Tag Archives: 1 John

Stretch Out Your Hand

Posted on by
Reply

Mark 3:1-6

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.”  Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Also in Matthew 12:9-14 and Luke 6:6-11

Jesus knew that He was being watched by the religious leaders trying to find an excuse to harm Him.  But His compassion for the man was greater than any concern for Himself.

He gave a command to the man.  First, he called him to step forward.  Step out from the crowd.  This would draw attention to him – perhaps not something he wanted.  Then Jesus told him to stretch out his hand.

This was a direct instruction from Jesus.  Not “If you want to.”  “If you would like to.”  Of course the man had the choice of obeying or not.  But if he was to gain his healing, he had to do what Jesus said.  By stretching out his hand he was acting in:

  • Obedience – Do what God has told you to do.  Do what is right.
  • Faith – Believe God will do what He said he would do.

Believing and obedience go hand in hand.  To truly believe is to obey.  The man could have believed that Jesus could heal him, but it was only as he obeyed and stepped forward from the crowd, then stretched out his hand that healing came.

What is it Jesus is calling you to do?  Would it require you to “step away from the crowd”, to open yourself to possible ridicule or rejection by others?  Would it require you to take belief to the final step of obedience?

John 14:15 – If you love me, obey my commandments.

We can take this idea of stretching out our hand a further step.  We do not know what this man did after Jesus healed him, but we hope that we began to share the good news with others.

That is what Jesus has commanded us to do – to stretch out our hand and share the love we have received from Him.

John 15:12-13 – This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

  • Stretch out your hand – Rescue and Save –

Jesus told us that we were to be sent just as He was.

John 20:21 – So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

  • How was Jesus sent?
    • In obedience
    • In faith
    • In love and compassion
    • To rescue and save

We can take this idea of stretching out our hand a further step.  We do not know what this man did after Jesus healed him, but we hope that we began to share the good news with others

Who do you know that could use a helping hand today? 

  • A word of encouragement
  • A meal
  • A card saying “thank you”
  • An offer to babysit and give parents a date night
  • Just a smile

Too often we tell others “I’m praying for you” which is good, but let us put legs on those prayers.

1 John 3:16-18 – This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

James 2:14-17 – What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Jesus is Our Only Solution

Posted on by
Reply

1 John 5:12

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

  • He came to give us life

1 John 1:1-2 – That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—

  • He came to fill us with joy

1 John 1:4 – And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

  • He was there “from the beginning

John 1:1-2, 14 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

  • Disciples saw His miracles!  They were witnesses!  They knew!

2 Peter 1:16 – For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

  • He is real

Luke 24:39 – Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.

  • He came
    • To do away with our sin
    • To forgive us
    • To set us free
    • To bring us joy
    • To free us from bondage
    • To heal our bodies
    • Much-much more
    • But the main point was to forgive our sins

1 John 3:5 – And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

  • We are responsible for our sins – Not like Flip Wilson who said, “The devil made me do it.”

1 John 3:8 – He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

  • Tares or weeds
  • Tares are burned up
  • The sinner goes to hell
  • He/she suffers eternal punishment (separation from God)
  • There is weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth
  • Are there tares in the church today?

Matthew 13:38-40 – The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

  • He came to this earth for one purpose – to die on Calvary
    • By His death we know love because He gave His life for us
    • We should give our lives for one another following His example
    • It’s not all about ME, ME, ME – looking out for #1

1 John 3:16 – By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

  • He died for the ungodly – that’s you – that’s me

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

1 John 3:16 – By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

  • He was the propitiation (mercy seat), the one and only, the total and final ultimate sacrifice

1 John 4:9-10 – In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

  • Disciples saw, and testified to what He has done for us

1 John 4:14 – And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

  • Jesus is our only source!

1 John 5:12 – He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Sin – Transgression – Missing the Mark

Posted on by
Reply

1 John 2:1-2

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

  • Sin
    • Transgression
    • Disobedience
    • Missing the mark
    • Overstepping the law
    • Rebellion
    • Not meeting God’s standard
    • Self-will – not God’s will
    • Ungodliness
    • Unbelief

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 9:22 – And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission for sins.

  • Repentance
    • Confession of sin
    • Forsaking of sin
    • Turning to God

Psalm 38:18 – For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.

Luke 18:13 – And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

Luke 15:21 – And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

  • Faith
    • Know that faith works
    • Agree that faith works
    • Agree that “It’s for me”

Job 19:25 – I know that my Redeemer lives.

  • Propitiation – God’s demand that punishment for sin be satisfied
  • Adoption – made a part of the family of God
  • Redemption – price paid as a ransom
  • Justification – declared righteous with God because of shed blood of Jesus
  • Reconciliation – restored to fellowship with God
  • Substitution – we deserved death, but Christ died for us
  • Sacrifice (mediator) – one who gives what is necessary to bring God and man together.

A Son of God

Posted on by
Reply

1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

  • Your position in Christ covers your sin, your failure, your weakness, your frailty.

