"And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears,
we may have confidence
and not be ashamed
before Him at His coming."
1 John 2:28
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Good day! Let's seek the Lord together...
Holy Father, as we begin this new section of our study in first John, we will be looking at how we, as Christians, can have that confidence and boldness in the day of judgment only because of Jesus Christ and what He did for us. May we never lose sight of this. Thank You, Father, for this gracious gift and promise: that when You come again, we can and will see You.
I pray for the forgiveness of my sins this day. I pray that You will search me for the hidden sins of my heart and purge me of my selfishness and self-righteousness. I pray that You will cleanse me with Your blood and renew me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and guard my speech this day.
I lift up to you the family of Steven Curtis Chapman today Lord as his family is dealing with a horrible tragedy: the death of his 5 year old daughter. You know this family and have seen them dedicate their lives to serving You, Lord. So I pray that You will go to them and comfort them today as they prepare to bury this little girl. We know she is with You, but for those left behind, they need to hear from You Lord. I pray that You will go to them now.
"I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1
In Jesus' name.....amen."
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Holy Father, as we begin this new section of our study in first John, we will be looking at how we, as Christians, can have that confidence and boldness in the day of judgment only because of Jesus Christ and what He did for us. May we never lose sight of this. Thank You, Father, for this gracious gift and promise: that when You come again, we can and will see You.
I pray for the forgiveness of my sins this day. I pray that You will search me for the hidden sins of my heart and purge me of my selfishness and self-righteousness. I pray that You will cleanse me with Your blood and renew me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and guard my speech this day.
I lift up to you the family of Steven Curtis Chapman today Lord as his family is dealing with a horrible tragedy: the death of his 5 year old daughter. You know this family and have seen them dedicate their lives to serving You, Lord. So I pray that You will go to them and comfort them today as they prepare to bury this little girl. We know she is with You, but for those left behind, they need to hear from You Lord. I pray that You will go to them now.
"I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1
In Jesus' name.....amen."
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The Consummation of Love
As we begin this new section of chapter 4 in First John, we will look at the completion of love in us by God.
John has taken us on a journey about love through this chapter: we looked at how others may know God through our love being shown and at how others may see God through our love being revealed through our acts and our witness.
Now he wants us to know that God's perfect agape love is complete because He is complete. And the promise is that one day we will be complete too.
But as we look further into what that love is, we will learn more about who God is.
1 John 4:17- "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world."
In this verse, John is reminding us that God's love has already been perfected in the Christian because of Jesus. His complete obedience to God's will shall be given to us at the day of His coming. When we face God in that judgment, we do not have to shy away in shame but we have that boldness now because God will see Christ in us....and we will be as He is.
We have not yet reached that perfect state of obedience, but we stand out in this world simply because of Jesus....
Please read:
John 17:16-17
Jesus' wish for His disciples isn't an easy life of peace and tranquility. On the contrary, He prayed that they would not be of the world....but be separated from the world.
His desire is that God sanctify them (separate them) from the world. How? Through His word. Why?
Because God's word is truth. Nothing sanctifies like the truth.
Nathan learned that this year. He had to stand up for his beliefs in his science class and as a result, he often found himself alone in his defense of the truth. It was hard for him, but he did it. And the Lord blessed him as a result. Not in material things, but in spiritual things of God.
God's word is truth.
That is where our boldness and confidence is: His word.
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That boldness or confidence in God's Word and in all that He promised comes from the Lord Himself.
Please read:
Ps 65:5
Ps 118:8-9
Is 30:15
If anyone knew about putting confidence in Jesus instead of the flesh, it was Paul...
Phil 3:3-11
That is the confidence that we now have: counting all things loss for the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord!
Heb 3:6
If we hold fast that confidence....or "boasting" in Christ.... and rejoicing until the end, then we will in Christ's house with Him.
And none of this was done by our own volition, for we would NEVER chose to come before a holy God. It was done because of what Christ did: perfect obedience.
1 Thess 1:10
1 Thess 5: 9-10
We are now spared that wrath of God due to what Jesus did for us. He became the Propitiation for our sins. And now there is no eternal wrath for those in Christ.
