#1JohnChallenge : Love My Brother?

I remember growing up in church and hearing the pastor quote the following verse, 

"If anyone says, 'I love God,'  and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has cannot love God whom he has not seen." (1 John 4:20).  

I thought to my young self, well I'm not always happy with my two older brothers, but I certainly don't hate them.  So I'm good, I love God. 

While God did want me to love Alan and David, this wasn't John's exact point as he is writing to those believers in Asia Minor.  Earlier in his letter, John speaks of a new commandment, although he admits that it is not new but one "that you had from the beginning" (1 John 2:7).  He writes, "Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness" (John 2:9).  Before this, he described darkness as a place without light, in other words, where God is not.  So to be in the dark means not to be in the light.

We live in a village a couple miles off the main road in Nigeria.  At night, it is dark... D-A-R-K...DARK!  Before Karen and I go to bed every night, I take our dog out of the village road so she can do her thing.  If the moon is not out, sometimes you cannot see the hand in front of your face.  It can be a very uncomfortable thing.  I have found a new appreciation for light!  Nala finishes her thing and it's not long before I am back inside my house, in the light.

This idea of being in the dark because of the hate we have for our brother goes back to Jesus's words of expectation for those who would follow him.  In a nutshell, he says that the most important thing is to love God with everything we are, and the other thing that is just important is to love other people.  Other people, our brothers, our friends, the person at our work, the next-door neighbor, that guy that cuts you off on the road.... love your brother.  Jesus died for all of them, they matter to him.  Do they matter to you?

If you have any thoughts about this idea of loving your brother, feel free to drop me an e-mail here.  And if you have never loved God to the point that you have a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ, I would love to chat by email here.

#1JohnChallenge : Truth vs. Lies

John is rather bold in his letter known as 1 John.  He calls out false teachers and calls them antichrists (1 John 2:22), he states that those who do not love the brothers do not love God (1 John 3:14), and he makes it very clear to point out those who truly know God.

"And by this we know we have come to know him, if we keep his commandements.  Whoever say 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.  But this we know that we are in him" (1 John 2:4-6).

That is pretty bold.  Throwing out a word like liar and a statement like the truth is not in him.  But this came as a reality check for those early people that are part of the congregations in Asia Minor (Turkey today).  I'm sure just like today, there were those in the church that was only there by association.  In other words, their friends might have followed Jesus, their family, or maybe for some, it was looked at as a good social connection in the day.  But whether in boldness or meekness in his speech, the truth is still spoken.  You can't identify as a follower of Christ and be flippant with his commands and expectations.  

So what are his commandments?  In the simplest form:  Love God, Love People.  Jesus told the lawyer when we accomplish those things, all of our obedience to Him will fall into place (Matthew 22:36-40).  When we first love God, we will love what he loves: people.  And in that, "the love of God is perfected" (1 John 2:5).

How can you love people today?  As you begin your day, think about a person you know outside of your friend's circle with who you will come in contact today.  Pray.  Ask God to show you how you can love them thru him. 

If the idea of loving God and following his commandment is foreign to you, it can only begin with a relationship with his Son Jesus Christ?  Have you ever done that?    Do you know him?  If not, I would love to chat with you.  Drop me an email here.

Pastor Walt
Philemon 6

#1JohnChallenge : Get Ready

The Apostle John wrote these words to the churches in and around Asia Minor, present-day Turkey, between 85-95 AD.  Passing along several bits of encouragement and reminders, in chapter 2 he writes,

"Little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming" (1 John 2:28).

John addresses his readers as "little children" many times, but don't think he is looking down on them.  And from their side, it is not an insult.  After all, he was a respected Apostle, one who had heard, seen, looked, and even touched the risen Jesus (1 John 1:1).  They were happy to receive this letter and the instruction with it.  One of the bits of instruction that John pointed to was their readiness.  It was a fact, Jesus was coming back.  At some point, he would appear again like he left (Acts 1:10-11).  When will this happen?  Only God the Father knows (Matth 24:36). We, those who live in the time until he does, simply need to be ready (Matt 24:44).  

How are we to be ready?  Continue in prayer (1 Peter 4:7), watch out for the misleading of false prophets (Matthew 7:15), ground yourself in the word of God (2 Timothy 3:14-17), and always be prepared to share the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).

Lastly, John uses the word abide several times throughout this letter.  Abide points to agreeing with a discussion or judgment.  So, in this case, when we abide in him, we are loving the way he loves, caring for others like he desires, presenting ourselves as different people, holy, righteous, and blameless at his coming.

