walk in love

Is there hope for our world?

Is there hope for our world?

Do you have hope for a better future for our world? Or do you expect things to get worse? Do you think we can make a difference in this day and age? Or will the world just get darker and darker in your view? Our eschatology matters. What we believe about the future matters.

I want to encourage you to fight. We can still engage the culture and influence the world. We carry the presence and power of God. As we live out our Christian values, we can still be a voice in this world and turn the tide back toward God.

Don’t lose heart! Don’t give up! The soul of our nation and the nations of the world are worth fighting for. The good news is, we fight from victory. Jesus has already won. Jesus is the King of Kings, and there is none greater.

Don't Conform to the World's Version of Faith, Life and Culture

Don't Conform to the World's Version of Faith, Life and Culture

When it comes to matters of life, faith, and culture, we must think as God thinks. We must persuade our hearts and minds of His ways and adjust accordingly, rather than bend His Word and ways to conform to modern thought and culture.

God’s ways of life are never out of date. God’s ways are righteous and He leads us along the path of righteousness, in all that we do. Our faith is not separate from culture. In fact, our faith should shape culture.

What is righteousness?

God Became Human Just Like You

God Became Human Just Like You

Is Jesus God? YES!!

Was Jesus God before he came to earth? YES!!

Was Jesus God while he was a man? Let’s explore that idea. I don’t want to make you nervous, so the short answer is YES, but there are some things to understand about his form while in a human body.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

It’s safe to say that if you don’t believe that Jesus came in the flesh you are deceived by the spirit of anti-christ. So what does “in the flesh mean?” It doesn’t just mean that he was real, it’s referring to the kind of being he was. Let’s look at several passages that address this topic.

How To Please God And Receive Everything You Ask For

How To Please God And Receive Everything You Ask For

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

— 1 John 3:21-22

The key to pleasing God is, keeping His commandments. If you keep His commandments, your heart will be confident before Him, and you will receive whatever you ask. What a powerful promise! It’s almost unbelievable, but that’s exactly what John said.

It begs the question, what are the commandments you’re supposed keep? He gives us the answer in the next verse.

Does It Mean You Have Never Met God If You Sin?

Does It Mean You Have Never Met God If You Sin?

Can you lose your salvation if you sin? It's an age-old question that has sparked debate, split churches, and sent people into mental health facilities. We know that we're saved by grace through faith and not by works, but some seem to think you might lose your salvation by works. Or they at least want you to believe you are not truly saved if you sin.

For the record, sin is bad. Sin sows death into your life, it hardens your heart to God, it destroys marriages, erodes culture, and the list goes on. Don't sin! But if you do sin as a Christian, don’t forget you’re forgiven.

What does it mean if you sin as a Christian? Does it mean you have never met God? Or does it mean you are not presently experiencing Him?

Let's remind ourselves of a few key points already addressed in 1 John to make sure we understand John's thoughts on salvation and forgiveness.

Jesus Testifies of Your Righteousness in the Courtroom of Heaven

Jesus Testifies of Your Righteousness in the Courtroom of Heaven

Can you be confident that you are saved?

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. 1 John 2:1-2 NKJV

John gets to the point, don’t sin, but if you do, remember that Jesus was judged and punished for your sin. He implies that God will never judge you or punish you for sin, because Jesus was your sufficient sin offering. It’s a binding, legal transaction that God honors.

Does that make you want to sin? I hope not. That would be unwise and dishonoring of the salvation Jesus died for you to receive.

There’s more going on here than just a reminder that you’re forgiven in Jesus. Looking at these passages in legal terms, and in the setting of a courtroom bring out the deeper meaning.

How Do You Walk In The Light?

How Do You Walk In The Light?

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 1:7

God calls us to walk in the light. Do you know how to do that? What if you don't walk in the light, do you lose your salvation? The answer is straightforward when you let the Bible speak for itself. John clarifies "walking in the light" a little later in his letter.

1 John 2:9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

WALKING IN THE LIGHT IS WALKING IN LOVE.

A casual reading of 1 John may leave thinking that walking in the light is staying out of sin, and walking in darkness is sinning. But when you read the whole letter, you see that the author defines his own terms. 1 John does directly address sin, but that's a different issue than walking in the light/love.