Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

Doors.  Doors are openings to our homes, businesses, churches, park buildings, and our vehicles. Everything needs an opening to get inside from the outside.  The dictionary definition of a door is “a hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at the entrance to a building, room, or vehicle, or in the framework of a cupboard.”  We lock most of these doors for our protection.  We carry keys that unlock doors used to protect us, our family, and our stuff.  Doors are also used to measure distance.  “She lived three doors down from me.” 

There are all kinds of doors.  In fact, there are so many that successful businesses have been built solely on the design and installation of doors and windows.  Doors that have great “curb appeal” professionals say, are designed to be friendly and welcoming.  However, some doors are built as secure, ominous barriers meant to keep others away from entering.  I personally love glass doors on the front of a church, without clutter around them, so people can see other people with smiles before walking in from the outside.  Glass doors represent openness with invitation to “come and see” while elevating fears and anxiety.  By the way, visitors evaluate whether they will come back as they make their way from the “streets to their seats” and back again.  Who and what do we (as doors to Christ) represent?

Revelation 3, the Message

To Sardis

3 Write this to Sardis, to the Angel of the church. The One holding the Seven Spirits of God in one hand, a firm grip on the Seven Stars with the other, speaks:

“I see right through your work. You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you’re dead, stone-dead.

^2-3 “Up on your feet! Take a deep breath! Maybe there’s life in you yet. But I wouldn’t know it by looking at your busywork; nothing of God’s work has been completed. Your condition is desperate. Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears—grasp it again and turn back to God.

“If you pull the covers back over your head and sleep on, oblivious to God, I’ll return when you least expect it, break into your life like a thief in the night.

⁴ “You still have a few followers of Jesus in Sardis who haven’t ruined themselves wallowing in the muck of the world’s ways. They’ll walk with me on parade! They’ve proved their worth!

⁵ “Conquerors will march in the victory parade, their names indelible in the Book of Life. I’ll lead them up and present them by name to my Father and his Angels.

⁶ “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

To Philadelphia

⁷ Write this to Philadelphia, to the Angel of the church. The Holy, the True—David’s key in his hand, opening doors no one can lock, locking doors no one can open—speaks:

⁸ “I see what you’ve done. Now see what I’ve done. I’ve opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don’t have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn’t deny me when times were rough.

⁹ “And watch as I take those who call themselves true believers but are nothing of the kind, pretenders whose true membership is in the club of Satan—watch as I strip off their pretensions and they’re forced to acknowledge it’s you that I’ve loved.

¹⁰ “Because you kept my Word in passionate patience, I’ll keep you safe in the time of testing that will be here soon, and all over the earth, every man, woman, and child put to the test.

¹¹ “I’m on my way; I’ll be there soon. Keep a tight grip on what you have so no one distracts you and steals your crown.

¹² “I’ll make each conqueror a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, a permanent position of honor. Then I’ll write names on you, the pillars: the Name of my God, the Name of God’s City—the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven—and my new Name.

¹³ “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

To Laodicea

¹⁴ Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says:

^15-17 “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

¹⁸ “Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.

¹⁹ “The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!

^20-21 “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!

²² “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

John’s vision continues with evaluations of three more churches in need of a “faith-lift” by Jesus Christ as LORD of their lives.  The Cornerstone of Church, Jesus Christ, had been covered over with tangled vines of the sins of self-importance,  arrogance or just don’t care complacent attitudes of apathy.  The doors to their churches have been shut tight, rarely opened to outsiders.  Those inside were dying from lack of Living Water and Bread of Life as they relied only on what they had to feed themselves. 

Some churches stayed busy inside, patting themselves on the back for being so busy while doing church work that satisfied their feelings of self-worth; but their hearts had turn to stone, hardened by closing the door to the wide open spaces of what God created them to be with what He wants to do through them—to go and tell others about His saving grace!  Love others like I love you.  Extend hospitality.  With humility and grateful hearts, welcome strangers, realizing we are merely beggars, telling other beggars where to find the Bread of Life and Living Water ! 

“Be the church, don’t do church” is the message.

Jesus tells John the Message of the Open Door:

When you see Me standing outside, knocking on the closed doors of your hearts, minds, and souls; Open the door and let Me in! –Jesus I want to be with you, eat and drink with you, commune with you, and tell you of my love for you. 

How can we turn down the King of kings and Lord of lords?

Who are we to turn down the gift He brings to us—redemption and an intimate, loving relationship with Him now and forever?

OPEN THE DOOR!

Lord,

Sometimes we think the busier we are at doing church is the measure of our holiness. What false thinking that is!  Thank you for reminding us it’s all about you!  You in us and us in you being who you created us to be.  Cleanse, soften and shape our hearts into a heart like yours that is full of compassion and unconditional love.  Renew and remodel our minds as we open and let you in.  Transform our behaviors to be more like you who loves everyone and accepts all who believe, while recognizing our need of you every hour of every day!  We are not much without you.  You are our everything!  Lord, Redeemer, Savior, and Friend for Life!  Refresh and feed our souls with your Bread of Life and Living Water.  Restore the unending joy of your continual work of salvation within us.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen! Yes, and  Amen

“In the beginning God…” Genesis 1:1

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.” Psalm 139:1

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Matthew 17:5b

From Genesis to the Revelation, beginning to end, the message from God is clear:  God loves us and wants us to love Him back with a loving, intimate, relationship with his created humans.  It began with Adam and Eve, His first created, showing how much God enjoyed walking and talking with them in the garden created by Him for their enjoyment.  God didn’t want a forced, robotic, love; but a love returned that was in response to who He was—the Giver of Life! 

God who is Love, wanted us to love Him back as a decided choice not an obligation.  Adam and Eve were the first to make the wrong choice by yielding to God’s enemy, the fallen angel, who distracted them from God’s good and perfect loving relationship to deceive them by distorting the truth while presenting the idea that they could “have even more” by taking God’s place.  Sound familiar?

