NO DOUBT!

Posted on July 6, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love

Every organization, club, government has rules and regulations. These rules and policies change and bend for the powerful and influential. You think you know how to “play the game”, ah, but then the rules change and you are at a loss as to what is reality and what is just an illusion. That’s the world.

But not so, with God. What He says in His Word is Truth and will never change, no matter how mankind tries to manipulate it. Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to earth to show us Who God really is, how He works and how He loves. He then became the perfect lamb of sacrifice to pay the debt of ALL our sin. Done. Finished. Complete. John takes us further, clarifying, to those of us who believe so that there is NO shadow of doubt in where we are headed. Read and be as blessed as I am this morning!

1 John 5, The Message
13-15 My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

16-17 For instance, if we see a Christian believer sinning (clearly I’m not talking about those who make a practice of sin in a way that is “fatal,” leading to eternal death), we ask for God’s help and he gladly gives it, gives life to the sinner whose sin is not fatal. There is such a thing as a fatal sin, and I’m not urging you to pray about that. Everything we do wrong is sin, but not all sin is fatal.

18-21 We know that none of the God-begotten makes a practice of sin—fatal sin. The God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God; it’s only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One. And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.

What do we learn and can rely on?

–We who believe have eternal life. No doubt. No fear. No worry.
–We who believe, because of Jesus, can walk boldly into the throne room of Our Father in Heaven, ask anything, and HE LISTENS!
–When we ask for God’s help…HE GIVES IT!
–We are God-protected, the evil one can’t lay a hand on us!
–Jesus is Truth, came to show Truth so that we can live a real life in Truth.

Don't panic

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for John’s words to us from Your inspiration to him. Thank you for the confidence to know you listen when we pray and sometimes cry out to you for help. We love you with all our hearts, minds and souls. We do indeed believe. Help us to see You around every corner today and in every detail. Help us to see Truth.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.

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CONQUERING POWER!

Posted on July 5, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love Power. The worldly crave it. Everyone seems to want it. Many desire power over money, fame, or goodwill. Worldly Power is what evil uses to distract us from G…

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CONQUERING POWER!

Posted on July 5, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love

Power. The worldly crave it. Everyone seems to want it. Many desire power over money, fame, or goodwill. Worldly Power is what evil uses to distract us from God’s best. Even toddlers will play the power game as they sit in the floor playing with blocks. Watch them for a few minutes and one will try to gain control over the other one until he/she has all the blocks. So, it’s inborn, our nature, to want power.

Those who crave power over another is hard to work with on projects that require teamwork, putting your gifts together to productively succeed in a better outcome.

Power consumes us at times by being either pushed and prodded or doing so ourselves over someone else. We then end up being alone in the journey. We sometimes get to the point of power leaving a bad taste in our mouths.

But this is false power, man made power, the kind of power that is short lived, fleeting, as in a game of “King of the Hill”. There will always be someone stronger who will come along and push you off that hill and shout, “I’M now KIng of the hill.”

Then along comes Jesus who brings a revolutionary idea of upside-down kingdom thinking that brings the “powerful” to their knees. John relates…

1 John 5, The Message
The Power That Brings the World to Its Knees

4-5 Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.

6-8 Jesus—the Divine Christ! He experienced a life-giving birth and a death-killing death. Not only birth from the womb, but baptismal birth of his ministry and sacrificial death. And all the while the Spirit is confirming the truth, the reality of God’s presence at Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion, bringing those occasions alive for us. A triple testimony: the Spirit, the Baptism, the Crucifixion. And the three in perfect agreement.

9-10 If we take human testimony at face value, how much more should we be reassured when God gives testimony as he does here, testifying concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God inwardly confirms God’s testimony. Whoever refuses to believe in effect calls God a liar, refusing to believe God’s own testimony regarding his Son.

11-12 This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.

What do we learn?
–God gave us life because of the life of Jesus.
–If we have Jesus, we have life.
–That is where the Power comes from…Jesus Christ…living in us…and we believing it. Our faith give us our power to conquer. Amen.

