And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:12-25

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  Mark 11:22-24

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 11:12-25.  Excerpts from the commentary's third (of three) division (vv20-25):

• The title of the third division per the commentary is "Jesus Will Challenge Us to Believe in God, but He Understands Doubt."
• "Mark concludes the fig tree/temple story with lessons on faith, prayer, and forgiveness, the very things the people should have found through God’s temple. The fig tree event brackets and interprets the temple story. Jesus did not just cleanse the temple, He cursed it. It had failed in the divine assignment, and it would be destroyed. With no fruit, its use was at an end. God would remove it: in less than a generation (AD 70), the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. Jesus uses all of this as an opportunity to teach His disciples two more valuable spiritual truths." 
• "When they passed the fig tree the next day, it was dead (v. 20). Any sympathy for a soulless tree in our day is badly misplaced and says much about our sloppy, sentimental culture and its tragic perversion of real values. God had told Jonah to weep over lost people, not a plant (Jonah 4:10-11)! Jesus says to weep over a dead temple, not a dead tree."
• We are referred to John 15:1-10 where Jesus teaches the disciples to abide in Him, the True Vine and He warns them that if they do not they will be "thrown into the fire."  We are urged to take this warning very seriously!
• We are also encouraged to pray - and see prayer as a "commitment to God's will."  We are referred to Matthew 6:9-10; Mark 14:36; John 14:13-14; 15:7; 16:23-24; and 1 John 5:14-15. 
• "[W]hen we pray, we trust not only in His power to give us what we ask but also in His wisdom to give us what we need! I trust Him enough to have Him turn me down if that is what He chooses." 
• "[W]e are to be such a temple extending the same forgiveness that we have received from the God we now call Father."

Prayer is a demonstration of our utter dependence on God.  Help me Father with the unbelief in my life so that I can live more of a life of prayer.  I desperately need You.  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God the loves, saves, and intercedes on my behalf.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love and save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11

I continue my study of 1,2,3 John using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for these books.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of 1 John 4:7-12. 

Per the commentary for this text:

Main idea: "The Father of Jesus is the God of Love, whose love is manifested in the sending of Christ and is perfected in the love displayed among His people."

Excerpts from the introduction:

• Love is a focus in several places in scripture, including Songs of Solomon 8:5-14, 1 Corinthians 13, and here in 1 John 4:7-21 (as well as 1 John 2:7-11, 3:11-24).
• "John will take us to the very origin and source of love: God Himself. In fact, love is His very nature, and acting in love is His essential character. How do we know? The cross! The cross of Golgotha is an everlasting monument to the truth that our God is love."
  

Divisions:

1. Love Has Its Origin in God (4:7-8): While non-believers may have love, and they often love more than believers so (sadly), believers must follow the example of God's love - first loving Him, then loving others (see also Matthew 22:34-40 on the two greatest commandments). V7 imparts that as believers we experience a new birth and as a new creation, God deposits in our hearts Himself and this includes love - which is from God and is God. It therefore follows that our love of others is evidence that we love God and seek to love as He does (see also John 13:34).  It also follows that if don't love God and others then we don't know God. We are also cautioned "[that] “God is love” does not equal “love is God” (a form of pantheistic thinking), any more than “grass is green” means “green is grass.” Love does not define God, but God does define love. This is John’s beautiful logic: (1) God is love. (2) Those who have been born of God and know God are God’s children. (3) God’s children have God’s nature. (4) God’s children therefore will love."  
   
2. Love Is Seen in the Atoning Death of Jesus (4:9-10): Christ's death on the cross and God's plan to send His Son to die on the cross provide the perfect example of love for us to follow and for which me must aspire as believers. "This world of humanity was in rebellion against its loving Creator. God sent His Son. This world of humanity was not looking for God and even hated Him. God sent His Son."  God sent His Son to save humanity from the sting of sin and death - this is love. 
   
