[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (KD) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
1
JOHN 1:3
"What
we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have
fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His
Son Jesus Christ." [Legacy Standard Bible]
Wonderful!
A poor, wretched, lost, underprivileged sinner like me is being called into the
glorious family of God. That also to the same fellowship, to the level, standard,
and dignity of John and the other Apostles.
No
2nd class citizen of heaven. Nor will I dwell in the corner of heaven's
mansion.
I
may not have JRF, may not be the Fellows of the Royal Society, London, may not
be a teaching fellow of Ligonier (R.C. Sproul), but I am called to have
fellowship with the Father and the Son.
What
a fellowship! What a joy! What a calling! What a message! Blessed be God!
1
JOHN 2:15-17
"Do
not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the
Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its
lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever."
Every
sin committed under the sun falls under either of these 3 categories of sins: the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
It's
a daily struggle for a Christian. It's a daily battle. There's no holiday, as
long as we live on this battlefield. Nobody goes to battle lightly. Soldiers
might sing in chorus to encourage one another. Soldiers would be wounded,
fallen, bruised, and even die, but they die fighting.
May
we fight all known sins in our life! May we pray for deliverance! May we pray
to overcome! May we pray to weep over our own sins and of others! May we be
like Jeremiah, who weeps all day long! May we be like David, who pants for God
as a deer for water, Amen!
1
JOHN 3:1
"See
how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children
of God; and we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did
not know Him."
Is
there a time you stand in front of the mirror and don't like that person's
look, attitude, or action?
Is
there a time you do something wrong and you smack your forehead?
Is
there a time you say to yourself, "It's stupid of me"?
Well,
we don't even like ourselves, right? And rightly so.
Is
there a time when you live an undisciplined, insincere, irresponsible, or
disrespectful lifestyle that will make your parents feel ashamed? Parents would
want to disown such and rightly so.
For
me: Yes, to all the above. Yet, what love is this that God would own me, accept
me into His family, and call me His son, an heir to His riches!
Amazing
love! What love is this! How can this be!
I
JOHN 4:14
"By
this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His
Spirit." [LSB 2021, A New Translation]
The
fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in a person is a testimony that he is a
Christian. If you want to know whether someone is a Christian, we look for the
fruits of the Spirit in his life. In fact, it is the Spirit that helps him to
abide in God. It is the Spirit that helps him to continue to live a Christian life.
Left to ourselves, everyone will be de-converted within a few seconds.
And
if I could chase away the Spirit of God in me, and if I could lose my
salvation, I would have lost it a long time ago. It's not my walk with God that
makes the Holy Spirit dwell in me, rather, it's the Spirit that helps me walk
with God! However, I have to yield to the instruction (leading) of the Spirit,
and not yield to the instruction of the world, eyes, and flesh!
Thank
You, Lord, for the gift of Your Spirit! Amen!
1
JOHN 5:21
"Little
children, guard yourselves from idols."
Is
it not interesting (surprising) that this book ends in this way with a very,
very simple and very, very basic exhortation?
John
has explained the lofty theology of God, Jesus, Salvation, Propitiation,
Sanctification, Damnation, Glorification from chapters 1-5, and ended with this
well-known exhortation from the 2nd commandment of Moses' Law.
To
worship the Real God. To have the real Jesus. To live the real life. To possess
the real faith
Btw,
Ps119, the largest chapter, which reveals the power of God's word for
sanctification also ends with a simple (unlikely) affirmation, confession, and
prayer v176.
The
greatest theologians aren't the ones who know the lofty things of God. They are
the ones who cherish the base, the simplest, and the commonest teaching of God.
The
holiest men of God (when they have lived long and have become most perfect in
the eyes of all) do not confess that they are perfect or that they are holy.
They confess the simplest thing, "a sinner" like the Apostle Paul of
1Tim1:15.
Let's
cherish the old truth, the simple confession, the basic commandment, and live
the ordinary life!