Archive for the ‘General epistles-BibleTrekToday’ Category
Scripture reading for December 8th: Jude 1-25
The short letter of Jude, a brother of James and half-brother of Jesus, is a call to spiritual battle against false teachers and deception. Where the truth is taught, the enemy of God’s people will send opposition. We are in a spiritual war and the battle is sometimes within the church!
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write to urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Jude 3-4) Jude’s letter is a call to battle! This battle is for the believer’s faith. Satan has sent false men into the church to try and get the church to deny their faith in Christ and His word by seducing them with immorality! This was warned of long ago!
God has judged immorality severely in the past. Jude cites the Israelites who died in the desert because of God’s judgment on their idolatry and immorality. (Jude 5-7) He reminds them of the destruction by fire of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns because of their perversion. “They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” Jude plainly warns the church of God’s wrath against sexual sin. He is the Lord who does not change!
“But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in you most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.” (Jude 17-20) A good way to counteract the false teachers is to stay close to the words of the apostles–the Holy Scriptures. Along with this, praying in the Holy Spirit also builds up the spiritual man and keeps us in the faith and love of Jesus Christ. Jude’s advice is a good word for us today! We are reading God’s word, now let’s pray in the Spirit!
Scripture reading for December 7th: 3rd John 1-15
John’s third letter is the shortest book of the New Testament. John writes this letter to a friend, Gaius, whom he loves. John wants to encourage him in his walk with the Lord and warn him concerning an individual who is disrupting the church.
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy that to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3rd John 2-4) John’s personal greeting and short prayer for him showed John’s faith in God’s will for each believer. God wants us well and living in a state of wholeness. This is most often a fruit of walking in faith in God’s truth. John was filled with joy at a good report from a church where he had pastored. We know that faith and walking in truth always pleases God as well! (Hebrews 11:6)
“Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.” John writes to encourage Gaius about his hospitality. He evidently had hosted brothers and provided for their needs. John says that this is the right thing to do.
“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.” (3rd John 9-10) John encouraged Gaius to imitate the good, not those who were evil. Selfishness works division and strife in a church that must be dealt with by leadership. Consider how to apply these scriptures today!
Scripture reading for December 6th: 2nd John 1-13
John is concerned about love and truth in his letters. He was the disciple ‘whom Jesus loved’! He knew the love of Jesus from a perspective that others may not have. He was one of the closest to the Master and wrote this short letter to a group of believers to encourage them to walk in love and truth.
“The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth–and not I only, but also all who know the truth–because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.” (2nd John 1-3) John was ‘the elder’, because of his age and position as an apostle. The truth John was speaking of was Jesus Christ as God’s Son and our Savior. All who have this truth, will love others who hold to the truth and walk in it.
“And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands.” (2nd John 5-6a) John affirms the simple commands of Jesus Christ. These are old commands. Loving God is obedience to His commands to love Him and love others. It is so simple that a child can understand!
However, love must exercise discernment in the last days. “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. Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but the you may be rewarded fully.” (2nd John 7-8) John warned this church group and their female leader to be watchful. They were not to welcome or take in any of the false teachers into their home or church. “Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.” (2nd John 11)
God has great joy when His children walk in love and truth. Love must be discerning, however. The last days are filled with deception. Ask God to give you discernment and help you to apply the scriptures from this short letter. He wants you fully rewarded!
Scripture reading for December 5th: 1st John 5:1-21
One of the favorite tricks of our enemy, the devil, is condemnation. After we make a commitment to Christ, he loves to keep us in doubt about our faith or the level of our faith! He doesn’t bring assurance, but constant doubt and fear of rejection by God. John, as a wise pastor, brings assurance to his flock by sharing truth in a spirit of love!
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His Child as well. this is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” (1st John 5:1-4) John emphasized that faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God was the key to living a life of love and victory. Anyone who said they loved God and hated his brother was a liar. (1st John 4:19) Faith was simple and worked through love. Faith must be centered in God who alone is love!