3. Love Is Perfected in Us When We Love Others (4:11-12): "[W]e must go to those who don’t want us there. We must share a gospel they don’t want to hear. We must love those who may hate and even kill us in return. Because we are connected to Jesus through the new birth, we must go and live like Jesus among our friends and our enemies....Loving others is just what we do because the love that has rained down on us now fills us as we abide in Him....when we love one another, (1) it is proof that God abides continually in us, and (2) His love (God’s love for us; His kind of love) is “perfected,” brought to complete maturity. It reaches its intended goal."
   

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loved me while I was still hostile and an enemy to You.  Thank You Jesus for saving me even though I did not deserve my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me for my sin and help me overcome and turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

 1 John 2

Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 1 John 2:9

This morning, I continue my study of 1,2,3 John using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for these books.  My study today focuses on an unassisted review of 1 John 2:3-11. 

V3: If we truly know him, we will follow Him and be obedient, not out of obligation but out of love for Him because as we more fully understand God and His attributes we know that He is Holy, good, true, just, loving, faithful, etc. It is also in response to what He has done for us and that we are all undeserving of the grace He pours out for us. See also 1 John 5:3.

V4: Similar to 1 John 1 where it is written how we cannot claim to be without sin and how if we do so, we make a liar out of Jesus, here it is written that if we truly know Him we cannot be seen to not follow Him or to be disobedient.  This would make us liars.  

V5: A healthy relationship with Jesus where we consistently (i.e. daily) study His word, pray, and seek Him, will result in sanctification where God's love is perfected in us and we become more like Him.  We will bear fruit.

V6: We are expected (ought) be obedient if we say we know Him; as we grow closer to Him more is expected of us as God makes us more like Him (see also Luke 12:48)

Vv7-11: We must not hate anyone - as this is murder.  We should instead love and seek to save all. If we hate we remain in darkness/sin.  See also 1 John 3:15.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are good, true, perfect, just, loving, etc. and You pour out grace and blessings for me every day that are overwhelming...I desire to be obedient - help me be who You intend for me Jesus! I need You to help me battle sin daily because I know my sin is great and it is daily.  Please forgive me Jesus for laziness, etc.  Help me overcome and turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

I continue my study of 1 Corinthians, moving on to a unassisted review of 1 Corinthians 13. Paul builds on his discussion of spiritual gifts in chapter 12 by zeroing in on the importance of love as a motive to exercise these gifts.  We know from Matthew 22:34-40 that the greatest commands God gives us are to love Him and then to love others as "[o]n these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." 

• Vv1-3: none of the gifts described in chapter twelve have any value if not used in love of God or others.
• Vv4-7: Paul describes attributes of love so we know it when we see it.
• Vv8-10, 12: An attribute of love that is emphasized with its own three lines of scripture is how it is forever vs the spiritual gifts that are temporary during believers' lives in this life (vs in Heaven)
• V11 seems a bit out of place as a description of how we are called to spiritual maturity
• V13 underscores the importance of love in our relationship with Jesus and others - above faith and hope - as we don't have faith and hope in something we don't love.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who I know loves me and never stops loving me and will never leave or forsake me.  Thank You Jesus for how You love me and while I was hostile to You.  I am not deserving of such love and blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:2

I continue my pause on my study of 1 Corinthians as I participate in a men's discipleship group (d-group) at my church.  Yesterday my focus was an unassisted (no commentary) study of 2 Thessalonians 1.  Today, I read this text once again, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary Series volume for 1-2 Thessalonians for assistance to unpack the text. The commentary broadly breaks down the text as:

1. Good News about God’s Church < 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5
   
2. When God Balances the Books < 2 Thessalonians 1:6-12

To align with the schedule below, where yesterday was Week 1/Day 1, today my focus will be Good News about God’s Church < 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5.