We still think we can be God and worship all that is not God as we live for self.  Like Adam and Eve, but we still fall for the Deceiver who distracts us from God with continued attempts to destroy our relationship with God.

Revelation 2, The Message

To Ephesus

2 Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights’ circle, speaks:

^2-3 “I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.

^4-5 “But you walked away from your first love—why? What’s going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen? A Lucifer fall!

“Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I’m well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.

⁶ “You do have this to your credit: You hate the Nicolaitan business. I hate it, too.

⁷ “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’m about to call each conqueror to dinner. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.”

To Smyrna

⁸ Write this to Smyrna, to the Angel of the church. The Beginning and Ending, the First and Final One, the Once Dead and Then Come Alive, speaks:

⁹ “I can see your pain and poverty—constant pain, dire poverty—but I also see your wealth. And I hear the lie in the claims of those who pretend to be good Jews, who in fact belong to Satan’s crowd.

¹⁰ “Fear nothing in the things you’re about to suffer—but stay on guard! Fear nothing! The Devil is about to throw you in jail for a time of testing—ten days. It won’t last forever.

“Don’t quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you.

¹¹ “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death.”

To Pergamum

¹² Write this to Pergamum, to the Angel of the church. The One with the sharp-biting sword draws from the sheath of his mouth—out come the sword words:

¹³ “I see where you live, right under the shadow of Satan’s throne. But you continue boldly in my Name; you never once denied my Name, even when the pressure was worst, when they martyred Antipas, my witness who stayed faithful to me on Satan’s turf.

^14-15 “But why do you indulge that Balaam crowd? Don’t you remember that Balaam was an enemy agent, seducing Balak and sabotaging Israel’s holy pilgrimage by throwing unholy parties? And why do you put up with the Nicolaitans, who do the same thing?

¹⁶ “Enough! Don’t give in to them; I’ll be with you soon. I’m fed up and about to cut them to pieces with my sword-sharp words.

¹⁷ “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’ll give the sacred manna to every conqueror; I’ll also give a clear, smooth stone inscribed with your new name, your secret new name.”

To Thyatira

¹⁸ Write this to Thyatira, to the Angel of the church. God’s Son, eyes pouring fire-blaze, standing on feet of furnace-fired bronze, says this:

¹⁹ “I see everything you’re doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.

^20-23 “But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion? I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no intention of giving up a career in the god-business. I’m about to lay her low, along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games. The bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I’ll kill. Then every church will know that appearances don’t impress me. I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what’s coming to you.

^24-25 “The rest of you Thyatirans, who have nothing to do with this outrage, who scorn this playing around with the Devil that gets paraded as profundity, be assured I’ll not make life any harder for you than it already is. Hold on to the truth you have until I get there.

^26-28 “Here’s the reward I have for every conqueror, everyone who keeps at it, refusing to give up: You’ll rule the nations, your Shepherd-King rule as firm as an iron staff, their resistance fragile as clay pots. This was the gift my Father gave me; I pass it along to you—and with it, the Morning Star!

²⁹ “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Jesus came to John via God’s Messenger Angel in a vision reminding us of God’s Love, with a recap of who we are and where we stand in our loving relationship with God.  By the time of John’s revelation, believers in Jesus had been doing what was started in Peter.  “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell (also translated death) will not conquer it.” Matthew 16:18 

However, since church is made up of imperfect humans, it is revealed to John the deviations some have made from God will along with solutions to human problems created. “Listen!” is a repeated warning.  The vision includes evaluation reports of seven churches.  We can all learn from the sinful mistakes made, the apparent misdirection by deceivers, along with self-importance attempts followed by loss of love for God.  But because God so loved, we are reminded of how to be restored in Jesus Name for His glory! 

HERE’S THE RECAP IF YOU’RE JUST TUNING IN:

God’s One and Only Son, Jesus was sent to earth to save us from ourselves!  Jesus was sent to reconcile (reconnect) us back to the God who knows. This plan was designed from the beginning proven by The Word that points us to Jesus as the One who saves us! 

God knows our hearts because He made us!  God knows us inside out and loves us still.  God sent Jesus to demonstrate His love clearly and decisively to us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 

From the beginning, God sent prophets to speak for Him who preached the message God wanted people to hear with listening ears of faith believing.  The Message:  I love you with an everlasting love.  I am your God, the One who made you.  Love me with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. (Deuteronomy 6) And love others like your love yourself.  The two greatest of the top ten commandments is to love God and love each other like God loves us, according to Jesus.  With God’s love in us to transform our thinking and behaviors; we will become more like the image of Him He created us to be.

Jesus suffered torture and then died a human, physical death.  But death did not defeat Him.  By God’s Power, He raised Jesus from death to life, scars, and all, defeating God’s Enemy, The Deceiver, once and for all time!  Since Jesus overcame the enemy, so shall we who truly believe!  This same power lives in us!  By the power of His Holy Spirit, we are more than conquerors with Jesus!  (See Romans 8)

Jesus remained on earth for a few weeks to encourage believing followers still in shock by what they saw Jesus do for them.  Jesus restored and gave needed sinew for their faith muscles to help these committed men and woman who would carry on the work of reconciling people to God in Jesus Name. His parting words before ascending in the heaven to return to His Father and ours as King of kings and Lord of lords were:

 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

REALIGNMENT OF PURPOSE FOR THE SEVEN CHURCHES:

1. Return to our first love—God and His Son, Jesus Christ who saved us.
2. Don’t fall for the Deceiver, especially the ones in “church clothes”!
3. Be the Light of Jesus who affects society and the culture around us instead of allowing society to affect, deceive, and distract us. Jesus plus nothing more equals everything! A divided heart distracts us from pure worship of God alone.  Avoid the idols of our age and of our own making.
4. We are only be made right by Jesus.  “No one comes to the Father except through Me”—Jesus.  Be made right with Jesus who forgive us all our sins; then model His loving, compassionate behaviors with a desire to be more like Him. His Holy Spirit helps us for we cannot do this alone—we aren’t that powerful.  “I see what you’re doing, says Jesus to this church; but “every church will know that appearances don’t impress me. I x-ray every motive.”  “Hold on to the truth you have until I get there.”

