Living for Jesus
1 John 3:1-9 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. 2 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. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Sin and the Child of God
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 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. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Do you ever think of who you are in Christ? Because of His great sacrifice, and because we accepted His call to “Come,” we are children of the Most High God. Our natural bent to sin has been replaced with a desire to love Him and love others.
Have you ever known someone who knows the Word but does not live the Word? They can quote the Bible, and much like the Pharisees, they have what is referred to as head knowledge but not heart knowledge.
It is incumbent upon us to grow in grace and leave behind once and forever a lifestyle of sin. Throughout the Bible, we see that sin separates us from God, and though each of us has the propensity to sin, through Christ we can turn our backs on sin.
May we each choose to walk in the light of God’s love, knowing and believing that because of the Holy Spirit, we can live in righteousness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Living for Jesus a life that is true,
striving to please Him in all that I do,
yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
this is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior,
I give myself to Thee;
for Thou, in Thine atonement,
didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other master;
my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live,
O Christ, for Thee alone.
By Thomas Chisholm
Living for Jesus
1 John 3:1-9 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. 2 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. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Sin and the Child of God
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 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. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Do you ever think of who you are in Christ? Because of His great sacrifice, and because we accepted His call to “Come,” we are children of the Most High God. Our natural bent to sin has been replaced with a desire to love Him and love others.
Have you ever known someone who knows the Word but does not live the Word? They can quote the Bible, and much like the Pharisees, they have what is referred to as head knowledge but not heart knowledge.
It is incumbent upon us to grow in grace and leave behind once and forever a lifestyle of sin. Throughout the Bible, we see that sin separates us from God, and though each of us has the propensity to sin, through Christ we can turn our backs on sin.
May we each choose to walk in the light of God’s love, knowing and believing that because of the Holy Spirit, we can live in righteousness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Living for Jesus a life that is true,
striving to please Him in all that I do,
yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
this is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior,
I give myself to Thee;
for Thou, in Thine atonement,
didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other master;
my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live,
O Christ, for Thee alone.
By Thomas Chisholm
Bless the Lord O My Soul
Psalms 103:1-5 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Isn’t it great to begin your day with a blessing? I read my Bible every day, and most days I write a devotional to accompany my reading. Recently, I have been reading from 1 John, but today I awoke with Psalm 103 on my lips, and so I write today’s devotional based upon that psalm.
Psalm 103 begins with praising God with all that is within me, with nothing held back. I remember His many blessings, so how can I do anything but praise Him? He forgives my sins, anything that separates me from Him. He heals me, He has bought me back from the sin that would have destroyed me, and places a crown upon my head, which one day I will lay at His feet.
This past weekend God blessed me with the privilege of baptizing my precious great granddaughter, Claira Josephine. I love her parents so very much, and I am so thankful to have the benefit to bask in their love for each other and their daughter. As I read the liturgy of the Church and scooped the water from the Baptismal Font with a shell, pouring it over her head as her dad held her and her mom waited to dry her off, I was overwhelmed with God’s love and faithfulness. And, I am confident that her parents, grandparents and great grandparents will cover her in prayer daily, leading her to know, believe and understand that when the Holy Spirit beckons her, she will respond, moving her from prevenient (preventing) grace to justifying grace and ultimately sanctifying grace.
May we continue to praise God for all He has done and for all He will do. And as I read Hab 3:17-18, where the questioning prophet finally understands God’s character, I remind each of us that it is our duty and our blessing to praise God regardless of our circumstances. And, as the Message, a contemporary version of the Bible reads: Psalms 23:6 (MSG) 6 Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of GOD for the rest of my life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Abiding in Him
1 John 2:24-29 24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
I love the word “abiding” and what it means in the context of our relationship with Christ. According to the Bible, abiding means to stay connected, dwell, or remain in a continuous, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the 21st century it is easier than ever to stay connected. Texting, emailing, and calling can all be done on cell phones, tablets, and even watches. I know it is hard to believe but many of us grew up without these devices. As a child we had an operator direct our calls, and there were party lines which means we shared one line among multiple households.
If we were away from home, it was not so simple to reach another person. We had to find a phone booth (think Superman’s changing room) or sometimes ask a business owner for the use of his phone. But have any of our modern conveniences made it any easier to draw closer to God?
I would say our cell phones have made accessibility easier, but they have also provided more distractions. What a shame.
May we understand that to draw closer to God, our focus should be on Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A promise for old age
Isaiah 46:4 4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:9-11 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that I will do.
As I am now advanced in age, I am more aware of promises in the scriptures to those of us whose bloom may have faded. My prayer is that I may be of use to the kingdom until I take my last breath.
But how can I be assured that God hears me and will answer my prayer? Because He says He will sustain me. In other words, God has promised He will comfort me in my trials, and He will carry me when I cannot walk.
I recall a sermon I did extolling the attributes of God. I listed some of the many things God can do, but then I said, “Did you know there is something God cannot do?”
A little girl in the first row answered very loudly. “God can do anything!” I said, “That’s right. God can do anything, except lie. Numbers 23:19 says, “who am I that I should lie?”
So how do I know God will answer my prayers? Because He said so and He has done so.
May we wait upon the Lord, knowing and believing that God is faithful and He is true, and when He says it, it is already done.
And by the way, the little girl who spoke up during my sermon was the last person I baptized before I retired. So rest in Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 