The commentary's main idea for the text: "[w]hen a church is grounded in its faith it will be fruitful in its work." The commentary's introduction for the text further develops on this thought by sharing, in light of Paul's first letter where he acknowledged the Thessalonians for welcoming the gospel as an infant church, Paul is now boasting (v4) about them in this second letter as he is encouraged and thankful (v3) for their growth and steadfast faithfulness (in the face of persecution and affliction - v4) - again this is a church he, Silas, and Timothy started.  The commentary then unpacks today's text (2 Thessalonians 1:1-5) in four divisions:

1. A Faith That Is Real (1:1-3a): The commentary highlights the growth of the Thessalonian church and how this led to attacks from Satan in the form of persecution, etc. Paul commends the church for their steadfast faith in the faces of these attacks.  He focuses on how the foundation of faith is based on believers acknowledging the amazing grace Christ gives us through salvation.  This grace gives us peace to persevere. "A church must never tire of speaking about and resting in the grace and peace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. No challenge is too great for any church that remains anchored to these wonderful truths." Paul also commends the Thessalonians for their growth in Christ.  He seeks for them to be encouraged to keep growing.  "Based on the enthusiastic way in which Paul applauds their growth in the first four verses, one can imagine that His words of encouragement must have brought much relief to this weary church."       
   
2. A Love That Grows Strong (1:3b): The commentary refers to James 2:14-18 and how the text their highlights how faith produces fruit or good works. In the text for today Paul commends the Thessalonians for their love for one another.  The commentary then describes how "[f]aith and love work together," and we are referred to John 13:34-35 where John highlights how love is evidence of Christ.
   
3. A Hope That Goes Deep (1:4): The commentary describes hope as the view of "affliction and suffering through the lens of an enduring hope— not the kind of endurance that waits to thank God when the trial passes, but the kind of endurance that thanks God even if the trial does not pass." This certainly is the view of the Thessalonians. 
   
4. A Future That Is Secure (1:5): God's righteous judgement (v5) gives us hope that whatever suffering we endure now is only temporary as He is saving a place for us in Heaven where there will be no more suffering or tears (Revelation 21:4).  With such guaranteed security, we should not be grumbling about "miscarriage of justice" as Satan was almost certainly tempting the Thessalonians. "As strange as this may sound to our ears, their suffering was evidence that God loved them, not a sign that He had abandoned them. Paul is reassuring them that their suffering has an eternal purpose." 
   

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - thank You Jesus!  I need You desperately in my life for all things and for Your protection against Satan's attacks.  I know You give me everything I need to defeat sin in my life and You will never leave or forsake me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

...so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2

...so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:7

I continue a pause in my study of 1 Corinthians to use DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional.  Today, in this devotional, John Piper discusses what believes is "the Bible’s most astonishing image of Christ’s second coming."  He refers to Luke 12:35-37 where Jesus tells the apostles a parable of a master returning home from a wedding feast; the master expects his servants to be ready for him when he returns.  He uses this parable to warn the apostles to be ready for His second coming, and that the master will "recline at table, and he will come and serve them."  This depiction of Christ at the second coming is - like yesterday's warning to beware of serving God - counterintuitive and less well understood unless studied more closely.  It is well understood by believers that Christ's earthly ministry depicts Jesus as serving others - this is clear from Mark 10:45 and other text.  However, Jesus' parable in Luke 12 talks about the second coming where we know from text such as 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8 that describe the second coming that Jesus is depicted as "in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus."  Piper then rhetorically asks why Jesus would be depicted in the second coming not only as a conquering king but also as a servant?  He then emphasizes the text for today from Ephesians 2:7 and proceeds to share that God plays the role of servant in the second coming "[b]ecause the very heart of his glory is the fullness of grace that overflows in kindness to needy people." Piper concludes the devotional by pointing to Isaiah 64:4 where God "acts for those who wait on him," and sharing that "[t]here is no other god like this. He never relinquishes the role of inexhaustible benefactor of his ever-dependent, happy people." Indeed - praise God!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank for the amazing grace and love that You pour for me - You never stop working, working for me and loving me - despite my sin.  Thank You Jesus!  Will You help me turn from and overcome my sin - impatience, anger, etc. - and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.   