John 1:6-13 – There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

  • There is no better position in life than to be His child.
  • He does not have grandchildren or step children.
  • What are some of your rights as a child of God?
  • Translated from one family to another – not a child of wrath any longer.

Ephesians 2:1-3 – And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

  • Grafted into the family of God

Ephesians 2:11-13 – Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

  • Called out of darkness into His marvelous light

1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

  • You are free from all previous family obligations. 
  • You are no longer the servant of sin

Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

  • You are no longer the servant of poverty

Philippians 4:19 – And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

  • You are no longer the servant of sickness

1 Peter 2:24 – Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

  • You are no longer the servant of helplessness

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

  • You have the rights and privileges of the new family.
  • The blood of Jesus

Hebrews 9:22 – And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

  • The name of Jesus

Philippians 2:10 – That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.

James 4:7 – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

  • The Word of God

Luke 11:28 – But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 – For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when you received the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually works also in you that believe.

Romans 10:17 – For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when you received the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually works also in you that believe.

  • The Holy Spirit

Acts 1:8 – But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.

  • In the Covenant made with God and you when you accepted Christ, you have every provision you need.
  • God is able to do so much with so little.
  • A boy’s lunch fed 5000 hungry people
  • Short prayer of 63 words by Elijah caused fire to fall from heaven and devour the sacrifice, the wood, the altar, the water and the dirt around the altar
  • A cloud the size of a man’s hand produced a great rain
  • A small child in a stable looked so helpless and defenseless until He stretched out His arms on the cross and cried out, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
  • Your life totally yielded to God Almighty
  •  

Smith Wigglesworth could not even speak publicly as a minister of the Gospel.  His wife preached for him in the mission church they had founded.  He was tongue-tied, but he was loosed when he received the power of the Holy Spirit in his life.  Fourteen people were brought back from the dead through the prayers of this tongue-tied, uneducated preacher.

What can God do through you?

What will you let God do though you?

This World’s Evil System

Posted on by
Reply

1 John 2:15-16

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

  • Definition of this world
    • The physical world

Acts 17:24 – God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

  • The human world

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

  • The evil world

1 John 5:19 – We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

  • Divisions within this world
  • Lust of the flesh
  • Lust of the eyes
  • Pride of life
  • Deceitfulness of this world
  • Friendship with the world

James 4:4 – Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

  • Spotted by the world (patterning life after the world)

James 1:27 – Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

  • Conformed to the world

Romans 12:2 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

  • Condemned with the world

1 Corinthians 11:32 – But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

  • Destruction of the world

1 John 2:17 – And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

2 Peter 3:10-11 — But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?

I Know

Posted on by
Reply

1 John

The text or topic is taken from I John, one of the five writings of the apostle John.  Note that no chapter or verse is listed as part of the text.  That is because the word “know” is repeated throughout the five chapters.  “Know” is listed 32 times in the New King James Version.  “Knows” is listed three times and “known” is listed four times.

Another phrase, “from the beginning” is listed nine times.  The phrase, “We write” is listed one time.  Another phrase, “I write” is listed seven times, and “I have written,” five times.    There are nineteen “if” statements and thirteen times John writes about “commandments.”

These repeated phrases tell us one thing.  That is:  By word and by written truth John has passed along to us “from the beginning” these truths.  This is not anything new he is exhorting to us.  Not a new doctrine, not a new idea.  We are not about to receive a new revelation to move us to the next level, a phrase a lot of the TV evangelists use all the time.  It is simply the same gospel truth that our Lord and Savior conveyed to his disciples from the very beginning.  It is the same truth the Old Testament prophets also preached. 

You might ask, what are these truths that are being given again to us in this letter from John?  Obviously, we have not all understood it or he would not have to preach it to us again.  Sooner or later if we hear the same thing that God is trying to speak to us, we may get it.  Maybe!  Duh!

The whole of this book, five chapters and all 104 verses is that we would learn the joy of being in fellowship with our Lord and Savior.  That cannot happen if we fail to walk in the way He has told us.  To walk holy and blameless, which is our “reasonable service.’

Romans 12:2 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

What hinders us from walking in the way He has told us to walk?  John tells us we often take our eyes off God’s Word and listen to what the world/our culture tells us.  He gives us warnings.

1 John 1:4-9 – And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.  This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 2:1-7 – My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.  Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.  He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.  He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.  Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.

1 John 2:15-17 – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

A big part of walking in the right way, according to John, is to stay based in the love of God.

1John 3:1-3 – Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

1 John 3:11 – For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

1John 3:16 – By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1 John 4:7-11 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 5:19-20 – We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.  And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

That Big Word “If”

Posted on by
Reply

1 John 1:6

IF we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

1 John 1:7 – But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:8 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:10 – If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

  • “If” is a little word with a big meaning.  “If” requires actions on our part.  God has already done His part by sending His son as the redeemer for all mankind “if” we believe. 

