Tag Archives: The Glory of God
1 John 4:4
[4] Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
This could stand alone without any explanation and likely encourage you. However there’s more to consider here than only thinking, “I’ve got this! God is in me!”
This verse is in the context of deciding who to listen to. It began in 4:1 by saying do not believe every spirit. You might ask, what is a spirit? Well, he defines what he means. Spirits in the plural here means people who speak or attempt to speak on God’s behalf.
False prophets would be an example of a spirit that you should not believe. Then you might ask, how do I know whether this is a false spirit or not. John says this—1 John 4:2-3
[2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
My guess is that you might think, can someone confess Jesus Christ has come from God to deceive me? Well in fact they can. There a tons of examples throughout the bible showing us that.
The next test is this—1 John 4:5-6
[5] They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
People/spirits that do not listen to God’s word are not of the Spirit of truth. They are the spirit of error. They may say they love Jesus but it usually shows up very clearly in their actions. Like the previous encouragement, you can say you love your brother but if you see him in need and refused to give him what he needs then the love of God is not in that person.
There are likely people who can put on a show over some period of time. But eventually and usually in private they are who they really are. I’d pay attention to the people who listen to them. The world listens to these people but God’s people do not. They like people listening to them and that weakness usually exposes them.
But remember, he who is in you is greater than those false spirits that are in the world. The Lord will protect you. And I would strongly suggest that you know the Spirit of truth by knowing the Spirit inspired Word of God.
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We are about 2 months away from heading back to Cuba. I’m excited to update that the Lord has provided more funding and we are near the finish line.
Thanks to all who have given. You are participating in a good work! I will work hard to do my best in the strength that God supplies.
You can check the status here: https://catalystmissions.gomethod.app/!/34012/cuba-january-2024/participants/365694/donate
Leave a comment | tags: Catalyst Missions, Cuba, Discipleship, Missions, Pastors, The Glory of God, Training | posted in Missions
I suppose that it’s easy to doubt the things we believe about God. We have an enemy that is working to deceive us. It seems that there is a passive deception in the world when we see so many things that are evil and wrong. The glimpse of reality is darkened by the clouds of doubt that actively or passively seek to hide the truth.
There’s a clear connection between our confidence in God and our obedience to the Lord’s commands. When people who claim to believe the truth do not do what he commands of us that actively and passively hides the truth and attempts to deceive us.
When we gladly obey the good things God has told us to do such as loving our brothers not only word but in deed then we not only display that we believe the truth but we also know that we are of the truth. This assures our hearts before God. No doubt it also assures others that we and they are of the truth. Instead of deceiving your fellow brothers by disobedience you encourage them actively and passively.
1 John 3:16-21
[16] By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. [17] But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? [18] Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
[19] By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; [20] for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. [21] Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God
Let us know the love of Christ in that he didn’t merely say he loved us but proved his love by laying down his life for us. So too, prove your love for Christ by loving your brother and then you will also prove your love for your brother. And you will be confident in the truth because his love and truth have become visible and abides in you.
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The cross comes before the crown. Suffering comes before relief. Immaturity comes before maturity. Unbelief comes before belief. Darkness comes before light. Chaos before order. War before peace.
In John 11, Lazarus dies. He was Jesus’s friend. Indeed, Jesus was not only friends with Lazarus but his two sisters, Mary and Martha. They send word to Jesus that Lazarus is sick and near death. It says very strangely that Jesus hears the news and because of his love for them he delays his response for two days knowing that Lazarus will die. Or to put another way, he delayed so that he died.
It states clearly that Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. However this act doesn’t seem loving at all. When Jesus has the power and availability to stop this he decides the best thing for those whom he loves is to see his glory. But to see his glory they must experience a great deal of pain. Pain that could have been avoided but pain that was necessary.
We all know how the story ends but are we okay with how Jesus loves here? Is Jesus on some ego trip to make himself look good? How is pain like this in our best interest?
The Bible often uses the birth of a child to explain this. When the baby arrives the pain is forgotten about. No doubt the joys of life swallow up the pain. The sting of death doesn’t get the final word. God does. And he will burst open the graves and clothe us with a new body that will never die again.
The second death is the worst and eternal death. If you want heaven NOW hell comes later. If you want light now darkness will come later. If you avoid suffering now it will come later.
There are two paths or we might say two ways of life: a crown now and a cross later. Or a cross now and crown later. The death of Lazarus gives us a visual picture of that reality.
And Jesus wasn’t on an ego trip, he was giving them and us the best thing he could possibly give us—himself.
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After preaching and hearing a strong warning from Hebrews 6 on Sunday, it is fitting to hear the assurance offered to those who believe. However one works out assurance of salvation, we must at least hold to that the promises of God are only for those who believe.
And if you believe which was a work of grace through the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Good Shepherd that laid down his life for the sheep then assurance is available because of the Good Shepherd.