Three more lessons to learn tomorrow…we must pause to take in what we have learned today.  What better messenger than John, His Beloved Disciple, to pass on the revelation of who we are in Christ while revealing what will come to those who remain in His love!

Lord,

Thank you for revealing who you are and what you desire from us who love you back.  From beginning to end—You are God and we are not.  Thank you, Jesus, for reconciling us to God by your work on earth. Thank you, Three-in-One, for loving us and helping us the way you do.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, transform our behaviors, and restore the joy of your salvation at work within us.

In Jesus Name, Amen

After a decade of dreaming about it; we finally did it!  We remodeled our kitchen on a slim budget.  We stripped off the old and painted the cabinets a clean, bright white.  But, knowing our limited abilities, we hired a guy who was gifted and meticulous in tiling and countertop installing to pull out the old and put in the new.  We left for a week while he did his part as soon as the paint dried on the cabinets.  We also had to remove all the contents of collected stuff in the cabinets which was a chore but worth it.  We got rid of  tons of stuff we did not need or would want in our new dream kitchen work area.

We waited with intense excitement for the “big reveal.” We learned that our guy who had become our new friend in the process was as excited as we were! The day finally came!  We walked into the kitchen to see a beautiful, clean, durable backsplash, countertop, and new sink!  It was much more than we imagined it would be. The new sink that replaced the old stained sink was a perfect fit.  The prayers, planning, sacrificing financially, measuring many times, and prework preparation all came together as our dream was realized. It was worth all the work of gathering what was needed, getting rid of what we didn’t need, patiently waiting through delays, and the sore muscles and joints to see this dream realized! 

Jesus blessed John with a Big Reveal of unimaginable proportions!  Jesus gave John a glimpse of what eternal life with Him in God’s Kingdom will look like. While John was at worship, the reveal given in a glorious vision.  Since this same John was one invited to see Jesus transfigured on the mountain top that one day, John is ready for more.  He knows Who is talking to him while showing these great signs of things to come. 

The gates of heaven were pulled back to reveal what lies ahead for those who remain firm in faith and truly believe all that God said about eternal life found in His Son, Jesus.  John, the Beloved disciple who encouraged many churches in the Name of Jesus was given the privilege to see with the command to write down all that saw of the Big Reveal so future readers of the reveal will know God as Truth and Love.  Only Jesus, without sin, who died for our sins, is qualified to be the final judge. 

Hang on, the reading for understanding might blow our minds through the metaphors, but will reveal to us the importance of staying true to our “first love”—Jesus.  Come let us worship God in Jesus Name as we read…

Revelation 1, The Message

^1-2 A revealing of Jesus, the Messiah. God gave it to make plain to his servants what is about to happen. He published and delivered it by Angel to his servant John. And John told everything he saw: God’s Word—the witness of Jesus Christ!

³ How blessed the reader! How blessed the hearers and keepers of these oracle words, all the words written in this book!

Time is just about up.

His Eyes Pouring Fire-Blaze

^4-7 I, John, am writing this to the seven churches in Asia province: All the best to you from The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive, and from the Seven Spirits assembled before his throne, and from Jesus Christ—Loyal Witness, Firstborn from the dead, Ruler of all earthly kings.

Glory and strength to Christ, who loves us,
    who blood-washed our sins from our lives,
Who made us a Kingdom, Priests for his Father,
    forever—and yes, he’s on his way!
Riding the clouds, he’ll be seen by every eye,
    those who mocked and killed him will see him,
People from all nations and all times
    will tear their clothes in lament.
        Oh, Yes.

⁸ The Master declares, “I’m A to Z. I’m The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive. I’m the Sovereign-Strong.”

^9-17 I, John, with you all the way in the trial and the Kingdom and the passion of patience in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s Word, the witness of Jesus. It was Sunday and I was in the Spirit, praying. I heard a loud voice behind me, trumpet-clear and piercing: “Write what you see into a book. Send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea.” I turned and saw the voice.

I saw a gold menorah
    with seven branches,
And in the center, the Son of Man,
    in a robe and gold breastplate,
    hair a blizzard of white,
Eyes pouring fire-blaze,
    both feet furnace-fired bronze,
His voice a roar,
    right hand holding the Seven Stars,
His mouth a sharp-biting sword,
    his face a blinding sun.

I saw this and fainted dead at his feet. His right hand pulled me upright, his voice reassured me:

^17-20 “Don’t fear: I am First, I am Last, I’m Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever. See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death’s doors, they open and lock Hell’s gates. Now write down everything you see: things that are, things about to be. The Seven Stars you saw in my right hand and the seven-branched gold menorah—do you want to know what’s behind them? The Seven Stars are the Angels of the seven churches; the menorah’s seven branches are the seven churches.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Come to Jesus with hearts, minds, and souls opened to trust and obey.  May Love lead the way.

Pray without ceasing. 

Worship God as a lifestyle of communion, two-way conversations daily of talking and listening, with laying our lives before Him as an offering to Him.  This is our spiritual act of worship.  (Romans 12:1-2) It is through worship of God in Jesus Name that He reveals Himself to us.

Caution:  Avoid wondering in “the weeds” of what we do not understand now.  Let us apply to our lives what we do understand—because there is plenty!

In his introduction of Revelation, The Message Bible, Eugene Peterson prepares us with words of worship we can grasp and hold on to God with a believing heart, renewed mind, and a soul given to Jesus—

“The Bible ends with a flourish; vision and song, doom and deliverance, terror and triumph.  The rush of color and sound, image and energy, leaves us reeling.  But if we persist through the initial confusion and read on, we begin to pick up the rhythms, realize the connections, and find ourselves enlisted as participants in a multi-dimensional act of Christian worship. 