This all begins when we have a relationship with God's Son, Jesus Christ.  If you would like to know more about how you can have that relationship, email me here.

Pastor Walt
Philemon 6

#1JohnChallenge: I Wanna Be In The Light...

 

Back in 1995, the Christian band DC Talk came out with a song titled "In the Light:"

I keep trying to find a life

On my own apart from you

I am the king of excuses

I've got one for every selfish thing I do

Tell me what's going on inside of me

I despise my own behavior

This only serves to confirm my suspicions

That I'm still a man in need of a Savior

I wanna be in the Light

As You are in the Light

I wanna shine like the stars

In the Heavens

Oh, Lord be my light

And be my Salvation

'Cause all I want is to be in the Light

I can't tell you for sure, but it seems that the thoughts and words from this song came from the Holy Spirit inspired words of the Apostle John when he wrote, 

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from our sin. (1 Jn 1:7)

I have heard it said before that darkness is not the opposite of light, but rather darkness in the absence of light.  This is what John was pointing to a few verses earlier when he wrote,

...God is light, and in him  is no darkness at all. (1 Jn 1:5)

John was pointing those early believers to look deeply at their belief and faith.  How were they living their lives in light (no pun intended) of the "message" they had heard from Jesus (vs 5).  I have heard people say that Christians cannot sin and if they do, then they are truly not a child of God.  Those are dangerous thoughts and words.  John said If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (1 Jn 1:10).  After all John said that he was writing this letter so "that you may not sin" (1 Jn 2:1a).  But notice, the backside of that statement, "but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous" (1 Jn 2:1b)

I will sin, you will sin.  In fact, maybe you have already sinned today.  But we have an advocate who has gone the distance for us, shedding his blood, offering forgiveness and direct access to the Father.  The goal is that we do not become a slave to our sins (John 8:34), but strive to "walk in the same way in which he walked" (1 Jn 2:6).

DC Talk's song closes with these lyrics:

All I want to be is in the Light
There's no other place I want to be

Would you like to know what it means to walk in the light?  Feel free to email me here.

Pastor Walt
Philemon 6

#1JohnChallenge: Stay Away!

The Apostle John is writing these words close to the end of his life, close to the end of the 1st Century.  In our current times, we are 1900 years removed from his time and his culture, yet some things remain the same, namely, the focus on things other than our Creator and Savior.  As John says, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21, ESV).

This is the last verse and the last thought that John writes in his opening letter to those who had been influenced by false teachers and the preaching of a false gospel.  A letter that was filled with reminders to stay away from sin, resist the devil, love others, and remember that Jesus was the payment for their sin, now ends with a simple statement, "keep yourselves from idols."  

In the culture where I live in Nigeria, and even throughout all of Africa, people worship idols.  While there may be other names for them like local or traditional gods, they are still idols.  These are the same kind of figures that were man-made in the Bible, constructed of stone, wood, stubble, or even likened to the golden calf (Exodus 32).  Notice the use of the small "g."  Only the creator of heaven in earth, the One from before time, the Everlasting, the one who sent his son, get the BIG "G."  Why?  Because the capital G makes the name proper.  He is THE God, the only God, and no man-made idol can ever stand beside or in front of him.

You may not live in a culture where you can see an idol that people are praying to, but they are still all around.  Idols come in many different shapes and forms, and sometimes when we see them, they can be disguised.  If you don't live in a culture where there are physical idols like I mentioned above, then maybe you live in a culture where the items or ideas you deal with every day can become an idol.  A job, an education, a phone, a social media feed, a friend or spouse, or a cast of other things.  Simply put, in most Western cultures idols are what you make them.  Phones are not bad, they are good, I have two.  But when a phone that is driven by your need to focus more time on it and your social media feed than focusing on God...keep yourselves from idols."  When your job takes away from your relationship with Jesus...keep yourselves from idols."  When your education dominates your time so much that you remove yourself from daily devotion and seeking Him...keep yourselves from idols."  For me, that was a truth I had to learn not long ago.

It was a very simple ending statement, and we might have a tendency to lose this quick statement as we look to close the reading, but John had a purpose for writing it, and I know God had a purpose for me reading it.  What about you?

I encourage you to take the 1 John Challenge.  For the next 30 days read 1 John every day and see how this prayerful focus on five chapters (only taking about 25 minutes) will open your heart and mind to the Holy Spirit bringing the truth of God's Word alive in you.

If you have any questions about what you have read or want to know more about living a life that includes a relationship with Jesus Christ, drop me an email here.

Have a great day!

Pastor Walt
Philemon 6