“A new command I give: Love one another. As I have love You, so you must love one another.”

John 13

“A new command I give: Love one another.  As I have love You, so you must love one another.” John 13:34

I continue my study looking at the life of Paul using John Piper's 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul.  Today, I move to chapter twenty - Not Lonely at the Top, but Linked with Precious Friends.  Here John Piper emphasizes how Paul acted Christ-like in how, even though he was a very powerful and influential leader in the church, he took the time to build and cultivate relationships with ordinary Christians throughout the churches where he spent time.  Piper starts by referring us to scripture where Paul’s high position in the church is highlighted – either explicitly or implicitly.  These examples, include 1 Corinthians 14:37-38, 4:1, Acts 26:16-18, and 2 Corinthians 10:8, and the combination of these examples emphasize how Paul did not use his position to avoid relationships with people of lesser position.  Instead, as Jesus commands us to, Paul seeks to love everyone regardless of position or status.  Piper then moves to the closing chapter of Romans where Paul, in detail seeks to greet and pass on his love (through others) to twenty-six people – which Piper notes as “remarkable.”  Piper writes: “Amazing. I’ve never written a letter like this. I’ve never asked a friend to greet twenty-six people by name. Nor have I read anything like this in any biography or memoir. This personal connectedness is rare. From the most influential Christian leader in the first century—a man at the top—we see a relational connectedness that fills us with wonder. He had never even been to Rome, where all these people were living! He had met them elsewhere but followed their travels and knew their situation.  Here is a man who did not let his authority, or his being at the top, choke off the affections that he felt for these friends.*”  Paul is an outstanding example of how to follow Christ’s command to love others as He loves us (John 13:34).

*John Piper. 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me even though You certainly don’t need to – and thank You for providing Godly men and women such as Paul who love others, who serve as Christian models for how to love, and such as those in my life now – my brothers and sisters in Christ who love me, even though sometimes I know it is difficult.  I am not deserving of such love and blessings.  My sin is great and it continues…daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.   Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

1 Corinthians 14

For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. 1 Corinthians 14:17-19

I continue my study looking at the life of Paul using John Piper's 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul.  Today, I move to chapter fourteen - Turning High Thoughts to the Help of the Lowly.  Here, John Piper emphasizes his love for Paul due to Paul's ability to be both profound and practical.  There are no doubts that Paul had "soaring spiritual insight and wisdom,*" but he did not allow himself to be puffed up to the extent that he could not relate to ordinary people and serve their needs.  Piper shares 1 Corinthians 14:17-19 and uses this text to describe how Paul sought to encourage Believers in their faith - so that all grow in devotion and love of Christ.  Love God and love others - with the latter being done in such a way that all are served in their journey with Christ.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a gracious God who humbled himself on a cross and died so that others can be saved have life - both to the full on this earth and for eternity.  Instead of pursuing Your own needs and emphasizing Your own status, You pursued others and saved them.  Thank You Jesus for Your love me and desire for others.  I am not deserving of Your love.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me turn from and overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.   

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

I continue my study looking at the life of Paul using John Piper's 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul.  Today, I move to chapter thirteen - From Logic on Fire to Lyrics of Love.  Here, John Piper highlights Paul's ability to craft not just "demanding intellectual level, but he also could write poetically, beautifully, and with such universal appeal that some of his words are among the most widely quoted in the world, even by non-Christians.*" Piper points to Romans as a "spectacular example of careful argumentation.*"  He then moves to 1 Corinthians 13 as "beautiful in the combination of morally luminous thought combined with aesthetically arresting prose*."  Piper speculates that Paul could have made quite a living in the literary world but instead chose to humbly write this letter to "help ordinary people love each other.*"  He also inquires as to whether Paul could have written such incredible prose without the suffering he endured, and it is this line of inquiry where Piper sees how Paul's incredible letter of 1 Corinthians 13 is an also an example of how "Paul followed the path of suffering as an apostle of Christ. He subordinated great possibilities as a celebrity to the service of Christ’s church.*"  ...Out of love...

