Dive in Daily Devotees

Jude (brother of Jesus and James), Peter and John all address the problems with false teachers and falling away from the teachings of Jesus.  It is important that these letters have been shared with us. We need to recognize that this has been a problem for all this time. We should not be surprised when we experience evil in the church. I think we all expect it in the world around us but we are shocked when it happens in the church. But it has always been an issue in the church. I am always sad when I hear of someone who came to church and they think they are putting their faith in Jesus but instead they are putting their faith in the people of the church and when those people let them down or worse yet do something or teach something that is ungodly they blame God and turn away from Him and the church. As I have said in recent posts this is the most unchurched generation of all time. Children are being raised by parents who never went to church or went and some time and left the church so they do not teach their children about God. Or if they do teach anything about God they teach them not to believe in God. Creating a growing population of scoffers.

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[18] They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”

Scoffers will naturally follow their own ungodly desires. I just heard Lee Strobel telling the story of how he came to write his first book the Case for Christ. He said that as an atheist “I lived a very immoral life. A drunken, profane, narcissistic life because I figured if there is no God if there is no heaven, if there is no hell, if there is no judgement, if there is no ultimate accountability then the most logical ways to live my life was as a hedonist. Someone who just pursued pleasure so that’s what I did.” That is what scoffer do. They have no reason not to follow their ungodly desires. So we should not be surprised at the state of the world.

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[19] These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

At the same time we need to be very aware of the fact that scoffers are in the church as well. They are there to confuse and divide the believers as well as create conflict that will drive young believers away from the body of Christ.

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:20‭-‬21‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[20] But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, [21] keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude, Peter and Johns books not only give us warning but also instruction on how to fight against those who are working against the growth and well being of the body of Christ. Surround yourself with strong faithful believers to build each other up. Dig deep into the word of God and be strong in your faith. Pray in the Spirit for strength, discernment, and to be filled with love and mercy. Looking forward to the day when we receive the ultimate gift of mercy to be able to leave this broken world and go home to live eternally with Christ.

Which by the way Lee Strobel was talking about his book the Case for Heaven. Below is the link for the Focus on the Family podcast if you are interested.

oneplace.com/ministries/focus-on-the-family/player/

 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭98:4‭-‬6‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[4] Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; [5] make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, [6] with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

So excited for conference coming up. Praise Him!!

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[3] Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

This is not only my goal but my prayer for all my children. Those born to me as well as those given to me through marriage and youth group.

3 John‬ ‭1:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[4] I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

I had the privilege of officiating a wedding of a couple from our youth group. It gave me great joy that they want to continue to grow closer to each other as they grow closer to God. I also was filled with more joy when 2 girls in the bridal party who also are alumni had their boyfriends with them and they are all actively seeking God and making Him the center of their lives. It brought me to tears of joy many times as they shared with me all the things they have committed to the Lord and how He is establishing their steps.

 

‭‭2 John‬ ‭1:7‭-‬9‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[7] I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. [8] Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. [9] Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

Just as the early church was warned about false teachers so are we. There are those who are trying to deceive us and they represent themselves as being followers of Jesus but they deny the truths of who Jesus really is. Just because someone claims to be a Christian and is a dynamic and charismatic speaker does not mean that he is preaching truth. All teachings are to be weighed against the truth of the word of God and anyone who claims that something other than the word is true is a false teacher and a deceiver who is living to separate true believers from the Father and the Son. Know the word of God so well that you can recognize those who are anti-Christ because knowing the real things is the best way to recognize a counterfeit.

Psalm 96

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭95:1‭-‬6‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[1] Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. [2] Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. [3] For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. [4] In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. [5] The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. [6] Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

Come before Him with songs of praise and thanksgiving. Acknowledge that He is “the great God, the great King above all gods.” Nothing should receive more praise from you than He does because He is greater than any other god that you are tempted to follow. All that He has created is in His hands. When we truly praise Him we will be driven to worship Him. “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Our praise should lead to worship which should result in a physical response from us.

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭24:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[16] and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.

I imagine that when Moses went up on Mount Sinai he was not planning on it taking so long for God to speak to him. God said “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here,…” But I wonder if he thought he would have to wait 6 days for God to call out to him. I think I would get impatient and like, Ok God you said to come up here, now what?