John of Patmos, a pastor of the late first century, has worship on his mind, is preeminently concerned with worship.  The vision, which is THE REVELATION, comes to him while he is at worship on a certain Sunday on the Mediterranean island of Patmos.  He is responsible for a circuit of churches on the mainland whose primary task is worship.  Worship shapes the human community in response to the living God.  If worship is neglected or perverted, our communities fall into chaos or under tyranny. 

Our times are not propitious for worship. The times never are. The world is hostile to worship. The Devil hates worship.  As The Revelation makes clear, worship must be carried out under conditions decidedly uncongenial to it.  Some Christians even get killed because they worship.

John’s Revelation is not easy reading.  Besides being a pastor, John is a poet, found of metaphor and symbol, image and allusion, passionate in his desire to bring us into the presence of Jesus believing and adoring.  But the demand he makes on our intelligence and imagination are well rewarded, for in keeping company with John, our worship of God will almost certainly deepen in urgency and joy.” –Peterson

Lord,

I worship you with all that is in me. There is none like you!  You saved me and restored me.  You reconciled me to you.  You are provider, healer, protector, to all who believe.  Your Holy Spirit comforts, convicts, challenges and compels us to be more like you.  Thank you for giving us a glimpse of things to come.  May all I think, say, and do today be worship of you.  Continue your remodeling work in me!

In Jesus Name, Amen

“A redwood tree fell in a California forest. Four hundred years old.  It wasn’t destroyed by lightning. Storms had come and gone, but the tree stood. It wasn’t felled by winds. Bent by their force, but never uprooted. The tree didn’t fall to fire. It had stood when others collapsed.

What destroyed the redwood?

Insects. Termites devoured it from within. It had stood for four centuries against the elements from without, but collapsed because of an attack within.

Jude warns that the same can happen to the church.  He wanted to write ‘about the salvation we share’.  But he felt compelled to address a more somber issue—the danger of false teachers.

Apparently, some had entered the church. They were not students of the Word but, rather, promoters of sexual sin. They used God’s grace as a license for passion. The only solution? “I . . . urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people”.

Jude is urgent in his warning. What destroyed the redwood can destroy a church. But he is equally urgent in his encouragement. ‘To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior.’

Can God really keep you from falling? To answer that, go to another tree on a barren hill. A tree older than time. A tree that covers the mistakes of your past and the problems of your future. Be assured—that tree will never fall.”—Max Lucado, The Encouraging Word Bible

Everything is gonna be all right…(I bet you sang that instead of reading it.)

Jude, The Message

^1-2 I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ. Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!

Fight with All You Have in You

^3-4 Dear friends, I’ve dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license—which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master.

Lost Stars in Outer Space

^5-7 I’m laying this out as clearly as I can, even though you once knew all this well enough and shouldn’t need reminding. Here it is in brief: The Master saved a people out of the land of Egypt. Later he destroyed those who defected. And you know the story of the angels who didn’t stick to their post, abandoning it for other, darker missions. But they are now chained and jailed in a black hole until the great Judgment Day. Sodom and Gomorrah, which went to sexual rack and ruin along with the surrounding cities that acted just like them, are another example. Burning and burning and never burning up, they serve still as a stock warning.

⁸ This is exactly the same program of these latest infiltrators: dirty sex, rule and rulers thrown out, glory dragged in the mud.

^9-11 The Archangel Michael, who went to the mat with the Devil as they fought over the body of Moses, wouldn’t have dared level him with a blasphemous curse, but said simply, “No you don’t. God will take care of you!” But these people sneer at anything they can’t understand, and by doing whatever they feel like doing—living by animal instinct only—they participate in their own destruction. I’m fed up with them! They’ve gone down Cain’s road; they’ve been sucked into Balaam’s error by greed; they’re canceled out in Korah’s rebellion.

^12-13 These people are eyesores at your love feasts as you worship and eat together. They’re giving you a black eye—carousing shamelessly, grabbing anything that isn’t nailed down. They’re—

Puffs of smoke pushed by gusts of wind;
    late autumn trees stripped clean of leaf and fruit,
Doubly dead, pulled up by the roots;
    wild ocean waves leaving nothing on the beach
    but the foam of their shame;
Lost stars in outer space
    on their way to the black hole.

^14-16 Enoch, the seventh after Adam, prophesied of them: “Look! The Master comes with thousands of holy angels to bring judgment against them all, convicting each person of every defiling act of shameless sacrilege, of every dirty word they have spewed of their pious filth.” These are the complainers, the bellyachers, grabbing for the biggest piece of the pie, talking big, saying anything they think will get them ahead.

^17-19 But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: “In the last days there will be people who don’t take these things seriously anymore. They’ll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts.” These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There’s nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!

* * *

^20-21 But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!

^22-23 Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.

^24-25 And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating—to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, and to the end of all time. Yes.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God loves the world of His created people.  We learned from John’s passionate writings that God IS love.  He loves us so much he designed a plan to save us before we were born.  God knows us.  And he still loves us.  We say, “but if you only knew my thoughts you would not love me.”  God says, “I love you with an everlasting love.”  There is nothing you will do that will cause God to stop loving you.

Through the Old and New Testament, the Writers were inspired by God and filled with God so that we may know and love God ourselves.  But the really big news that I pray saturates our hearts this morning is the realization about God is not that we love God back but that God loves us!  Our names are written on the palm of His hands.  We are always on His mind!  There is nothing about us that God does not notice.  We cannot escape from His sight or flee from His Presence.  God He see the worst of us and loves us still!  Nothing we think, say, or do surprises Him.  He is God!  He knows us better than we know ourselves—and He decided to love us still. 

In fact, the greatest discovery in the universe is the greatest love in the universe—God’s love. “Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love,” Paul declared with confidence. (Romans 8:29) Think about what these words mean. You may be separated from your spouse, from your folks, from your kids, from your hair, from your job; but you are not and never will be separated from the love of God. Ever.

“We love Him because He first loved us,” declares John, the Beloved. 