*John Piper. 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who is able to give us incredible examples of love so we can be encouraged and inspired for us to love others as You call us to.  Thank You for the example of Yourself, of Paul and so many other brothers and sisters in Christ.  I am not deserving of how You encourage and bless.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

2 Corinthians 8

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 2 Corinthians 8:1-2

I continue my study looking at the life of Paul using John Piper's 30 Reasons Why I Love the Apostle Paul.  Today, I move to chapter seven - Love for People as the Overflow of Joy in God.  Here, John Piper unlocks another unresolved tension related to the one described yesterday in chapter six.  In chapter seven, Piper asks how we can resolve the tension between the desire to be happy in God and the desire to love others. Piper first shares scripture from Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, 10:24, and Romans 15:1 where this tension is highlighted.  We are commanded both to be happy and rejoice in God AND to love others (see Matthew 22:39, John 13:34.  Piper shares how in 2 Corinthians 8:1-2 how "genuine, Spirit-awakened joy in God does not hinder love for people but in fact overflows with love for people.*"  Piper then emphasizes how "[l]ove is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others*." Text examples provided by Piper that support this claim include Micah 6:8, Romans 12:8, Hebrews 10:34, 2 Corinthians 9:7, 2:3, 1 Peter 5:2, and Hebrews 13:17. Piper's unwinding of the tension continues as he shares how a joy in God is so full that it overflows in sacrificial love to others.  He then explains why it may seem paradoxical that we demonstrate sacrificial love.  He writes: "[t]he reason is that the path of greatest joy in this life is often the path of great suffering. In the age to come, after Jesus returns, all pain will be gone*." Colossians 1:24, 2 Corinthians 7:4, and Romans 5:3 are provided to illustrate sacrificial love.  Believers know what awaits us in Heaven even as we suffer to love others - the temporary suffering we experience is just that - temporary. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for - helping me see how joy in You overflows in love for others.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love me and give me joy.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.

Proverbs 22:17-24:34

Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done. Proverbs 24:28-29

I continue with my study of Proverbs, specifically in week 8 from my study workbook, which focuses on Proverbs 22:17-24:34.  The three final questions from the study for this week focus on exhortations to (1) avoid partiality in justice and to love your neighbor as yourself (Proverbs 24:23b, James 2:1-13, and John 13:34); (2) build a foundation for a Godly life based on "losing your life" in terms of being prepared to lose those things in our earthly life where we should not place more faith than God himself - this includes our own physical life, family, health, wealth, etc. (Proverbs 24:27, Luke 14:25-33); and (3) not take revenge on others but instead leave justice to God, and in its place focus on loving others, including those who either do us harm, or intend/seek to do so (Proverbs 24:28-29, Leviticus 19:18, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:29-31, Matthew 5:43-48).  In particular, the message to love others and to not take revenge is certainly a message our country can use right now...

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - even as I was still sinning, an enemy and hostile to You, You saved me...thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor any of the blessings You pour out for me.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Galatians 6

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:8

This morning, I paused on my studies of both Isaiah and of Proverbs to listen to and reflect on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotional, where John Piper looks at Galatians 6:8 and "how force will move us out of our contented living rooms to take upon ourselves the inconveniences and suffering that love [of God and others] requires?" He looks at what it means to "sow to the Spirit." He writes: "[w]e want more of God. And we want this more than we want our private, disturbance-free security and comfort. Faith loves to rely on God and see him work miracles in us. Therefore, faith pushes us into the current where the power of God’s future grace flows most freely — the current of love."  We as believers should push ourselves (lean into God, study, prayer, spiritual disciplines, etc.) and ask God for this kind of faith and for us to bear fruit.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me, and You provide the Holy Spirit to work in me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of all the blessings You pour out for me and for how You give me the Holy Spirit as my Helper.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

