for our sins, it does not give us the liberty to keep on sinning because God has commanded us to be holy as He is holy. How can we say that we know Him if we deliberately disobey His commandments? Then we are liars and hypocrites. However, those who strive to apply God’s Word with all their heart will have the love of God made complete in them. We must follow God’s absolutes.
Let this be our prayer from Psalm 119:113-120:
Oh Lord,
“I hate the double-minded, but I love Your law. You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, for I will keep the commandments of my God! Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Hold me up, and I shall be safe, and I shall observe Your statutes continually. You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, for their deceit is falsehood. You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; therefore I love Your testimonies. My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments.”
Amen.
Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord God with all our heart, strength, mind and soul and the second is like it: to love one another. These commandments have been given to us from the very beginning because they are the essence of God’s character and of Christianity. They are the reasons why we serve God to preach, to teach, to worship and pray, to meet the needs of others, etc. The world will know that we are His disciples through the love that we show. How will God know that we love Him? Reading and meditating on God’s Word daily, seeking His face in prayer and worship, allowing God to speak to us in the silence, and putting His words to action, shows that we love Him. God desires relationship and obedience. The breath of life should not be taken for granted because God Himself has given it to us as His gift, and the “breath of the Almighty gives us understanding” (Job 32:8; 33:4). For as long as we have breath, we should love the people and work together in unity, seeing them through the lens of God. The more God’s love radiates in and through us, the more His light will shine brighter throughout the world.
We are more than conquerors through our God (Romans 8:37), and we are overcomers because we have been born of God and are loved by Him (1 John 5:4). The Apostle John reminds the believers of who they are and what they can do because He knows that the Holy Spirit in them will give them victory. To have overcome is a sure thing; there is no question about it. Therefore, we can rest assured knowing the character of God that He will guide us through this life, equipping us with everything that we need to be victorious and to be overcomers. We are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10) because He who is in me is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). We are His children and called by His name and will never be put to shame. Therefore, we should not love the world or anything in it that would cause us to forsake our God. Let us love God with all our heart and let Him be the ruler of our soul.
Certainly, there have been many deceivers in the world that have led others astray. In our time, we call them cults because they deny that Jesus is God’s Son, that He is the Christ and the only way to salvation. John knew that those believers who would read his letters already had the truth in them, and he wrote to the Church to encourage and warn us. His letters are relevant today just as all Scripture is God-breathed and suitable for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness. The Apostle John as well as Paul reminds us that we have the anointing from our Lord to go into all the world and preach the Good News. There is no limitation to what God can do through us as long as we make ourselves available to Him and obey His commands. Let us remember that it is the last hour, and there is no time to waste. It is definitely discouraging because much of the nation is on lockdown, but we are not even close to what the worst will bring. Unless the leaders and the people repent, judgment will continue its course. So let us be ready at all times. When Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall, he was ready for adversity. The servants who were working on the repairs to the walls also held a weapon with the other hand. We must not let our guard down, otherwise, the enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion will devour us if we are not alert.
God’s anointing is the Holy Spirit who descends upon us when we receive salvation and remains with us forever. The reason why we do not need to depend on other teachers is because the Holy Spirit teaches us all things and brings to our remembrance all that Jesus said to us (John 14:26). Many Christians are dependent solely on pastors and other spiritual leaders to teach them, but the leaders are just teaching what the Holy Spirit has revealed to them. If Christians would search out the Scriptures for themselves and study it as the Bereans did, they would know the truth, and it would set them free. The Holy Spirit confirms and retains the truth in your heart so that there would not be any shadow of a doubt that passing knowledge cannot accomplish. As we read Scripture in our own special date with God, the Holy Spirit breathes upon us to open our eyes to see great and mighty (inaccessible) things that we do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). Mysteries are unfolded and the truth becomes clear.
What a great privilege to be called sons/children of God! God showed His great love for us by the sacrifice of His one and only Son, Jesus. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt 16:16), and no one can come to the Father except through Him. Jesus is the only way, truth, and the life. And we look forward to the day of His return when we shall be made like Him – a new and glorious body, and we shall see our Lord face to face. I will certainly have tears of joy streaming down my face because the wait will finally be over, and I will be made complete. This is the hope and expectation that we hold onto, and the whole world is in birth pains waiting for the day of our Lord’s great return to take us up to our heavenly home.