Jesus Christ has given us three witnesses to verify that He is the Christ. John was again emphasizing that Jesus came as a man who was the Son of God. At Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit came down as a dove and the Father Spoke: “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) This is the witness of the water. At Jesus crucifixion, the centurion declared, “Surely this Man is the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39) This is the witness of the blood. The Holy Spirit testifies that Jesus is the Christ by His resurrection. (Romans 1:4) In Jewish culture, all truth was established by two or three witnesses! (Deuteronomy 19:15)
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1st John 5:11-13) We can have full confidence before God when we believe in His Son!
Scripture reading for December 4th: 1st John 4:1-21
The Christians of John’s day were in a battle against false teachers and the spirits of evil who spoke through them. John wrote to encourage them and help them to identify these deceiving spirits. His words of instruction can help us in these last days in a similar battle!
“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, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1st John 4:2-3) These false prophets were denying Christ came as a man. This spirit was in the world in John’s day and is also in the world today in many modern cults. This belief was known as ‘gnosticism’ and denied the humanity of Jesus as the Son of God. The true Spirit of God always recognizes that Jesus came in the flesh.
John encouraged the Church to remember that they were able to overcome these evil spirits because the had the Holy Spirit living in them. (1st John 4:4) The Spirit of Christ gives us overcoming power because He is a Spirit of Truth. Believers can be confident in the Holy Spirit bringing discernment and enabling each person to know truth. The evil spirits are spirit of falsehood and tell lies that believers can easily spot.
Love is the mark of those controlled by the Holy Spirit. God is a love and showed us His love by sending His Son into the world to die for us that we might live through Him. (1st John 4:7-12) Those born of God love each other and testify to the world about the love of God.
When we know the love of God, we have confidence on the day of judgment. God’s perfect love received means that we have been declared righteous and no longer have to answer for our sins. Jesus has forgiven us and we rest in His promise of righteousness by faith. This enables us to live a life of love towards others, free from fear of death or persecution. The Spirit of God gives us overcoming power through truth and love. We live as overcomers in life and death! What a joy it is to walk in the truth!
Scripture reading for December 3rd: 1st John 3:7-24
There is good and evil in the world we live in. John, writing to the churches under his oversight, warned the believers about being deceived by the false teachers who would try to get them to twist the concepts of what was good and what was evil. This practice is going on in the Church, even today!
“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who has been born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning because he has been born of God.” (1st John 3:7-9) When a person has been truly ‘born again’, the desire to sin is replaced by a desire to live for God. The seed of God’s word has brought a ‘new creation’ into being. This is why Jesus came. He destroyed the devil’s work of sinning at it’s source, man’s heart.
When a person is really ‘born again’, actions and attitudes change. Instead of doing evil and choosing to sin and live in sin, that person now begins to choose to do what is righteous and pleasing to God. This change will not be loved or accepted by those still in the world and doing evil. John cites Cain and Abel as an example. Cain killed his brother because his brother’s actions were righteous while his own were evil. (1st John 3:11-15) We know Cain was of the Evil One because he murdered his brother. No murderer has eternal life in them. Actions must change when we are born of God by faith in Christ!.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1st John 3:18) John’s exhortation to these believers is good for us today. We must not just give lip service to the truth. If we are really God’s children, we must show it by living a righteous life. We must take the truth of God’s word that we know and apply it in our daily living. If we are not doing this, we are under deception. Faith and deeds must match!
Scripture reading for December 2nd: 1st John 2:18-3:6
The term ‘antichrist’ brings up images of the beast of Revelation. This term ‘beast’ may bring up ideas of grotesque combinations of animal and human characteristics that are totally evil and bring fear to all men. But the term as used by John here refers to someone who set himself up as a replacement or counterfeit for Christ. This person may actually appear as a possible ‘Christ’. That’s why John spends time warning his church members to be on their guard and stay under the anointing of the Holy Spirit!
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (1st John 2:18-19) John explains that the time they lived in was considered the ‘last days.’ There was an understanding that Jesus could return at any time and that before He appeared, the Antichrist would come.
