How do I Spend my Time?

617.  "How do I Spend my Time?  
September 28, 2012
1 John 3-Part 6     (verses 17-20)
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
  1 John 3:18 KJV
Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
NLT


LET IT GLOW

It's time to evaluate how I spend my time. It is needful every now and then. Will you join me?
Do I spend enough of it with my husband like he would like me to?
Am I playing with my granddaughter enough, giving her one-on-one time that would make her happy?
 Do I stop and listen long enough to a family member or a friend so they know how important they are to me?
Or is the television or computer taking away my time?
Is my time well spent?
Are my opportunities passing me by, to do good and show love to others?
How often do I use the word wait, or put off an act of love or kindness?
Are projects or things more important to me than people?
Who do I need to start spending more time with?
What do I need to cut back on so it is possible?
What sacrifices do I need to make? Time is passing me by so quickly.

The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now. (Rick Warren)
 
What is the most precious gift I can give someone? Time is because I am giving a portion of my life that I will never get back.
How can I measure the importance of things? It is by how much time I am willing to invest in them. The more time I give to something, the more I reveal its importance and value to me. If I want to know a person's priorities, just look at how they use their time.
Am I proving that relationships are important by investing time in them? Relationships take time and effort. How is the best way to spell love? T-I-M-E
Does my family want my eyes, ears, time, attention, presence, focus-my time, instead ot things money can buy? Nothing can take its place.
It's when we make a sacrifice, giving of time, that I show I value someone.
You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.
Love means giving up-yielding my preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else.
[Refererence: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren]

Galatians 5:6b says: The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

How am I expressing my faith? Is it through showing love to others, giving of my time to them?

LET IT GROW

How does John say that I am to show the love of Jesus to others?
I am to:

• give up my life for my brothers and sisters in the faith. (verse 16)
• show compassion when I see them in need of food, clothing, shelter, sick, poor, unable to provide for their own needs and those of their family (verse 17)
• show and tell of our love. (verse 18)
• let my actions show that I belong to Jesus, the Truth. (verse 19)

Here are some good things Clarke's Bible Commentary has to say:

Here's the test of love:If we don't divide our bread with the hungry, we certainly wouldn't lay down our life for him.

Whatever love we may pretend to mankind, if we aren't charitable and benevolent, we give the lie to our profession.

If we shut up our bowels against the poor, we shut Christ out of our hearts.

Hardheartedness and God's love never meet together, much less can they be associated.
 

Faith gives Christ to me; love flowing from faith gives me to my neighbor. (Jameison, Fausset, Brown )

God calls us to lay down our lives piece by piece, little by little in small, but important ways every day. (Guzik)

Am I willingly and cheerfully helping others? Or do I pick and choose who I show love to, or share with?

Jesus gave all He had for us. Should we do no less?


LET IT GO

Don't just be a hearer of the Word, be a doer also.

Express love by giving my time to others.

Show and tell of Jesus' love today.

Give, give, give.

Accepting My Assignment

616.  "Accepting My Assignment"
September 27, 2012
1 John 3-Part 5            (verses 13-16)
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  1 John 3:16 KJV

LET IT GLOW

I remember a time in elementary school when I had to spend hours working out long division problems. Though I didn't like it at the time, I accepted those assignments. They were good practice for me. It reinforced what I had learned, forcing me to apply the knowledge. It took hours to do only a few problems. I had to follow each step correctly and use my knowledge of multiplication and division facts.
It sounds like we have an assignment here in chapter 3. Let's look closer at it.

Perceive (ginosko in Greek)  means to know. (Strong's Dictionary of The Greek Testament) 

What does John say that I know, as a believer? I know the love of God.
How do I know the love of God? Because He laid down His life for me. Jesus died in my place so my sins would be paid for and I would not have to do it. I still can't get over it-a perfect man/a perfect God would love me so much that He would do this for me!!