I pause on my studies of both Isaiah and of Proverbs to listen to today's Solid Joys daily devotion on DesiringGod.com.  John Piper's devotion today examines how we are to view our own state of being forgiven of our sins by God, and how this should drive believers to love and forgive others.  John 13:34 writes how Jesus commands us "to love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." And here we have Ephesians 4:32 where Jesus commands us to forgive others as God forgave us.  Piper writes how we cannot love and forgive others as Jesus does for us if we simply view our salvation and His forgiveness of our sins as being "off the hook." Piper explains it by stating "[i]t means savoring the truth that a forgiving God is the most precious reality in the universe. Saving faith cherishes being forgiven by God, and from there rises to cherishing the God who forgives — and all that he is for us in Jesus. This experience has a tremendous effect on our becoming forgiving people."

God, please help me see You, the forgiving God, as the most precious reality in the universe.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is full of love and forgiveness for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin continues...daily.  Please forgive of my sin for not going to You first today - help me turn from and overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Leviticus 19-20

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:28-33 (Matthew 22:34-40)

 

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter seventeen - Holiness and Love - covering Leviticus 19-20, looking specifically at the fourth theme for the chapter - We Demonstrate Holiness in Our Relationships with People.  Here, as the theme explicitly states, the commentary encourages us to see how God wants us to demonstrate and express holiness through our relationships with others.  We are pointed to various verses in Leviticus 19-20 that provide us with scriptural basis to see this application:

• generosity v19:9-10
• honesty v19:11-12, 35-36
• sympathy v19:13-14
• equity (including do not slander) v19:15-16
• mercy v19:33-34
  
• purity v20:9, 10, 11-12, 14, 17-21, 13, 15-16 

The commentary urges us to see how such commands remain just as important for believers now as they were for the Israelites as they entered the promised land. We are referred to Mark 12:28-31 as one example of many that underscores this important takeaway.   

Finally, we are encouraged to see how it is God alone, through the Holy Spirit, that is working and moving in our hearts to bring about obedience to the commands God gives us to love Him and others - see Romans 5:5 where Paul writes about how "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who gives me the Holy Spirit!  Thank You Jesus for this power!  This is the same power that raised You from the dead - and I have access to it - thank You Jesus!  Yet I am undeserving of such a blessing! My sin of harshness towards others, worry, etc. continue.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 12-13

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:8-10

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I continued with chapter sixteen Living in View of That Day, which covers Romans 12:17-13:14.  My focus today is v13:8-10, which my commentary refers to under the heading "Love Your Neighbor." Perhaps underpinning my post yesterday, which discusses how to submit to earthly authorities, as they placed in our lives by God, today we see the primacy of love above all commands.  This is consistent with Jesus' words in Matthew 22:34-40 where the Jewish leaders sought to test/trap Jesus by asking him what the most important commandment is; Jesus responds with how we are to first love God, then to love others as "[o]n these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

 

My commentary refers to v13:10 where it says that "love is the fulfilling of the law" by describing the law as "train tracks" whereas the Holy Spirit is the engine: "[w]ithout Christ the law is powerless; without the law, love is directionless.  Because of Christ, the Holy Spirit has been poured into believers' hearts, enabling us to love; and Spirit-empowered love involves keeping God's commands."  We are encouraged to see how loving is a permanent obligation. My commentary points out that both Jesus' and Paul's words (v13:9) on loving others refers back to Leviticus 19:18. We are further encouraged to see how love involves looking for ways to "bless others" - to listen, care, give, etc. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of love for me.  It is my proper response to worship You and love others as You love me.  I am so grateful that You love and You first loved me as a sinner - thank You Jesus for such grace and mercy.  I am not deserving of such grace and mercy.  I continue to sin and often fail to love others as You love me.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us...[B]ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:1-11

God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us...[B]ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:5, 8

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I continued my study of chapter six The Blessings of Justification By Faith, which covers Romans 5:1-11.  My focus today is Romans 5:5-8 which my commentary refers to using the heading We Know a Love Like No Other Love.