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭24:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬I
[18] Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

I can’t imagine staying 40 days and 40 nights. Maybe 7 days would not be so bad but 40 days? Did he have food and water or did he not eat or drink. Maybe God provided what he needed. As I am writing this I think back to the Psalm I shared above. Maybe He stayed because he could. Sure God had things to tell Him and instructions for him to share but that can’t be all of it. Imagine being in the very presence of God. His greatness, His majesty, His love, His power. Thinking about being in His presence makes praising and worshiping Him sound like the only thing to do. I hope that he was so enthralled with God’s presence that he didn’t want to stop worshiping Him and that 40 days and nights were like a blink of an eye. I wonder if God had to tell him to go back or if He had to withdrawal from the mountain for Moses to be willing to leave. It would be interesting to be able to ask Moses when we meet in eternity what it was like for him. I have a feeling he will say it was a little bit like what it is like in heaven.

God lives in the praises of His people so when we sing praises to Him with a heart of praise not just singing words that don’t matter to us then He comes into our presence. And when He is in our presence praising Him becomes the only thing that we can do. And it should be the only thing we want to do. So when you sing songs of praise and thanksgiving don’t hold back. Let it turn into an act of worship.  All you should be thinking about is Him and what you are singing. Don’t be surprised or hold back if you are compelled to fall to your knees in worship or if you want to lift your hands to reach to your loving father, or you want to jump and dance around. When the Holy Spirit is working in your heart you may be brought to tears, laughter and even awestruck silence. If you are moved by the spirit during worship and you hold back from following His prompting then you are not thinking only about Him and your worship. Whatever thought it is that stops you is coming from the world and is not worthy of your attention when the Lord God Almighty is in your presence so Paise Him with all you have body mind and spirit and you will never want your worship to end.

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭23:4‭-‬5‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[4] “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. [5] If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

This reminds me of the sermon on the mount when Jesus said

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:43‭-‬44‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[43] “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ [44] But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

I see in the Exodus the command to do what is right and show concern for your enemy and their property. That is not hate. When Jesus says “You have heard that it was said” He was talking about the things that they have been taught by the world and when He says “but I tell you” He is saying this is what you are really supposed to do. Another example of how our beliefs are influenced by the world. The Israelites were told to show care and concern for other even their enemy but over time society and the influence of the world taught that to hate their enemies. Hate does not show care or concern.

We too live with beliefs that we have “heard that it was said”. That is why we need to stay in the word of God and look to Jesus when He says “but I tell you”.

Lord please reveal to me the things that I have come to believe based on the worlds teaching that do not align with your word and will. Speak to my heart and mind and reveal your truths in a way that I can clearly see what it is you would have me do.

Pro‭‭verbs‬ ‭11:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[28] Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

In other words the righteous trust in the Lord not their riches. Also having riches is not a sin but putting your trust in those riches is the sin. The things of this word including riches are unreliable. The things of this broken world will always be unpredictable including riches. Even when you have riches that don’t go away, if you are trusting in them for your happiness and provision then your decisions will be influenced by that dependence on money. You will be encouraged to make some ethically immoral decisions. You may be so focused on getting and keeping your riches that you neglect your relationships with family, friends and most importantly God. In fact you are going to think about those riches instead of thinking about God. The righteous are people who put their trust in the Lord. When they have riches they recognize that those riches come from the Lord and they don’t hold tightly to them. When your trust is in God you are more able to give freely of your finances, time and love. God has promised to provide for those who trust in Him. That provision may not be riches but it will be what we need which will be different for everyone. But we will prosper in some way.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭92:1‭-‬5‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[1] It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, [2] proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, [3] to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. [4] For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. [5] How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!

Our women’s conference this year is “This is Us…Armed with Praise”.  It is good to praise the Lord. Praising the Lord is done with music. Part of praise is “proclaiming (His) love and…faithfulness”. We are to “sing for joy”. I don’t know how anyone can truly spend time thinking about all that He has done and the greatness of His works and the fact that His thoughts are beyond anything we can even come close to comprehending and not sing for joy. I just took my husband to the eye specialist because a problem he had in the past is acting up again. When I think about the human body and the miraculous things that it does I am always amazed and cannot understand how anyone can look at how something like how the eye works and compensates and adapts and not believe in God. The human body is only one of His works that bring me to a point of singing for joy. There is also His creation. When I try to comprehend outer space or I look at the ocean. I am always in awe and wonder of God.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[16] If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.