1 John 2:3 – Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

1 John 2:15 – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 John 2:19 – They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

1 John 2:29 – If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

1 John 3:13 – Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

  • Our relationship with God does not depend on what other do or do not do.  “If” our heart is true, He receives us. 

1 John 3:20 – For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

1 John 3:21 – Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

  • Our hearts must be in tune with Him and His will.

1 John 4:9 – God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

1 John 4:11-12 – Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

1 John 4:20 – If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

  • We must love for He has loved us.  No debate, no waffling – we must.

1 John 5:9 – If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.

  • Confidence in Him who brought us into new life will be the witness within that in all things His plans/design will be made known.

1 John 5:14-16 – Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.  If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

Knowing God Through Love (The Sin of One Oreo Cookie)

Posted on by
Reply

1 John 4:7-9

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

  • God Loves You

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Let me give you an illustration about our helpless state.  Fad diets are the rage of the land.  Fitness centers all across our country are the in place to be.  Exercise and workout programs abound and yet we eat, eat, eat and our waist lines keep on telling us we need to change.  We simply cannot, for the most part, stop the continued trend of stuffing our face.

Here is a sample of one diet crazed day:

Breakfast

  • One cup of coffee – black
  • One piece of whole wheat toast – dry – no butter, no jelly
  • ½ grapefruit without sweetener

Lunch

  • Two small raw carrots
  • One glass of iced tea without sugar
  • One water cress sandwich on bran toast – no mayonnaise or other spread, you know just bland disgusting stuff to fill the vast expanse of our targeted area.

Afternoon snack – 2:00 PM

  • One Oreo cookie

Approximately 30 minutes later

  • The rest of the bag of Oreo cookies
  • One extra-large helping of rocky road ice cream with an over-sized helping of marshmallow sauce added
  • Washed down by a large vanilla milkshake
  • Two slices of cold left-over pizza
  • A helping of cherry cheese cake
  • Two Babe Ruth candy bars
  • Followed by a large Pepsi.

Oh, the sin of that one lonely Oreo cookie!  That’s the way of our diet.

  • God Demonstrated His Great Love For You

That is sometimes a close example of our spiritual life also.  In 2 Samuel 11 we find the story of King David’s great slip from godly living.  In that story, David looks out from his castle onto the roof of a distant building where he sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing and desire takes hold of his heart.  David goes on to commit adultery after that one look, then on to plotting the murder of Bathsheba’s husband.  All that after one momentary glance, but a glance that consumed him and became his mortal downfall. 

Nathan the prophet came and told David a little story about a rich man taking a poor man’s only lamb and David became enraged.  Nathan responded, “You are the man.”  David owned up to his being responsible and did the right thing.  He confessed his sin, made things right.  But like us, the memory of past sin sometimes lasts forever.  In fact, even knowing our sins are forgiven, the thought of failure burns a scar on our memory that often pains us and wears us down.  And Satan makes sure that you remember.

Galatians, chapter 5, has something to say about the lust of the flesh and enumerates several, eighteen to be exact, although this is not an all-inclusive list of sins that separate us from God.  At the close of this brief passage it states, “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”  Galatians 5:21.  That is a warning.  But at the beginning of that passage is the hope for all of us in verse 16 where it simply tells us to “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Now, back to the Oreo cookies.  Did you know that there are on the market more than a dozen different kinds of Oreo cookies?  Of course, there is the original kind of chocolate with white crème filling….you know the kind we who are over the hill grew up on back in the dark ages.  They were the kind all the guys in junior high used to get the entire chocolate cookie all over their teeth and then smile real big at the girls and try to gross them out.  Oh, for the good old days.  Now there is the same chocolate kind with double stuff filling, chocolate crème, golden crème, sugar free, spring yellow crème, reduced fat, peanut butter crème, and on and on. 

You know, there was a time when the demarcation of right and wrong was a whole lot simpler than today.  Like the one choice of Oreo cookies we had back when some of us grew up.  Now the young people are confronted with so much more that appeals to their generation.  If one type does not appeal to you, another will.  Satan’s variety pack is up and running.   We did not have the internet or MTV or Victoria’s Secret commercials bombarding us a generation ago. 

It’s all out there…words we only saw scrawled on bathroom walls a generation or two ago are the regular language of kids in kindergarten.  Sin is there and it is dangerous.  It blasts at us from all directions.

1 John 2:1 – My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Hebrews 4:15 – For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 – For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Romans 12:1-2 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

David’s sin had been secret, but it was revealed to him.  Not to hit him over the head and hold it against him, but that he might recognize his failure before God and make it right.  David did that very thing and God, who is abundant in mercy and grace, restored him.  David was, and is, known as a man after God’s own heart.  Why?  Because he failed so miserably.  No, we all fall into that category.  It was because he made it right.  He confessed and God forgave.

Romans 5:8-9 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

  • God Wants You to Love Him

John 14:15 – If you love Me, keep My commandments

Matthew 22:37 – Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” 

John 15:16 – You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

  • God Wants You to Love Others

John 15:12 – This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

John 13:35 – By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.