V5-8 starts with how the hope we have referenced in v2 and v4 does not put us to shame as the Holy Spirit helps us during our period of need during times of trouble - and this help manifests as God pouring love (v5) into our heart - what an incredible image.  I can't image God pouring a small amount of love as He is infinite! We then see how God loved us SO much (John 3:16) that He sent His Son to die on our behalf - while we were still sinners. Paul remarks how dying for another is rarely done for a righteous person, and it might happen for a good person (v7), but he has made it clear (see also Romans 1-3) that none of us are righteous and all of us are broken, sinful, and undeserving of God's gift of salvation. 

My commentary begs to differ with those who describe Paul as a writer of arguments while John writes of love.  It points out that Paul refers to the word love 75 out of the 116 times the word is use in the New Testament. The commentary then goes on to state:

1. the greatness of God's love is displayed on the cross (v8); "[G]enuine love is always sacrificial" and we see Jesus redeeming us at a price we can never fully comprehend. An appropriate response is to love others as God love us and this is in fact what God commands (John 13:34)
2. the greatness of God's love is displayed in our unworthiness (v6-8); Paul in v9 refers to us as enemies of God yet God still died for us!  That is love for sure like no other!

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My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You are indeed amazing that You would die for me - Your enemy!  I am so undeserving of what You have done for me and what You continue to do for me and I am in awe of how You love me. Thank You Jesus!  Yet again I am undeserving.  My sin of anger, etc. continues. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends.

Acts 9 and Jonah 1-4

If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends. Matthew 5:46-47 (NCV)

I continue with my study of - Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World - eBook by Max Lucado (for purchase). This morning, I start the story of "Paul: Never Too Far Gone for a Turnaround*".

*Title of lesson ten from the Max Lucado study.

Max Lucado's commentary* for day one of my study focuses on Ananias, to whom God spoke to attend to Saul after the Lord spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus (and blinded him). Lucado compares how God used Ananias much like God used Jonah - Jonah was given a mission to preach to Nineveh and Jonah did not believe the city deserved mercy so he ran from his mission. While we don't know much about Ananias' state of mind after the Lord gives Ananias the message to attend to Saul, we do know that there was hesitation on Ananias' part (Acts 9:13-14).  Unlike Jonah, ultimately, it appears that Ananias went to Saul as the Lord directed him, and with what appears to be little to no further resistance. Despite the differences between Ananias and Jonah, a key takeaway remains that God often calls us to missions that are not just tough but undesirable, perhaps missions where we disagree on some level, including loving those we feel are undeserving of love.  Yet Lucado wants us to understand that we don't get to make that call - God does - and God wants us to love everyone, including those we don't think are deserving of it.

Lucado uses Matthew 5:46-47 (NCV) to emphasize this key message. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God as You are so full of love, mercy, and compassion for me - even though I am quite clear I am undeserving.  Thank You Jesus!  Yet again, I know I am undeserving. My attitude at work is far from ideal - I grumble and complain, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Many are saying about me, “God won’t rescue him.” But, Lord, you are my shield, my wonderful God who gives me courage. I will pray to the Lord, and he will answer me from his holy mountain. I can lie down and go to sleep, and I will wake up again, because the Lord gives me strength. Thousands of troops may surround me, but I am not afraid.

Genesis 6-9

Many are saying about me, “God won’t rescue him.” But, Lord, you are my shield, my wonderful God who gives me courage. I will pray to the Lord, and he will answer me from his holy mountain. I can lie down and go to sleep, and I will wake up again, because the Lord gives me strength. Thousands of troops may surround me, but I am not afraid. Psalm 3:2-6 (NCV)

I continue with my study of - Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World - eBook by Max Lucado (for purchase). 