Broken hearts, confused minds, and dried up parched souls crave this Love.  Taking in only a sip only satisfies for a nano second.  Drinking unceasingly from the ever flowing well of God’s Love not only sustains us but invigorates and excites us to go bring others to the well.  I’m reminded of the Samaritan women that Jesus met, on purpose, for a purpose—to seek and to save the lost—while demonstrating this real, everlasting love to someone who everyone knew as a prostitute but is now the proclaimer of God’s love and salvation!  “Come and see the man who knew…and loved.”  Out of all people in the world, the first person that Jesus chose to reveal himself to was a woman who was a person who came from a people that the Jewish people rejected. That speaks volumes about the message he brought to the world than any other. (See John 4 for the complete story!)  https://youtu.be/ordhsDeAt60?si=wrhFp1kdKxbVKFrM

While we walked in the darkness, groping for a way out, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, the One and Only who had the power and passion to present and demonstrate His Father’s love to humanity.  Mankind is interested and impressed by this love that is like no other love, but not fully convinced until they accept the gift of love, mercy, and grace, delivered to us from the cross of Jesus who paid for our sins.  Yes, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Jude warns believers of those who are only impressed by Jesus but will not accept this gift of redemption from sins not his love expressed by laying His life down for theirs.  Evil still has a hold on them.  Evil hates everything about God and will constantly attempt to distract and deceive us while trying to destroy our relationship with God. 

Jude also encourages believers that false teacher will be revealed along with their sins.  Jude also give us how to stay encouraged and to “stay on our feet” in faith;

• Know and believe that we are loved by God and kept safe by Jesus.
• “Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!”  Jesus IS coming back to claim His own.  Jesus is the Victor and has already won the war against evil, our real enemy.  The battles we face are mere skirmishes with evil and our own self-guided foolishness that attempts to draw us away from obedience to God.  But God’s love never fails.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
• Fight for the faith of God to remain within us so others will know God because of our faith.  Always point the Way to Jesus Christ—not ourselves.  Jesus saves.  We are ambassadors of His love, as one beggar to another, starved for the Bread of Life!
• Carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!
• It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!

Lord,

Your Word to Jude speaks volumes to us this morning.  I’m overwhelmed right now by your unending love, undeserved mercy, and amazing grace to me.  I am humbled by your love that loves me no matter what—even when I don’t love myself and am ashamed by my behavior.  Thank you for loving us the way you do that goes beyond all human love.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, transform our behaviors, refresh our souls with living water and the bread of life.  Restore continually the joy and peace of your salvation at work within all who believe.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Hospitality defined is the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.  Hospitality is serving the needs of others, putting your own desire to be served aside.  In our current world, it is now deemed the Hospitality Industry where trained professionals offer services in all kinds of ways to meet the needs of a guest to their establishment. It has become a business in and of itself of providing food, drink, and accommodations for customers of restaurants, airports, as well as guests at hotels as they travel to and from destinations while conducting their own business.  Catering to business, family, and school gatherings are other ways to provide hospitality services. What is most important is how you make the one you serve feel.  The food, drink and accommodations come second.

The church could learn a lot from the training given in the hospitality industry.  I know of one pastor who took the training so he could teach the church!  I applaud him! We sometimes forget how to put aside our interests in being served and miss the real joy in serving others. Instead, we think demanding thoughts with out loud complaints that shout “serve me or I won’t come back” when we miss helping others feel noticed, accepted, cherished and loved.   In a former work, we visited many churches.  Some were overwhelmingly friendly until they learned you were only a visitor passing through then they moved on to other people who might “be good” for their church.  It was comical at first but then it hurt our hearts. 

As a church, hospitality demonstrates our love of God to others seeking to be loved.  Caring and serving others, not because of what it will do for us but merely because we love from the center of who we are is “modeling the good”—as John explains.

3 John, The Message

The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you! We’re the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul! I was most happy when some friends arrived and brought the news that you persist in following the way of Truth. Nothing could make me happier than getting reports that my children continue diligently in the way of Truth!

Model the Good

^5-8 Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They’ve made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It’s good work you’re doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God himself! They set out under the banner of the Name, and get no help from unbelievers. So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.

^9-10 Earlier I wrote something along this line to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves being in charge, denigrates my counsel. If I come, you can be sure I’ll hold him to account for spreading vicious rumors about us.

As if that weren’t bad enough, he not only refuses hospitality to traveling Christians but tries to stop others from welcoming them. Worse yet, instead of inviting them in he throws them out.

¹¹ Friend, don’t go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God’s work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn’t know the first thing about God.

¹² Everyone has a good word for Demetrius—the Truth itself stands up for Demetrius! We concur, and you know we don’t hand out endorsements lightly.

^13-14 I have a lot more things to tell you, but I’d rather not use pen and ink. I hope to be there soon in person and have a heart-to-heart talk.

Peace to you. The friends here say hello. Greet our friends there by name.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

For some people, hospitality is a lifestyle. Serving others in this way flows naturally and easily.  For others, ways of being hospitable are learned traits.  Either way, John says to show hospitality to others, especially strangers, because that demonstrates what is in our hearts.  Faith is “visible” when we serve others.  (John learned this from Jesus!)

Jesus taught and demonstrated hospitality to John, as well as the other disciples and followers, many times.  God is love and truth that never changes. Jesus is Truth and Love embodied and expressed on earth to mankind.  As we learned earlier, Love and Truth go hand in hand.  Our faith in God and belief in Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives is expressed by His love in us for others.  Our hearts, minds, and souls are transformed from being served to serving others.

Need evidence?  Here’s what Jesus said—

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”—Jesus, Mark 10:45

“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”—Jesus, Luke 6:31, ESV

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”—Jesus, John 15:12

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:31

In our relationship with God, the more we realize the depth and breadth of God’s love for us the more we love each other no matter who they are or where they come from because the more we know God, we know Love, and we simply love.  Our inner desire to love develops into serving others by His love that has taken up residence in our hearts.  Love and Truth becomes who we are as His children. (See 1 John 4:7-8)

Later James will write; “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? … James 2:1-13, ESV

Jesus taught that when we show hospitality to others, it is the same as showing hospitality to HIM!  Hospitality begins and extends with our love for Jesus and others!  Friends, neighbors and even our enemies are included, no one left out!

“‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”—Jesus, Matthew 25:34-40

What if we do not show hospitality and only center our thoughts on ourselves, our comfort, tending to our own needs as a lifestyle?  Jesus responds—

“…He (Jesus as King) will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” –Jesus, Matthew 25:41-46

Serious hospitality, Kingdom of God hospitality, must become our habit and lifestyle if we truly love God!  Jesus commands it!

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”—Jesus, John 13:34-35

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”—Jesus, Luke 6:35-36

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”  1 John 3:18

Paul agrees and writes:
For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.  Galatians 5:6, MSG    Paul teaches us be like Christ in every way.  “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4 (read the whole chapter for the way Jesus loved and served us!

Lord,

I lay my life before you as an offering.  Guide me to love and serve as a way of life in You, expecting nothing in return for myself, but for the sole desire to please you with my life.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

While hearing a long detailed and aggressive speech of how a product will bring extreme enjoyment to our lives forever with no strings attached, we wonder if this could be the truth? Could this really be as they have said?  What will it cost?  It seems doable in the way they present it; so, we are distracted from wisdom and turn to see for ourselves what it can do for us.  We are presented with many forms of temptations daily, almost hourly, if we listen to media long enough.  Many deceivers (deceived themselves) offer the “world” to us with enticing promises of what they think we deserve.  The world’s salespeople promise to deliver peace upon purchase of their products. 

Above all, our greatest, inner desire is to be told the truth, right?!  We want to know who really does have the goods that deliver what we really need—real, relentless, unfailing love, peace in all circumstances, with an unending inner joy that sustains us.  We desire to believe that others really love us and want the best for us.  When the lies are exposed; we are crushed.  Betrayal is hard to bear.  We are disillusioned with humanity whose only goal is to take as much from us as possible only to satisfy their goal of greater wealth and importance—even if it takes more than our ability to pay.    

John writes letters of encouragement to the churches filled with believers who seek truth delivered with authentic unconditional love—just like us.

2 John 1, The Message

My dear congregation, I, your pastor, love you in very truth. And I’m not alone—everyone who knows the Truth that has taken up permanent residence in us loves you.

³ Let grace, mercy, and peace be with us in truth and love from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, Son of the Father!

^4-6 I can’t tell you how happy I am to learn that many members of your congregation are diligent in living out the Truth, exactly as commanded by the Father. But permit me a reminder, friends, and this is not a new commandment but simply a repetition of our original and basic charter: that we love each other. Love means following his commandments, and his unifying commandment is that you conduct your lives in love. This is the first thing you heard, and nothing has changed.

Don’t Walk Out on God

⁷ There are a lot of smooth-talking con artists loose in the world who refuse to believe that Jesus Christ was truly human, a flesh-and-blood human being. Give them their true title: Deceiver! Antichrist!

^8-9 And be very careful around them so you don’t lose out on what we’ve worked so diligently in together; I want you to get every reward you have coming to you. Anyone who gets so progressive in his thinking that he walks out on the teaching of Christ, walks out on God. But whoever stays with the teaching, stays faithful to both the Father and the Son.

^10-11 If anyone shows up who doesn’t hold to this teaching, don’t invite him in and give him the run of the place. That would just give him a platform to perpetuate his evil ways, making you his partner.

^12-13 I have a lot more things to tell you, but I’d rather not use paper and ink. I hope to be there soon in person and have a heart-to-heart talk. That will be far more satisfying to both you and me. Everyone here in your sister congregation sends greetings.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”—Jesus, John 14:6

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” –Jesus, John 14:27

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  John 3:16-17

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:9-14

“This is my command: Love each other.” –Jesus, John 15:17

Jesus delivers without deception all that we have been seeking—real Love and Truth.  Jesus embodies Truth.  Truth, who is Jesus, never changes.  Truth laid down His life for ours because of His love for us.  All who believe leave the world of liars behind to enter into the Kingdom of God.  We become His children!  We are brothers and sisters to Jesus! 

BUT AT WHAT COST, you ask?  The price has been paid in full by Jesus—God’s gift to us—because He loves us.  Our cost is leaving the world behind to accept this Gift of Love and Truth that provides forgiveness for all our sins because of His unending mercy and amazing grace.  Paul expresses the benefits;

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!” Romans 8:17, MSG

How do we respond?

“Remain in my love.” –Jesus, John 15:9 This command comes with a promise: “And I will remain in you.” (John 15:4)

Don’t walk out on Love and Truth.  Don’t fall for “smooth-talking con artists”!  (And don’t be one!)  “Stay faithful to both the Father and the Son.”

HOW do we remain faithful?  Seek God first every single day and He will help us.  His Holy Spirit illuminates His character of Love and Truth.  To seek God is to seek Truth and Love. (See Romans 12:1-2 for specifics.)

Max Lucado helps us to understand Jesus is Truth and Love, Love and Truth which cannot be separated.  You can’t pursue and hold onto one without the other!

“Love in truth. Truth in love. Never one at the expense of the other. Never the embrace of love without the torch of truth. Never the heat of truth without the warmth of love.  Never would be easier if we could choose between the two, but we can’t. So John, in this second letter, calls for a hybrid.  Because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.  Truth and love. Love and truth. Never one without the other. To pursue both is our singular task.” –Max Lucado, The Encouraging Word Bible

Lord,

You are truth and love, love and truth.  I pursue you for you are all I need to live in this world but not engaged by it.  By your love in me, I will love others.  Thank you for the promise of peace with joy complete as we love others like you love us.  Ahh, now I’m getting it.  So, daily cleanse my heart, renew my mind, transform my behaviors to match your love and truth.  Refresh my soul with your mercies and restore the joy and peace of your salvation at work within me.  I believe.  I trust Truth who is You!  May I also tell the truth of your everlasting love by living it.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Do we love God?  It may seem odd to ask this question of ourselves about God who IS love. But this question is part of our reality test for everyday living with God who lives in us.  If we love God, we believe God exists.  If we love God, truly love God, we love doing what He says instead of what evil suggests.  If we love God, we want to know God more.