When we see a brother or sister sinning we should first pray for them. Many people are quick to respond according to Matthew 18:5-17 and go to them and “point out their fault” but first we are to pray. There must be power in our prayers otherwise there would be not reason to be instructed to do so. Even if we can’t understand how it changes anything we should trust that it does.

This “sin that leads to death” could very well mean a sin that leads to actual physical death. Whether it be because what they are doing causes them to die or because they are so caught up in a sin that God calls them home. We can pray for that person to turn from their sin but praying for God to spare their life when they are dying because of their sin will not have the power to change things.  Some people think it means spiritual death and the sin that leads to death is being blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know for sure which one it is but if someone is blaspheming the Holy Spirit they are not a believer so they would not be a brother. John repeatedly uses the term brother to refer to fellow believers.

Always pray first and trust God with it all.

 

 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭90:17‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[17] May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.

Isn’t it wonderful that the favor of the Lord rests on us as the Holy Spirit living in us. This is what changes our hearts and establishes the work of our hands. Because as we are reading over and over again in 1 John our actions are what reveals our hearts to others.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:1‭-‬2‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[1] Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[16] And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[18] There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[20] Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

In this book John is addressing the fact that some of the believers had turned from their faith in Jesus as the Messiah because the idea of a God that came in a human body was too difficult for them to accept in the shadow of the Greek idea that the flesh is evil and only spirit is good. They were denying Christ and living immoral lives and were very unloving toward each other, but they claimed to know God and belong to Him. So John is really hitting those points hard over and over again. It is like using the broken record technique to reinforce a truth that someone his continuously ignoring. Or to break a stronghold on your life because of lies that you had come to believe over time. For example if you grew up in a home that your father always told you that you were a failure and that you would never amount to anything you would live that out because that is the only thing that you would know. And to overcome that lie you would need to hear a truth spoken like “you are a child of God with a purpose and you can do anything that He calls you to”, or “God made you and loves you and His opinion of you is what matters and is never wrong”. You would need to hear it spoken over you and by you again and again to even start to believe it. I think that is what John is doing. He is sharing these truths over and over again. Saying them in different ways, because truth is the only way to defeat lies. And the arrows of lies that they have had shot at them is enormous so the number or truth shields that are needed to defend against them needs to be enormous.

We live in a world that is teaching our children from the day they are born that the word of God is a lie and that the right way to live is the way of the world and because this is the most unchurched generation that has ever existed that’s all they know. Thankfully we have a God that is greater than the world and even in the depth of depravity that our youth are living in He can shine His light into their lives and reveal His truth and love to them. One of the ways He does that is through His church. When we are able to wear our faith on the outside so that the world can see it and love others then we can be a light of God’s truth and love in a dark world and He will use that to shift their understanding of what is right and what is true. But often times we hold back that outward shining of our faith because of those lies that we have come to believe over the years and didn’t even realize we were believing them. “Faith should be kept private.” Lie. “Just being a good person and living like Jesus is enough of a witness I don’t need to talk about Jesus to people.” Lie. “A person has to be called to evangelism to be able to do it right.” Lie. “If you share your faith to people who don’t believe it will offend them and that is unloving.” Lie. I can go on but I won’t. Anything that you tell yourself that keeps you from talking about Jesus and speaking His truth into this lost world is a lie. And when we don’t surrender to God and the truth of His word then we are surrendering to the devil and his lies.

What lies have you come to believe about the world, yourself, God, faith, and the church? Ask God to reveal them to you and to give you His truth on the matter and say it out loud to yourself repeatedly every day until you know it to be true in your heart and you begin to live it with joy and peace. Until you know the truth so well that you recognize the lies in your life as well as the lies in the lives of those around you. And put on the armor of God including shield of faith which is the word of God and surrender your life fully to Jesus so He can work through you to reach the lost and teach new believers to do the same.