As a child of God, the Holy Spirit convicts us not to sin. Because we bear the seed of Christ, our desire is no longer to please our flesh but to please our Lord who saved and redeemed us. He is the reason why we live and act and have our being. By practicing righteousness and loving one another, it sets us apart from the world, who has been corrupted by sin and their love has become cold. In fact, they do not understand what true love is. Jesus said, we are His disciples if we do what He commands. If we deliberately choose to sin and ignore God’s holy command, then it is no different than spitting in Jesus’s face and denying the power that He has given to us to be overcomers.
On Monday, I felt my flesh was very weak and there was such an agitation in my heart that I felt as if I would lose control over my emotions. It was just one of those days that I woke up irritated. As I was driving my son to his piano lessons, I silently prayed that God would cover my emotions as I confessed my weakness before Him. He answered my prayer immediately and flooded me with such a peace and calm over my state of mind. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he declared that “no temptation has seized you except what is common to man, and God is faithful to not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but He will provide a way for you to escape so that you can endure it (1 Cor 10:13). The way to overcome sin is to pray and seek God with all your heart because He understands your weakness, and He is more than willing and capable to become your Helper and shield. Let us be under His power and influence daily.
Many people have a wrong understanding of what love truly is. It is described in 1 Corinthians 3:1-8 – Love is patient and kind, putting others before yourself…it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor 9:7-8). If Christians practice these acts of love daily, then how much more influence we would have upon the world to turn the people’s hearts toward Christ. We need to model after Jesus and let the love of God overflow through us. When we live and act in righteousness by doing what is pleasing in God’s sight, then will He hear and give us what we ask. Let us make a habit of practicing love each day!
In order to test every spirit, we must know the truth by abiding in God’s Word regularly and keep memorizing it. God’s word is our sword and shield, and we cannot resist the evil one without it. We know that the devil prowls around like a lion seeking whom he will devour, but if we are always equipped with the full armor of God, then we can command him to flee. Satan is no match for the Spirit of God, who clothes us with power to make us mighty men and women of valor. If God is for us, who can be against us. Because we are of God, the God in us is greater than anyone or anything in the world. God will give us the victor’s crown, so let us live as overcomers.
Upon salvation, we experience God’s love lavishly being poured out on us, especially because we come to a much deeper understanding of Christ’s sacrifice and love and how undeserving we are of God’s mercy and grace. The knowledge and realization of God’s unconditional love causes us to share the gospel with others so that they too can experience how great and how wide and how deep is Christ’s love for us. To know God is to know His love; it goes hand in hand because the overarching character of God that encompasses all His other characters is love. Those who are quick to judge and criticize have an either limited understanding or distorted view of God. The more we come to know God’s truth, the more our love also grows along with the other fruit of the Spirit. Let us not love just with word or tongue, but with action because “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
I’ll always remember what my pastor had said a while back during a brief marriage counseling session. In marriage we must learn to love each other more. Initially, the love that we have for one another is very shallow but passionate. However, through life experiences together as one body and in working out our differences, we come to know what true love is through God’s perspective and in our commitment to stick it out in richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times. It’s definitely a work in progress with a lot of sacrificing and dying to your flesh. However, in the end your marriage relationship is like gold – too precious to ever give up.
Those who live and abide in God’s Word and apply His truths have been perfected in His love. We look forward to the day of Jesus’ return when He shall judge all mankind. Those who are in God’s perfect love have no reason to be afraid of judgment because we know we have been made like Him, and His righteousness and blood covers all our imperfections from sin. That is why we can approach the throne of grace with confidence because Jesus is our mediator, and the strong bond that we have established with Him while on earth will reward us when He takes us home. Therefore, let us continue to work out our faith and salvation with fear and trembling allowing God to work in us to do His good will for His pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). We must labor for the food that will last for everlasting life (John 6:27) and store up for ourselves treasures in heaven (Matt 6:30) where it will not be destroyed by judgment of fire. Instead, our treasure will be refined and purified in the presence of our Almighty God and King. Praise the Lord!
Throughout the New Testament we see this assurance of our identity in Christ Jesus that we are overcomers and conquerors and have won the victory through Him. It is His blood that was shed for us and that covers us as the seal of the Holy Spirit, who helps us daily to persevere in the world. In Romans 8:35-39, Paul tells us that “tribulation, distress, or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword” cannot separate us from the love of Christ, but “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” None of these hardships or sufferings in the world will ever destroy us, but they will bring us closer to our Lord Jesus Christ because we have shared in His suffering, and He will give us the strength that we need to endure, to be overcomers, to be victorious. Therefore, we must remember who we are and who we belong to – Jesus. We must identify ourselves with God and Christ Jesus because we are born of God. Just as a newborn infant or newborn animal identifies itself to the first people or animals that it meets, when we are born again, we no longer identify ourselves with our earthly parents, but we identify ourselves with our heavenly Father who gave us new life and saved us from our sinful, depraved state.