Because of His love in us we stand in awe of what He does daily to remind us of His love for us!  If we love God, we believe that Jesus, His One and Only Son, willingly and obediently gave his life in payment for the sins of the world—yours and mine.  If we truly love God we relentless love His Son, Jesus.  If we love God we love other people—friends, neighbors around the world, family, and our enemies who do not yet love God.

If we love God we live gratefully, abundant, obedient, authentic lives with humility before God—all because of His grace and mercy as well as His love.  If we love God, we trust Him.  We live assured that nothing can separate us from His love.  Paul writes of this blessed assurance of God’s love;

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39, NIV

So, the question remains:  Do we love God?

1 John 5, The Message

^1-3 Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-born. 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.

The Power That Brings the World to Its Knees

^4-5 Every God-born 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.

The Reality, Not the Illusion

^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-born makes a practice of sin—fatal sin. The God-born 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—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Stop looking for love in all the wrong places.  “Be on guard, warns John, against all clever facsimiles” of love.  Love from the center of who we are—believers who love God and love others!  Trust in Jesus as the Center of our being who loved us before, during and after the cross work that saved our souls for eternity.  He demonstrated the Love of God for us with this powerful act of love, mercy, and grace. 

We have the Power when we love God back with all that is within us!  “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.”  We love God as His child who simply believes in child-like faith that Jesus is who He says He is!

God is Love. 

Jesus is The Way to Truth that gives Real, Eternal Life all because God loved us. 

We simply believe, being confidently assured of God’s love for us.  We trust God.

Do you really love God?  I pray all who are reading and listening to God speak that our answers will be;

“I love you, Lord God with all my heart, mind and soul!” 

“And I love others because of Your love abiding and guiding me to love!”

Lord,

I do love you back! I love you with all that is in me. I love how you work.  I love to see your glory at work in others as well as in me.  I love your teaching that never fails to guide us to you.  By your love, cleanse my heart and make me holy before you.  Renew my mind and transform my behaviors daily.  Refresh my souls with your tender mercies. Restore the unending joy of your salvation at work continually in me.  Help me to love like you love me—relentlessly and unconditionally.  Simply love.

In Jesus Name, Amen

“The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love and God.  More often than not, the mess people make of their lives can be traced to failure or stupidity or meanness in one or both of these areas.

The basic and biblical Christian conviction is that the two subjects are intricately related.  If we want to deal with God the right ways, we have to learn to love the right way.  If we want to love the right way, we have to deal with God the right way.  God and love cannot be separated.

John’ three letters provide wonderfully explicit direction in how this works. Jesus the Messiah, is the focus:  Jesus provides the full and true understanding of God; Jesus shows us the mature working-out of love.  In Jesus, God and love are linked accurately, intricately, and indissolubly.

But there are always people around who don’t want to be pinned down to the God Jesus reveals, to the love Jesus reveals.  They want to make up their own idea of God, make up their own style of love.  John was a pastor to a church (churches) disrupted by some of these people.  In these letters we see him reestablishing the original and organic unity of God and love that comes to focus and becomes available to us in Jesus Christ.”  –Eugene Peterson, Introduction to John’s letters, The Message Bible

GOD IS LOVE—LOVE IS GOD

1 John 4, The Message

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

4 My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.

^2-3 Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!

^4-6 My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.

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.

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.

Lord,

I love you with all my heart, mind, and soul.  It is easy to love those who also love you.  Help me to love others, even my enemies, with your love guiding all I think, say, and do as I relate to you and to others.  May I love others like you love me so others will know you, too, by the love we share.

In Jesus Name, Amen

We often test human love for each other by keeping a mental record with a scorecard!  We keep score of all the good things others have done to make us happy and feel good as a measurement of their love for us.  We also keep a record, in detail, of all they said, did, or didn’t do to make us angry and sad.  We automatically measure love as deeds done.  But is this real love? 

Most times, we think God plays these human games of love as He relates to us.  But He does not.  He just loves—no matter what.  And what makes us think, as infallible humans that we could ever do enough?  We thank God that His love is not based on our sacrifices of good deeds to earn his love.  That’s not how God thinks.

John, “the beloved disciple” explains God’s real love in his letters to all believers, gathered in groups called churches.  God’s love goes deeper and is complete—more than human love can be that changes as often as feeling change on any given day.  God IS love.  God’s love is real, everlasting, and never changes.  His love does not depend on what we do for Him—He just loves us.  Even when we don’t “feel it”, God loves us.  When we are wandering and lost, God loves us as He waits for us to come near and love Him back!  God’s is faithful even when we are not.  This is the love of God in nutshell:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17.

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

1 John 3, The Message

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.

^2-3 But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.

^4-6 All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God’s order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They’ve got him all backward.

^7-8 So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways.

^9-10 People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-born to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test.

* * *

¹¹ For this is the original message we heard: We should love each other.

^12-13 We must not be like Cain, who joined the Evil One and then killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because he was deep in the practice of evil, while the acts of his brother were righteous. So don’t be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time.

^14-15 The way we know we’ve been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don’t go together.

^16-17 This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

When We Practice Real Love

^18-20 My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

^21-24 And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

GOD IS LOVE—REAL LOVE. 

We love like God when we love each other as if our lives depended on it—because real life depends on loving each other without keep a tab or record of what others do for us!  We “make love a bad name” in the lives of those seeking real love! 

Paul wrote the crazy, confused about love Corinthians of God’s real love in detail:

“If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13, NIV

I’ve read the entire Bible many times.  I have learned that God simply wants us to love Him back with the same passion and intensity that He loves us.  Jesus reminded Peter of real love when He questioned Peter’s love for Him after denying Jesus.  Three times of denial prompted three questions real love as Jesus forgave Peter and reinstated him for his mission;

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17, NIV

He might be asking you and I today, “Do you love Me?”