 

Power-In-The-Name-Of-JesusDear Heavenly Father,
Our faith in You does indeed drive us to our knees, bowing down to You and only You. You are God and we are not. There is no one like You and there never will be. Who else would I turn to in good times and bad? You are always present, omnipotent and the source of power. Thank you for Who You are and all the ways You help us. You are the First I want to praise when great things happen and the First I run to, sliding on my knees, in times of distress. You are my hope and my salvation. Keep my mind stayed on You all day long. In Jesus Name and by HIS power living in me, Amen. I believe.

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IT’S NO TROUBLE…REALLY!

Posted on July 4, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love From my writings, you have probably figured out how much I love my Grandpa Lacquement. I love my Grandma Lacquement and Grandma Kellerby, too. Why? Because th…

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IT’S NO TROUBLE…REALLY!

Posted on July 4, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love

From my writings, you have probably figured out how much I love my Grandpa Lacquement. I love my Grandma Lacquement and Grandma Kellerby, too. Why? Because they loved me so well. They loved God. It was evident, even more so now as I look back as an adult. They loved others like they loved God and like he loves them. Their love grew into concern for anyone having trouble with anything in their lives.

In going through (STILL!) my mom and dad’s stuff because of their passing, I ran across several “thank you” letters, not notes, but letters from others who Grandpa Lacquement had helped over the years. Some were friends and some were distant relatives. I knew he had the “helper and hospitality” gene in him, but I never knew to what extent until I read these precious letters. He led many to Jesus and that declaration and witness was written in the pages, too.

From a very early age, I knew my Grandpa loved me and I loved and adored him. I wanted to please him, honor him, and be with him constantly. If he got up early to feed the stock, I got up just to follow him around. Wherever he went, I begged to go along. Most of the time I was granted permission to go along. I don’t recall very many times that he disciplined me, but he did. It really only took that “look” to make me turn around and get back in line. We read God’s Word together each evening as was the custom. I complained once, but only once, because I got the “look”. We had been to “prayer meeting at church on Wednesday evening”, the custom in my growing up days, so in my child’s mind, we didn’t need to read the Bible again before going to bed and pray again! Did we? Yes we did.

I say all this because of what John tells us about God’s love and our obedience. Someone Who loves you and you love back instills an obedience attitude from the inside out. We want to obey those who love us so much we can’t wrap our heads around it. It is not troublesome to obey Someone who has Your best interest at heart! Is it?

1 John 5, The Message
1-3 Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-begotten. If we love the One who conceives the child, we’ll surely love the child who was conceived. The reality test on whether or not we love God’s children is this: Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome.

What do we learn?
–Learn from others who love God with obedient attitudes that come second nature. Grandpa passed on his love for God to his family. He passed it on to me.
–Love God. Obey his commands because of our love for God.
–Know, without a doubt, that God loves us and wants His best for us.
–Our love for Him is shown by our obedience of Him…without complaining.

LOVEJESUS

Dear Heavenly Father, I love you with all my heart, mind and soul. I repent of being impatient, disobedient at times, and a complainer. When I step up and do what you ask immediately out of my love for You, all goes well. I am learning and growing in my love for You which in turn makes my love for others more rich and free of conditions. Thank you, Lord. Continue to help us love like You love. In Jesus Name,

And I’m singing…
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the Voice I hear
Falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses,

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known!

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

I hear my mom, dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles singing this morning from heaven above to my heart…and I am comforted.

