God's Children

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On to today's post:

What does it mean to be a child of God?  What makes a child of God different from the rest of the world?  I didn’t talk about it last time, but 1 John 2:29 tells us that Christians are those who are “born” of God.  This is just an emphasis that the Christian’s spiritual life is a result of God’s redemptive work in us.  Once we are “born again”, we are called God’s Children.  So, what is the significance of being called the “children of God” and what does it mean for our lives?

1 John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.  The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 

The KJV says “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us”.  Don’t you just love that verse!  It’s through God’s love that we can become His children.  It’s an honor.  Can you imagine the love that God must have for us to “allow” us to be His?  I imagine this as how adoptive parents feel toward their children.  Do you know any children who have been adopted?  We know several folks who have adopted.  Let me tell you, they love their children just as much as if they were born to them.  It’s unconditional.  That’s just like the love of God for us.  Do you know the song “How He Loves” by the David Crowder Band?  It goes like this:

"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions
Eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

And oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us all"

That's the love that He has for you and I.  It's strong, like a hurricane.

Well, take a look at that second verse.  It tells us that the world doesn’t know us.  People who are lost know us, so what does that mean?  It means that they don’t recognize what we have become in Christ.  They may even look at us as religious freaks.  Why?  Because they just don’t know Jesus.  We should expect the world to treat us the same as the world treated Jesus.  Despised.  Rejected.  Think of it this way:  while Jesus was here on earth, he has a great following, they saw his miracles, they believed in who he said he was.  Yet, they were the ones that wanted to crucify him.  See how the world does? The world will turn it’s back on you.

But, look at verse 16!  It says “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”  Jesus laid down his life for you (and me).  Shouldn’t we be willing to do the same thing?  Shouldn’t we be willing to take the criticism of the world? 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me to be one of your children.  Help me, each day, I pray, to realize the love that you have for me.  I know you loved me so much that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sins.  Help me, Lord, to remember that love and to share it with others.  Forgive me for ever not believing in that love. In Jesus name, Amen.

**Note:  I cannot take credit for the graphics.  I found these.  I apologize to whomever and will remove them if the owner doesn't approve.  

Interference

I'm sorry for being so behind.  I would say I have an excuse, but I do not.  See there, the topic of conversation today.  Sin.  The devil didn't want me to post again.  And, he succeeded.  Why do I let it happen?  Why do you let it happen?  Do you ever feel like you can’t get away from sin?  Well, so do I.  But, as John tells us in 1 John 2, there isn’t any way around it.  We’re all going to sin.  It’s inevitable.  It’s a fact of life.   I wanted to post about something completely different and that isn't where God led me. 

So, let’s talk about our relationship to sin.  Once you became a Christian, did you think you wouldn’t ever sin again?  Well, I didn’t think that I wouldn’t ever sin again, but I did think it would be easier.  Let me tell you first hand, it’s not easier.  If anything, it’s harder because that ol’ devil just wants you to cave.  And, sometimes we do.   What happens though is that our attitude toward sin changes.  We no longer love sin like we used to.  We no longer brag about those things we did the other night at that party.  We no longer even plan to go to those parties, because we just don’t enjoy them any longer.  Charles Spurgeon said of sin, “We cannot bear sin – when it is near us, we feel like a wretch chained to a rotting carcass; we groan to be free from the hateful thing.”  We just cannot stand to be around sin any longer.  1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  

John wants us to know that there is always forgiveness for any sin we confess.  We have an “advocate”, someone who will speak up for us on our behalf.  That “advocate” is Jesus.  Verse 2 of 1 John says this:  “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”  What in the world does “propitiation” mean?  I used to even struggle with how to pronounce it, much less what it meant.  Let me tell you what it means.  “Propitiation” is defined as “the action of propitiating or appeasing a god, spirit, or a person.”  For the Christian, this means that Jesus is the one that is appeasing the Father.  We’re guilty, but Jesus runs interference for us.  He is our defender.

There is so much more in this chapter.  But, these first couple of verses stood out to me for some reason.  I guess I needed the friendly reminder that Jesus is there to be my defender.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I know I am not worthy of your presence, so, I thank you so much for sending Jesus to be my defender.  Help me to recognize when I am tempted with sin and help me make the decision to avoid it at all costs.  Give me a heart where I recognize those sins and change my attitudes toward those that I don’t.  In Jesus precious name, Amen.

The Light

John, the last living disciple, wrote this first epistle to a group of Christians who were facing false teachings.  We don't really know which group, but we do know that he was familiar with them.  Gnosticism was gaining ground.  What is Gnosticism, you ask?  Gnosticism is a complete contrast to what Christianity is.  It was the most dangerous heresy of the first century.  It taught that salvation is achieved through special knowledge.  It's a little too complicated for this discussion though.  This letter was really to give his readers the basics about faith in Christ.

1 John 1:1-2 states "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us".  John was telling his readers that he was a witness.  He saw Jesus with his own eyes, witnessed His miracles, saw him crucified and even witnessed his reappearance after the resurrection and touched him then.  He was an eyewitness!   

John goes on to describe Jesus as light.  1 John 1:5-7 says, "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.   If we say we have fellowship with him while we 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 his Son cleanses us from all sin."

Jesus is light.  Light is Truth.  Therefore, Jesus is Truth.  This is the message of Christ that John heard.  He is a truth of hope and joy.  With Christ there is no darkness.  Darkness is full of threat and is dangerous.  This, again, doesn't mean Christians will not have problems or trials.  It does mean that Jesus is with us in whatever trials we face.  And in the end, if we have Jesus, we will live in eternity with him.  That is the hope and joy that we should carry around with us.

What about the darkness?  What does that mean "walking in darkness"?  I think it means being a person of hate, being controlled by the things of the world, living sinfully and never being remorseful for it, and being controlled by power or prestige.  Does this describe you?  You can change that.  You can become a person of love.  A person who is full of light.  John tells us that if we have the "blood of Jesus", we can be cleansed "from all sin."  We can walk in the light.  We can be the light for others.  

This reminds me of the hymn "Trust and Obey".  I know you've heard it.  It says this:

When we walk with the Lord   In the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way;   While we do His good will,   He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.
	Trust and obey, For there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus,   But to trust and obey

See that?  It says the His Word is Light.  And if we trust Him, he will abide with us and his glory will light our way.  He will be the light on the dark pathways of this dark world. 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for this message today.  In a world full of darkness, you are the light.  Thank you for sending Jesus, your precious son, to cleanse us from our sins.  I pray that if anyone that is reading this doesn't know Jesus as their personal Savior, that they will ask you for forgiveness and ask you into their heart.  Shine your light on them today.  Father, I ask that you forgive me when I've not been the light that I was supposed to be.  Help me, Lord, to share the hope and joy that your love brings.  In Jesus name, Amen.