John uses the supreme example of sacrificial love here to show what love is ulltimately. The word for (hyper in Greek) shows the vicarious nature of the atonement; Christ died in our place, and suffered the punishment for us. this is made the basis for the obligation of Christian love.  (Liberty Bible Commentary)

How often do I thank Jesus for what He did for me? What gifts-salvation, mercy, grace!

LET IT GROW

What do we know?

• We have passed from death unto life. (verse 14) Before my new birth (spiritually), I was in spiritual darkness and spiritually dead. Becoming a Christian is a resurrection from death to life.
• We love the brethren (verse 14). This is a result of the love of Christ being in us.
• We perceive the love of God because He laid down His life for us. (verse 16) Not only do I know with my mind, but with my spirit and soul also. 
• He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (verse 14b) Someone who is characterized by hate has never experienced the new birth. (MacArthur)
• He that hates his brother is a murderer. (verse 15) Hate is a seed that leads to murder. The attitude is equal to the act.
• No murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (verse 15) They are children of the devil and not children of God, because God's children have His love in their heart. God's children have eternal life promised them. (John 3:16)
• We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (verse 16b) Since my Savior laid down His life for me, I should be willing to do the same for my brethren. That is love.

What's my assignment in this life?

Rick Warren, in his book The Purpose Driven Life, says:

I was created to serve God.
I was saved to serve God.
I was called to serve God.
I am commanded to serve God.
Service is not optional.
Ephesians 2:10 says: For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What is holding me back from accepting God's call to serve Him? God will evaluate me on how well I served others at the end of my life on earth. How will I react to what He reveals to me? Will I be happy, sad, embarrassed, regretful, content?

I, for one, have room for imporvement.

LET IT GO

Show God's love is in me by serving others.

Love the brethren.

People Who Rub me the Wrong Way

615.  "People Who Rub me the Wrong Way"                    September 26, 2012
1 John 3-Part 4   (verses 11-12)
For this is the message that ye have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 
1 John 3:11

LET IT GLOW

There are some people that rub me the wrong way, get my dander up. Their words are like sandpaper, rough and coarse. They are always saying and doing things that hurt my feelings. You probably have some in your life, too. That is when I have to surrender to Jesus and let Him love them through me. Believe you me, I can't do it on my own. I realize there are some Cain's in this world, so I better watch out for them. They will try to kill my witness-provoke me to anger, to say things unbecoming a Christian, to sin in my heart. Am I able (Abel) to please God through it? Oh my, our verse says I am to love them. Not just tolerating, but love? Don't leave me now friends.

What have we heard from the beginning? (1 John 2:7,24)
What was the message we heard of Him, Jesus? (1 John 1:5)

John used this same expression in our key verse as he did in other verses above. He repeats the theme of what they heard "from the beginning" to emphasize that the false teachers were preventing that which God, through the apostles proclaimed-love one another.

What has been the central theme of Christianity? Love.
This is an important part of the Word of God. John expressed in his Gospel (John13:34-35) that love for one another should be an identifying characteristic of Christians.

The Gospel message of Him who loved us, announced by His servants, is, that we love the brethren; not here all mankind, but those who are our brethren in Christ, children in the same family of God, of whom we have been born anew. (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Bible Commentary)

We should love the Lord Jesus, value His love, and therefore love all our brethren in Christ. This love is the special fruit of our faith, and a certain sign of our being born again.  (Matthew Henry)

[Resources: Liberty Bible Commentary, The MacArthur Bible Commentary]

If I don't love believers in the church, does it make me a hypocrite that is sinning?
If I don't love believers not in the church, does it mean I am sinning?

Jesus told us to love our neighbor found in Matthew 22. 
He said, Love one another as I have loved you, found in John 13:34.

I have some homework on this one, sisters.

LET IT GROW

Verses 12-13 state in the New Living Translation: We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sister, if the world hates you.

What are the two things John is telling me? First, to not be like Cain and envy, be jealous, hate, not kill a believer's witness. Who was Cain?