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THE REVOLUTION OF GOD’S LOVE

Posted on July 3, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love We had the run of Grandpa and Grandma Lacquement’s 160 acres in rural Oklahoma. Growing up we spent every school holiday we could there, the cousins and…

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THE REVOLUTION OF GOD’S LOVE

Posted on July 3, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love

We had the run of Grandpa and Grandma Lacquement’s 160 acres in rural Oklahoma. Growing up we spent every school holiday we could there, the cousins and I, roaming around outside. We only came in to eat and to sleep. Grandpa was fine with that and loved the fact that we were enjoying his land, the ponds to fish, the persimmons to fling, the horses to ride, the “rocking tree” that my oldest cousin Joe would bend down to send us flying, along with the birds, frogs and other creatures to enjoy. We had no fear of wondering around because we knew Grandpa and Grandma were not to far away and seemed to always know where we were. We knew were loved above all, with a love that is hard to match these days…unconditional love. This “fully formed” kind of love drives out all fear from harm or reprisal. This kind of love is mutual respect for the other. This love exudes trust. This is God’s kind of love. God is love.

1 John 4, The Message
To Love, to Be Loved
17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

20-21 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

What do we learn?
–God is Love.
–God’s Love demands that we love each other in the same way He loves us.
–God loved us first, showed us how to love through His Son.
–We have to love God AND others.
–Love God. Love Others. Revolutionary.
–To love and to be loved, in a “well formed” mature way drives out all fear. Fear is crippling until we get this right.

how deep the Father's love for us

Dear Heavenly Father, YOU are love. You are God and we are not. But we will spend all of lives here until Your love in us is fully formed and we love more and more like you love us. May we love each other better because of this love forming and being perfected in us. Help us always to remember that when we get this right, fear banishes. Worry subsides. To love You back and then love others like you love us sets us free. Thank you, Lord, for this reminder and yet another flashback from childhood.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.

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AUTHENTIC, COMPLETE AND PERFECT LOVE

Posted on July 2, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love From the beginning John tells us that God IS love and that love comes from God. God created Love, Perfect Love. So, now we dive into a perfectly clear explana…

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AUTHENTIC, COMPLETE AND PERFECT LOVE

Posted on July 2, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love

From the beginning John tells us that God IS love and that love comes from God. God created Love, Perfect Love. So, now we dive into a perfectly clear explanation that no one can misunderstand about this Perfect Love of God.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we accept a Love Contract that cannot be broken. God loved the world so much He gave (to us, you and me) His only Son (a part of Him) to stand in our place and accept the punishment for our sin (forever). Jesus Christ willing laid down His life so that we might know and love God back, freely, without sin that would block us from God for God cannot and will not have sin where He is.

Without Jesus, we cannot see or hear God. So we cannot love perfectly for God is love. Yes, God love the whole world (those inside and outside the church) so much He gave…His Love. That Perfect Love is the act of giving of Himself so that we who believe would have the right to be called His children and live with Him forever and ever. Amen.

The world is full of sayings about love. The media blares that love is about chocolate, diamonds, and getaways with intimacies without commitments or responsibilities. It all sounds good, looks good and even tempting. But it is not what God had in mind with His Perfect Love. His love begins with Him. God IS love. We cannot love others like He loves until we understand the love of God and love Him first. THEN our love for others takes on a deeper meaning and is more authentic…which is really what the world is desperately searching for as they search to be loved. God created this hunger for His love within all of us. Take hold of it. Seriously love God back and learn to love completely…like His loves us…Perfectly.

1 John 4, The Message
God Is Love
7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.

11-12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

13-16 This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

What do we learn?
–God is love. Embrace it heart and soul. We will love others more authentically and perfectly as we learn to love like God loves us.
–The more we realize the love God has for us, the more deeply and intimately we will love others.
–When we Spiritually look into the eyes of God and His love, we see others in a different Light and love more.
–Love is laying down our life for others.

amazing love

Dear Heavenly Father, No one can fathom the depths of Your love but we do understand even more this morning as we read and meditate on Your Perfect Love for us. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for laying down Your life for us, dear Jesus. Thank you for the joy and peace that comes from loving You back. I do love You with all my heart, mind and soul!
In Jesus Name, Amen

And I’m singing…

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, would die for me?…

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TO TELL THE TRUTH TEST!

Posted on July 1, 2016 by randscallawayffm

1, 2, &3 John – God and Love To Tell the Truth was a game show that was aired many years ago. I was just a kid, so that’s how many years ago it was! This was a classic game show in …

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