Throughout the New Testament we see this assurance of our identity in Christ Jesus that we are overcomers and conquerors and have won the victory through Him. It is His blood that was shed for us and that covers us as the seal of the Holy Spirit, who helps us daily to persevere in the world. In Romans 8:35-39, Paul tells us that “tribulation, distress, or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword” cannot separate us from the love of Christ, but “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” None of these hardships or sufferings in the world will ever destroy us, but they will bring us closer to our Lord Jesus Christ because we have shared in His suffering, and He will give us the strength that we need to endure, to be overcomers, to be victorious. Therefore, we must remember who we are and who we belong to – Jesus. We must identify ourselves with God and Christ Jesus because we are born of God. Just as a newborn infant or newborn animal identifies itself to the first people or animals that it meets, when we are born again, we no longer identify ourselves with our earthly parents, but we identify ourselves with our heavenly Father who gave us new life and saved us from our sinful, depraved state. People everyday are looking for proof whether or not to believe in the Son of God. Some who seek with an earnest heart find the truth, and when they meet Christ face to face, the Spirit of God descends upon them bearing evidence and testifying to the work of our Savior. We not only have these witnesses in heaven but also on earth. Since the Father, the Word/Son, and Spirit are one, they have experienced firsthand all that Jesus did on earth to save the world from their sin. While on Earth, the Holy Spirit was always present in Jesus to hear from the Father, and His water baptism and shed blood testifies to the start and completion of His earthly ministry. What more proof do we need to believe? All of creation is His handiwork, His masterpiece. Let us give glory to God and thank Him for what He’s done for us! Unfortunately, there are many people who search for truth in all the wrong places and end up believing in a counterfeit religion, and they come into bondage instead of receiving the yoke of Jesus, which is easy and His burden light. There is freedom in God’s truth. It’s more than just believing in Jesus but having Jesus in your life who is the life-giver. We need to live and breathe Jesus every day.
The more that we study God’s Word and get to know our Lord, we come to understand His desires and realize what we need to pray. Verse 14 says that we must pray according to His will and we know that God hears us. It says in James 5:16, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Prayer must be specific that moves the heart of God, and it should be based on Scripture. There must not be any doubt because then we should not expect it to get answered. Instead, we must approach the throne of grace with boldness knowing that our great High Priest who always intercedes for us, understands our weaknesses and is ready to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16). Let us pray without ceasing always giving thanks to God (2 Thess 5:17-18). The more that we pray and it gets answered, then it builds up our faith. We shouldn’t approach God with prayers that are like spam or junk mail. We must pray with the right motives. We must beautify ourselves – working out our salvation, keeping our heart pure, confessing our sins, drawing close to God – that we would catch God’s eye, His attention (Esther 2:3,12).
“My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 7:1-3)
As God commands, we must love one another. However, the Apostle John makes a clear distinction of when to reject someone. He said there are many deceivers and false prophets; these people deliberately reject God’s word and try to deceive weak-minded individuals who do not yet know the whole truth. John warns us not to associate with these antichrists nor welcome them into your home or even greet them because they are set on destroying the Church. Even love is discerning, and God rejects those who reject Him because He knows their heart is set on evil, and they will never change; they have gone off to the dark side. Everyone has been given a choice whether to follow Jesus or follow the world, and these unbelievers made their choice. Therefore, let us be wise as serpents and as gentle as doves so that we do not fall (Matt 10:16).
Gaius was commended for his faith in action by the Apostle John. He poured out his love toward fellow brothers and sisters in Christ but even to those who were briefly visiting. Gaius, who understood their needs, blessed them with provisions for their journey and ministry.
In our own family, we understand from experience that to do ministry also requires support in the form of material blessing but also spiritual encouragement. Ministry is often a lonely road and many pastors have walked away from their calling because of discouragement and hurt as well as lack of financial support. However, we must trust God that those He has called, He will also equip (make perfect) to complete the good work He has started (Hebrews 13:21; Philippians 1:6). God is faithful and He will send other faith-filled individuals and families along the way to pray for us and encourage us in our time of need, and we should do likewise.