The story is found in Genesis 4. Adam and Eve, after they fell into sin, had two sons, Cain and Abel, not twins. Abel gave an offering to God, which pleased God-the fat portions of the firstborn of his flock (sheep). (See Lev. 3:16) God requires a blood sacrifice for sin. Cain brought the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord, which did not please God. The Lord had a talk with Cain, but he did repent. Instead, Cain's sin of jealousy grew into hate, so he killed his brother Abel.

Cain's offering was not acceptable because he was sinful. Jealousy was behind his hate and murder, as in the case of the religious leaders who had Christ executed.  (MacArthur)

The seed of God was in Abel, so the seed of the wicked one induced Cain to destroy his brother, because the seed of God-the Divine nature, was found in him.  (Clarke)

Later, Adam and Eve had another son, Seth, through which Jesus, our Savior came. God provided another child after Abel was killed.

Cain's offering was offered with an evil and hypocritical mind, without faith in the sacrifice of Christ, unacceptable to God. (Gill)

It's the attitude of the heart that God looks at.
Is my attitude in my heart  one of faith, obedience?
Do I give offerings to the Lord that please  Him?
Am I surprised when the world hates me? Usually.

LET IT GO

Forgive others and replace hard feelings and jealousy with love.

Love believers.

Do what is righteous in God's eyes.

I Belong to a Big Family

614.  "I Belong to a Big Family"                                
September 25, 2012
1 John 3-Part 3  (verses 7-10)
Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 1 John 3:7 NLT

Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 1 John 3:9 NLT

So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.  1 John 3:10 NLT

LET IT GLOW

This past weekend, my dad's family had a reunion. What a huge family my grandparents have. They had six children which lived,18 grandchildren, and at least 34 great-great grandchildren (there are some adopted, so I don't know how many). After that, I loose count. I am happy to belong to such a big family. I belong to another big family, the family of God. Let's see what John has to say to his family.
 
What is John saying to his readers, and us?

• Do not let anyone deceive you. According to Thayer's Lexicon, deceive means to lead away from the truth, to lead into error. To prevent deception from occurring, John repeatedly emphasized the basics of Christianity, the need for obedience, the need for love, and the need fro a proper view of Christ. (MacArthur)
• Do what is right and show that you are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. In other words, practice righteousness, which means to live up rightly;
• Those born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. We are to behave like Jesus, manifesting the power of His life in us (Gal. 2:20) When we are born again, God makes us new creatures with new natures.
• We can tell who are children of God and belong to Him if they live righteously and love other believers. 

Are these characteristics describing me? Do I exhibit this new nature as the habitual character of righteousness produced by the Holy Spirit?
Love is not merely an optional duty for someone claiming to be a Christian, but proof positive that a person truly has been born again (John 15:12). (MacArthur)

LET IT GROW

Verse 8 in NLT says, But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

Again, John is describing the false teachers:

• They sin, which means "who habitually practice sin."
• They belong to the devil, which is a term meaning "accuser" or "slanderer." Not only does Satan oppose God and His plan, but he is the originator and instigator of sin and rebellion against God and His law. He has been sinning from the beginning. All the unsaved are under the diabolic influence of Satan.
• The Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to destroy the works of the devil.A day will come when Satan's activity will cease in the universe and he will be sent to hell forever (Rev. 20:10).
• A variety of the devil's activities include: sin, rebellion, temptation, ruling the world, persecution and accusation of saints, instigation of false teachers, and exercising the power of death.
• They do not live righteously.
• They display a distinct lack of love for true believers.

[Resource: The MacArthur Bible Commentary]
Only two kinds of children exist in the world: children of God and children of Satan. No one can belong to both families simultaneously. We belong to one family and exibit that character.

Do I show proof of my new birth, righteousness and loving believers?

LET IT GO

Don't be deceived by false teachers; stay in God's word, the Truth.

Practice righteousness, not sin.

Love other believers.

Be aware of the influence of the devil and don't yield to it.

Exhibit behavior as a member of the family of God.