So now, when we are face to face with God during our judgment at His coming, we can stand before a Holy God...not because of the works we did, but because of what Jesus did.
Rom 5:9-11
No longer enemies with God, Jesus has reconciled us to God through the shedding of His blood.
That love of God has now been perfected among us through the perfect example of Jesus Christ.
Heb 5:8-9
And now we are called to be as He is in this world: a perfect example of obedience.
Rom 5:18-19
We are now spared that wrath of God due to what Jesus did for us. He became the Propitiation for our sins. And now there is no eternal wrath for those in Christ.
So now, when we are face to face with God during our judgment at His coming, we can stand before a Holy God...not because of the works we did, but because of what Jesus did.
Rom 5:9-11
No longer enemies with God, Jesus has reconciled us to God through the shedding of His blood.
That love of God has now been perfected among us through the perfect example of Jesus Christ.
Heb 5:8-9
And now we are called to be as He is in this world: a perfect example of obedience.
Rom 5:18-19
Philemon 21
Eph 6:5
Titus 2:5
1 Pet 1:14-16
As you can see here, we are to be obedient so that God's word will not be blasphemed and the perfect work of Christ will not be tarnished by us.
Take time today to meditate on what you learned in this study of 1 John 4:17
Really work at coming to a complete understanding of what it is that God has done for you: reconciled Himself to you.
Praise Him today.
As you can see here, we are to be obedient so that God's word will not be blasphemed and the perfect work of Christ will not be tarnished by us.
Take time today to meditate on what you learned in this study of 1 John 4:17
Really work at coming to a complete understanding of what it is that God has done for you: reconciled Himself to you.
Praise Him today.
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Life Application
Rev 4:11
In our Sunday worship service, our Pastor led us through Scripture pointing out what the wrath of God is and how we, God's chosen, have been spared that eternal wrath that is to come.
As I sat there and read through the verses about God's wrath and judgment, all I could think of was how I was chosen from the foundation of the world to be spared this wrath.
It was humbling.
I can often look back over my life and see how God spared me much hurt and pain since I came to know Him at such a young age. I praise Him for that. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like going through the harshness of high school without being able to call upon the Lord for help and encouragement.
As my son enters into his life of service to the Lord by being baptized this coming Sunday, I am very grateful that the Lord has called him at an early age. He will not have to walk alone through high school or college or marriage, etc. because he knows Jesus.
We attended the 8th grade graduation of his charter school to help out and as we sat through the many speeches and awards given that night to many the bright students, I couldn't help but notice how many of them did not know Jesus at all. They were blessed with talents and intelligence, but they were about to embark on a journey without a compass or map.
I am just so grateful that my son knows Christ and His word. He will have failures and hurts coming his way, as we all do, but he will also have many blessings and much joy coming his way too because he has been given that map and compass for his journey.
That is what I praise God for everyday: Nathan knows Jesus.....and Jesus knows Nathan
Nahum 1:7
Rev 4:11
In our Sunday worship service, our Pastor led us through Scripture pointing out what the wrath of God is and how we, God's chosen, have been spared that eternal wrath that is to come.
As I sat there and read through the verses about God's wrath and judgment, all I could think of was how I was chosen from the foundation of the world to be spared this wrath.
It was humbling.
I can often look back over my life and see how God spared me much hurt and pain since I came to know Him at such a young age. I praise Him for that. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like going through the harshness of high school without being able to call upon the Lord for help and encouragement.
As my son enters into his life of service to the Lord by being baptized this coming Sunday, I am very grateful that the Lord has called him at an early age. He will not have to walk alone through high school or college or marriage, etc. because he knows Jesus.
We attended the 8th grade graduation of his charter school to help out and as we sat through the many speeches and awards given that night to many the bright students, I couldn't help but notice how many of them did not know Jesus at all. They were blessed with talents and intelligence, but they were about to embark on a journey without a compass or map.
I am just so grateful that my son knows Christ and His word. He will have failures and hurts coming his way, as we all do, but he will also have many blessings and much joy coming his way too because he has been given that map and compass for his journey.
That is what I praise God for everyday: Nathan knows Jesus.....and Jesus knows Nathan
Nahum 1:7
2 Tim 2:19
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Blessings,
Ruth
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