Our obedience to God is a way to express our real love for God.

Samuel, God’s chosen priest, explains to a confused human king—

“But Samuel replied, “What pleases the Lord more? Burnt offerings and sacrifices, or obeying the Lord? It is better to obey than to offer a sacrifice. It is better to do what he says than to offer the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22, NIRV

The measure of our love for God is expressing that love by doing what God says.  And what does He say first and most often?  1. Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.  2. Love others like I have loved you.  According to Jesus, the Perfect Model of Obedience and Example of God’s Love, tells us that these are the top two commandments to follow as we love God back.  All others stem from these top two!

John further solidifies this truth with, “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:17.  More about God’s real love tomorrow!  John is not finished with us yet as we embody the love of God in us!

Lord,

Your love is amazing, deep and wide, strong and relentless.  We sing of your love but do we embody your real love that drives us to do what you say— “love each other as I have loved you”?  May your love fill my heart, transform my mind, and restore my faith, hope, and love for you.  May the greatest of these be your real love in my heart for all people.

In Jesus Name, Amen

I had a working mom.  I was proud of my mom.  She did this work while other stay at home moms made her feel less than in her life.  She was an executive secretary for an oil company in Oklahoma City.  She gifted with knowing how to dress and how to behave that was appropriate for greeting clients, taking calls, typing on Selectrics at rapid speed, and running errands for her bosses while keeping track of all the salespeople and their orders.  How do I know? I watched her, in awe, at work one summer when I was invited to fill in at the front desk as a receptionist while on college break.  She taught me how to dress, the rules of business etiquette for greeting people and answering calls of prospective clients.  Teaching me what to do and how to do it gave me confidence to grow into the work and enjoy it. 

Back then, Mom didn’t know the term, “dress for success”, she just wanted to look nice.  At home she made sure every hair was in place and then hair sprayed heavily to keep her do intact!  She never walk out the door unless her ironed dress matched her shoes and purse, earrings and necklaces.  This was the early 70’s when business and other professionals were expected to dress in suits for the men and dresses for the ladies.  I began my teaching career with this dress code! Imagine now, teaching first graders in a dress, panty hose, and dress shoes!  Only later, would the dress codes relax. 

All this to say—who we proclaimed to be had to match what we did as we represented ourselves in dress and behaviors.  Our appearance, words, and look had to match who we said we were and served.

John has a word or two about matching.  We say we believe in Jesus; but is our belief matching our behaviors?  Do our behaviors more consistently match His as we grow in our relationship with Him?  Will others know immediately who we belong to by observing how we think, what we say, and what we do? 

1 John 2, The Message

^1-2 I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.

The Only Way to Know We’re in Him

^2-3 Here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.

^4-6 If someone claims, “I know him well!” but doesn’t keep his commandments, he’s obviously a liar. His life doesn’t match his words. But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. This is the only way to be sure we’re in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.

^7-8 My dear friends, I’m not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you’ve known it from day one. It’s always been implicit in the Message you’ve heard. On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you—the darkness fading away and the True Light already blazing!

^9-11 Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn’t know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.

Loving the World

^12-13 I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus’ name. You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One.

^13-14 And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and strength! God’s word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.

^15-17 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

Antichrists Everywhere You Look

¹⁸ Children, time is just about up. You heard that Antichrist is coming. Well, they’re all over the place, antichrists everywhere you look. That’s how we know that we’re close to the end.

¹⁹ They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong.

^20-21 But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I haven’t been writing this to tell you something you don’t know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn’t breed lies.

^22-23 So who is lying here? It’s the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that’s who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son. No one who denies the Son has any part with the Father, but affirming the Son is an embrace of the Father as well.

^24-25 Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life!

^26-27 I’ve written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you. But they’re no match for what is embedded deeply within you—Christ’s anointing, no less! You don’t need any of their so-called teaching. Christ’s anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.

Live Deeply in Christ

²⁸ And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.

²⁹ Once you’re convinced that he is right and righteous, you’ll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God’s true children.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We are God’s children all because of Jesus’ work of redemption on the cross.  John teaches that “once we are convinced that Jesus is Savior and Lord of all that right and righteous”, then we will more readily recognize all who practice what is right as God’s true children. 

Our behaviors match who we say we believe.  So, who do we believe with all our hearts, minds, and souls? Under pressure, our true faith comes out!  In good times do we praise and thank God?  In hard, challenging times, do we trust God and still thank and praise Him?  Is all we think, say, and do in Jesus Name for His glory?

We are human and we fail but God knows and loves us faithfully.  His love never quits, never fails, or runs out for us.  God provided His One and Only Son to us as the Way to forgiveness for sins now and later.  And not just ours, like John says, but for the whole world!  Jesus stands ready as our Advocate/High Priest/Savior as He presents us to God for forgiveness with the assurance that all will be well and set right with God to those who ask and believe!  Yes!

Then when “it is well with our souls” we live as redeemed children of God!  We grow in the characteristics that Jesus taught with the promised and delivered help of His “live in” Counselor, God’s Holy Spirit.  His Holy Spirit lives within us.  He guides us to all that is true and right.  His Spirit convicts when we are wrong, comforts when life gets hard, consoles us when attacked, challenges and confirms decisions to walk in God’s ways, and supplies us with words to say and pray as we relate to others and to God in Jesus Name!  Listen to Him!  Only then can our belief in Jesus match our behaviors—so others will know Him, too!  Goals.

Paul tells us how to “dress” to match who we believe with our desire to imitate—

“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Romans 13:14

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15

Lord,

You have provided all we need to follow you, be forgiven by you, with the promise of life eternal.  There is no one like you!  I believe.  I’m listening.  I trust you with my life for you are Life!  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh me soul and restore daily the joy of your salvation at work within me so that who I believe matches by behaviors.

In Jesus Name, Amen