Today I want to focus on how God provides believers with security, refuge and hope and how He wants us to share with others this security, refuge and hope.  When God was to flood the earth, He instructed Noah to build an ark to serve as a means to preserve Noah and his family.  There are many places where people place their security, refuge, and hope: homes, money, jobs, people, government, etc. Yet these things come and go and do not provide spiritual security, refuge and hope; and they do not last, certainly not for eternity.  We all need to place our security, refuge and hope in Jesus Christ so that we can weather the storms and flood in this life, and to provide for our eternal life as we must all be ready for either our own passing or for when Jesus returns both of which we don't know the timing.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:36-39

For those of who have this security, refuge and hope we must give it away to others who need it.  God even helps us with the words to say - straight from scripture.

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3 (NIV)

Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty, are kept in heaven for you. God’s power protects you through your faith until salvation is shown to you at the end of time. This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. 1 Peter 1:4-6 (NCV)

My highlighted verse for today comes from Psalms where David writes about how he feels refuge in God during a period of great fear when he fled from the persecution of his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15-18).

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You give me security, refuge, and hope - an ark - during times of great turbulence and distress.  You have seen me through periods of great pain.  I am grateful Jesus!  Yet I am not deserving.  I have grave sin in my life and it continues....worry, harshness of others, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.

1-3 John

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. 1 John 5:2-4

Day 360 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues as I move further into the New Testament - today I read the letters of 1 John. My commentary* indicates for the first letter: "[t]oward the end of the first century the church begins to face serious challenges both from without and from within. Persecution and suffering are the shared fate of Christians everywhere. Yet an even greater enemy has come from within—the enemy of false teaching. The Gnostic philosophy, popular at this time, teaches that matter is inherently evil, and that human flesh is therefore evil. This philosophy has led not only to flagrant immorality in exercise of fleshly desires but also to the conclusion that God himself could not possibly become flesh....As if he were their father, John writes to his “little children” about the need to continue walking in the light of God’s righteousness. He warns his readers about the antichrists—those who teach that Jesus was not God in the flesh. Concerned with their daily walk, as well as their belief in Jesus’ deity, John exhorts them to lead lives befitting children of God. He points out that true believers can be distinguished from unbelievers by their mutual love, godly lives, and obedience to God’s commands. John concludes his letter by noting the assurance and security which God’s children have in Jesus Christ."

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) . Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

While there are three letters in 1 John, the first of the three dominate in terms of themes and of the themes the two core themes include warnings of false teachers and encouragement to love God, love one another, that our love of God and one another compels us to obedience to God's commands - and such obedience is not burdensome because it flows from our love of God.

Comment and discuss this post here. 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who first loved me and sent His Son so that I would have forgiveness of sin and eternal life - the greatest gift of all time!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a gift.  My sin continues...including worry, etc. and other sin such as harshness of others.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 12-16

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10

Day 342 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues as I move further into the New Testament - this evening the focus is chapters 9-11 of Paul's letter to the believers in Rome. In these chapters, Paul starts but pointing us to "true and proper worship" by "offering our bodies as a living sacrifice" (vs empty ritualistic/ceremonial sacrifices - see also Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13). The implication here is that we are to develop healthy spiritual disciplines of daily Bible study, prayer, corporate worship, service, etc. and seek Him (see also recent post on daily renewal). Paul then moves on to how are to form the church through use of our different gifts and how these gifts mutually support each other.  We are instructed to love above all, including to our enemies.  We are to show respect and support to civil authorities as these are authorities placed above us by God.  We are to support those with weaker faiths by building them up (discipleship).

My Prayer: Jesus, You are an amazing God - the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  You came to earth to seek and save me...and You suffered a brutal and humbling death, even though You lived a sinless life.  Of course I am grateful but I am undeserving of all that You are and do for me. My sin continues...selfishness, etc.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.