Breaking Habits

613.  "Breaking Habits"                  September 24, 2012
1 John 3-Part 2 (verses 4-6)
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.  1 John 3:6

LET IT GLOW

When I was a child, I had a habit of chewing my fingernails. It was a hard one to break. Habits can be hard to break, especially when one is trying so hard to break them.

Maybe it is time for me to do a self-evaluation and ask myself, "Do I have any sinful habits?" Are there things in my life that are displeasing to God? I should ask Him to show me. I am just a sinner saved by grace. I don't want to sin, but I do. It is a part of our nature. I am thankful for God's grace that keeps forgiving us.

Sinneth not does not mean that once a person is saved he never sins again! It means that once a person is saved he no longer lives in sin; his life is no longer characterized by sin. Everyone who is truly born of God lives righteously. (Liberty Bible Commentary)

In the devotional book Experiencing God Day by Day, Henry and Richard Blackaby have this to say about sin:

Sin is choosing a standard other than God's law on which to base your life. It is a dangerous thing to live your life without a spiritual "plumb line," or standard, by which you determine right from wrong. God's word is that plumb line. Spiritual laws, like physical laws, are meant to protect you, not restrict you. God's absolute moral and spiritual laws that we are free to ignore, but we do so at our own peril.

LET IT GROW

Verse 4 says, Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Commits sin-The verb commits in the Greek conveys the idea of making sin a habitual practice. Although genuine Christians have a sin disposition, and do commit and need to confess sin, that is not the unbroken pattern of their lives. A genuinely born-again believer has a built-in check or guard against habitual sinning due to a new nature (Rom. 6:12).  (MacArthur)

All disobedience is contrary to love, therefore, sin is a transgression of the Law, whether the act refers immediately to God or to our neighbor.  (Clarke)

Lawlessness conveys more than transgressing God's Law. It conveys the ultimate sense of rebellion, living as if there was no law or ignoring what laws exist. If no check against habitual sin exists in someone who professes to be a Christian, John's pronouncement is absolutely clear-salvation never took place. To sin is contrary to Christ's work of breaking the dominion of sin in the believer's life (Rom. 6:1-15). (MacArthur)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible says:

• All sin is a violation of the law of God. (verse 4)
• The very object of the coming of Christ was to deliver people from sin. (verse 5)
• Those who are true Christians don't habitually sin. (verse 6) 

The Bible makes two things clear about sin. First, living a lifestyle of sin indicates that you are not walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, regardless of what you say about your spiritual condition. You cannot regularly spend time studying and meditationg on God's Word, praying and walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and persist in sin.
Second, if you do not hate sin the way God does, then you do not truly know Him.
All this does not mean that you will never sin, but it does mean that you refuse to make sin a lifestyle and and you immediately seek forgiveness when you sin (1 John 1:10). (Experiencing God Day By Day)

Am I abiding in Christ or am I falling into sinful habits or not grieving over my sin?
These are some hard things to swallow, but true.
What is in the middle of this 3-letter word SIN?  "I" is in the middle of sin.

LET IT GO

Abide in Jesus, under grace, not in sin.

Ask the Lord to show me if I have any habitual sins in my life.

Let go of sinful ways. Come to Jesus for  cleansing and a changed heart.

Hope-So Becomes Know-So

612.  "Hope-So Becomes Know-So"
September 21, 2012
1 John 3-Part 1    (verses 1-3)
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  1 John 3:1 KJV

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
NIV 1 John 3:1

LET IT GLOW

Manner means kind, style, according to Webster's Dictionary.
Thayer's Lexicon says manner means of what sort or quality. 

The word bestowed is joined with nouns denoting an act or an effect; and the act or effect of him who gives, in such a sense that what he is said he is conceived of as effecting, or as becoming its author. (Thayer's Lexicon)

Webster's Dictionary defines bestow as give, confer as a gift; deposit, consign.