Many false teachers were among the people of God in John’s day. Many of them denied Jesus was the Christ. They left fellowship with those in the church and took away those who would believe their false doctrines. John taught that this separation came because they were really not part of Christ’s true body. He warned the church to stick to the truth and not believe their lies! (1st John 2:20-25)
“I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit–just as it has taught you, remain in Him.” (1st John 2:26-27)
We have need to listen closely to John’s warning today. Many false teachers have gone out from the true church and taken many with them. Millions are in deception because they really do not know Him and have the anointing of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Jesus Christ is coming soon, will you be confident and unashamed before Him?
Scripture reading for December 1st: 1st John 2:1-17
Are you truly saved? How does a person know that they have passed from death to life? Is salvation as simple as just saying a prayer and putting your trust in Jesus Christ? Does God require us to change our way of living? These questions were on the mind of John as he wrote to the churches receiving his ministry letter. John wanted them to understand that salvation was receiving the life of Jesus and living as He lived!
Thank God for the grace of God coming through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ! “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1st John 2:1-2) Jesus paid the price to free us from our sins and their power. We should seek to live free from sin and not sin willfully or knowingly.
“We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” (1st John 2:3-6) John plainly states what James stated, “In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17) When we truly know Jesus and love Him, we will listen to His word and obey. We do not obey to obtain salvation, but because we have been transformed already by repentance and faith in Christ! This change brings a new way to live and walk. If we don’t have a changed walk, we really haven’t known Jesus!
When we love God, the love of the world must be put to death. We cannot continue to live as we did when controlled by our flesh. “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1st John 2:17) Why not take time to examine your walk with Jesus in light of these scriptures?
Scripture reading for November 30th: 1st John 1:1-10
John was the disciple ‘whom Jesus loved’. John was the youngest of the disciples and one of the three who were in Christ’s inner circle, along with Peter and his brother James. John was given the assignment of care of Jesus’ mother as Jesus was on the cross. (John 19:25-27) In his later years, (approximately 90 A.D.) John wrote these short letters to his ‘dear children’ encouraging them to grow and endure in their faith.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have see with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. The Life appeared; we have seen It, we proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy full.” (1st John 1:1-4)
John writes about his own personal encounter with Jesus. It was a first-hand encounter that was on-going even at the time of the writing. He wanted his children in the faith to enjoy fellowship with him and with Jesus Christ and the Father. This would make his joy complete! This sounds like Jesus! (John 15:9-11) Knowing Jesus and the Father is eternal life! (John 17:3)
“This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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, purifies us from all sin.” (John 1:5-7)
John’s message wasn’t original with him. He got it from Jesus and passed it on! If we claim to have fellowship with Jesus, we can’t go on walking in darkness and sin. That would be a lie! Jesus is the light of the world! (John 8:12) If we truly have fellowship with Jesus, we will walk with Him and confess our sins in true repentance! Are you walking in the light of true fellowship? Does your life show it?
Scripture reading for November 29th: 2nd Peter 3:1-18
The last days, according to Peter, will bring scoffers and mockers of God and His truth. Peter continued to remind the church about their need to stay close to God’s word and apply it to their lives. Knowledge would be of no value if not applied! A day of judgment was coming that would reveal the truth about our faith and Peter wanted his flock to be prepared and ready. It would require some diligent effort on their part!
The mockers of the last days will use the failure of Jesus to come back again as He promised as a reason to leave the faith. Peter pointed out that those of Noah’s day mocked Noah as he built the ark and warned of the coming judgment. But there was a day when the earth was destroyed by water, just as God promised! Peter also stated: “By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” (2nd Peter 3:7)
Why was God so slow in bringing about His promises then? Peter stated God’s heart to the church so that they might have an answer for the scoffers. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2nd Peter 3:8-9) God’s heart is merciful to those who are slow to believe and even to the mockers. He is allowing them time to repent before the final judgment!
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people out you to be?” (2nd Peter 3:10-11)
Peter encouraged these believers to ‘make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.” (2nd Peter 3:14) Truth from God’s word calls for diligent action! Every effort must be made to come to Christ and cling to His Gospel. This truth is to be shared! Jesus will come suddenly!