So, can I bring this verse on down to a personal level and say this verse with a personal touch- Look at what kind of love gift Linda's  heavenly Father has given to Linda! So much love, that she can be called His daughter, God's child. 

Dear friend, you can read it again putting your name in place of mine. Do you need His love today?

I look around and see so many gifts of love that God has lavished me with. How can I but praise Him! One particular gift is that of His Son Jesus, to be my proitiation for my sin. He gave salvation to me as a free gift so I would not have to pay for my sins. What manner of love!!!

Looking at verse 2, we have this hope in Christ that when He appears, we shall be made like Him. In the moment, in the blink of an eye, we shall be changed from this decaying, aging body into a heavenly body. I don't know what it will look like, but I am sure looking forward to it.

LET IT GROW

Verse 3 says, And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Liberty Bible Commentary has this to say:
The hope (elpis in Greek ), is not a "hope-so" chance for the Christian, but a "know-so" of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is because of this "sure expectation" that we "purify" our lives.

Purieth means to cleanse, make clean, morally.
Pure means pure freom every fault, immaculate (referring to God).

What is my hope as a Christian? My hope is in Christ's Second Coming. He will deliever me from this sinful world.

Living in the reality of Christ's return makes a difference in a Christian's behavior. since Christians someday will be like Him, a desire should grow within the Christian to become like Him now. It calls for a purifying of sin, in which we play a part. (MacArthur)

How do I purify myself? I can't. The only thing I can do is confess my sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive me, to cleanse me from my sins as 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jesus can and will do it. His Word is true. After all, He is pure, which means Jesus has no sin in Him.

Daily I must confess. Daily I need to be purified. When thinking about heaven, my hope-so became know-so.

LET IT GO

No pride, just be purified.

Keep the hope.

Remember, God loves you and God loves me.

Robes

611.  "Robes"                          September 20, 2012
1 John 2-Part 6  (verse 28-29)
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. 
1 John 2:29  KJV

If you know he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. 1 John 2:29 NIV

Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God's children.  1 John 2:29 New Living Translation

LET IT GLOW

I have an old, thick, light blue robe that I wear only in the wintertime after I have showered. It keeps me covered and warm while I iron my clothes that I am going to wear for the day. I have another robe that I wear, spiritually speaking. It is one that Christ has provided for me-His Robe of Righteousness. You see, I can't purchase a righteous robe on my own because my righteousness is as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) It is a free gift to me, but it cost Christ His very life to provide it.
  

Christ is righteous, which means He is the justifier or who pronounces righteous, but the substantial meaning is holy, that quality by virtue of which he hates and punishes sin. 
Righteousness refers to do righteousness, to live uprightly.  (Thayer's Lexicon)

I have no righteousness on my own, but it is the robe of righteousness of Christ that clothes me so I can be right with God. It is blood stained, I believe, because He shed his blood for me, a sinner.
Friend, are you clothed in this robe?

According to John Gill, Christ is:

• as righteous as God in His nature and in His works;
• as a man in His obedience;
• as a Mediator, in faithfully discharging the work He undertook;
• the author of an everlasting righteousness;
• imputed by God;
• revealed in the Gospel;
• received by faith.

A life of righteousness shows that we have the life of Christ and proof that we have been born again.
(People's New Testament)

John is not talking about a person who performs one or two righteous acts, but about a person whose conduct can be characterized as righteousness. Of such a person it may be said that he is born (gennao), or rather "has been truly born of God.  (Liberty Bible Commentary)

Is there enough proof that I am a Christian to convict me of such? How about you?

LET IT GROW

In verse 28, John tells us to:

• remain in fellowship with Christ;
• be full of courage;
• do not shrink back from him in shame;
• do what is right since I am God's child.

Am I looking for Jesus' Second Coming with joyous confidence?

LET IT GO

What do I need to let go of so I can live uprightly?

Thank You, Jesus, for Your Robe of Righteousness provided for me as a gift.

Have courage, don't shrink back, do what's right, stay in fellowship with my Savior.