John 10:14-16
[14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
He’s not like the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. He’s not like the hired hand who abandons the sheep when the wolf comes. He saves the sheep by laying down his own life for them. The thief and hired hand always seek to save their own lives but not the Good Shepherd.
It might seem strange that the sheep are saved by way of the death of the Shepherd. It seems normal to think that the life of the sheep lie in the life of the Shepherd. In this analogy, the life of the sheep that is eternal life rests in the death of the Shepherd but this Shepherd doesn’t remain dead.
John 10:18
[18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
He died but was raised to Shepherd his sheep to eternal life. Because he’s alive, we will be kept safe forever by our loving Good Shepherd.
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There are actions (good and bad) that people do that grab our attention sometimes. They speak more than words sometimes and do far more to move us away from evil or toward righteousness. Seeing examples of living out the faith is good for us and that’s one reason the Lord designed the church. It is intended to be the visible body of Christ.
This morning, I noticed a response of Jesus that grabbed my attention. In the story about the man born blind in John 9, Jesus hears about the healed blind man being put out of the synagogue. However he found out, Jesus responds to this information.
He goes and finds him and gives him something. I think in part he goes to find him because even with limited knowledge (limited sight) he understood some things about God that even the learned men did not seem to know. But he not only knows these things but says these things to the spiritually blind. He knew the risk of being put out of the synagogue but he spoke the truth in love anyway.
But Jesus going after him when he was all alone stirred my heart to love of God even more. It makes me want to live like that. It makes me want to speak up even when I know it may cost me dearly. And in doing so, if I find myself alone and hurting when I did everything right, Jesus comes near.
He’s not in the crowded synagogue but on a backstreet somewhere talking to this lonely man who stood up for him at great risk. Even his own parents did not have faith to speak up for Jesus but rather threw their son out on his own.
One of the great but simple truths of Scripture is the fact that God is with us. Indeed, Immanuel has come and he cares for us deeply. He doesn’t take the evil and pain away yet, but he strengthens us for the journey to the day when it will be made right. All of it!
What did Jesus give the lonely man? What does he need most? Jesus gave the man Jesus! He is his greatest need. And Jesus gave the best gift he could have ever received.
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As I begin my yearly trek through the mountainous terrain of the book of Job, I bring with it certain expectations as well as an eagerness to see new things. As I prepare for this week’s sermon from Hebrews 5:11-14, I feel the warning there to be careful not to become dull of hearing. I’ve read the book of Job at least 20 times but like hearing the flight attendant on the plane explain the safety measures that I no longer listen to because I’ve heard them many times, I don’t want to do that with God’s word.
The simple but complex question that comes to mind from Job is that of Satan’s question concerning Job:
Job 1:9-10 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”
In other words, does Job only trust God for what he can get out of God? If trusting the Lord meant that he got nothing out of it or even worse he suffered because he feared God and turned away from evil would he continue to trust and fear the Lord.
The book of Job answers that question for Job. He passed the tests. It however doesn’t answer that question for us. How are we doing in the daily tests from the Lord? Would we stay with Christ even if we get nothing out of it now but must wait until the end? What if our obedience causes us to suffer? Will we give up?
We ought to continue to grow through the tests. If not we might stumble:
2 Peter 1:8-11 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Keep trusting the Lord and the fruit of your faith will blossom into gardens of righteousness for the glory God.
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Be careful how you suffer. The reality is suffering will come to all people in some form or fashion throughout our lives. In part because we live in a fallen world and we are fallen people. God created this world and it functions a particular way and when we do not follow his way or someone else doesn’t follow his way then suffering occurs.
In 1 Peter 4, some of that suffering that happens to Christians is a test for us. Fiery trials are meant to reveal where we are and if we are in fact trusting the Lord. Indeed, each test either matures our faith or reveals a lack of faith.
How we understand suffering in our lives matters. Peter describes it as sharing in the sufferings of Christ in 4:13. He goes on to encourage us to rejoice in them because if you are rejoicing in your sufferings now you will rejoice with exultation when Christ returns. Peter even calls those who suffer for the name of Christ blessed. Why? Because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on us.
However, we can suffer wrongly. There are consequences for evil even in this world…even for troublesome meddlers. But if we suffer as a Christian, we are not to be ashamed. If we suffer due to consequences of sin then we ought to be ashamed. May our suffering be for the name and may it glorify the Lord.
How do you do this? Is there a “How to” YouTube video to learn this? Well here’s how it ends:
1 Peter 4:19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
Trust the Lord and do what it right according to him. Let us pray for each other to know God’s ways and trust and gladly obey him.
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At the beginning of our journey with Christ, we see things differently than we do later. It seems one way but later we see the true reality of what happened.
Notice how the disciples understand how they found Jesus but in reality notice how it really happened:
John 1:35-37
[35] The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, [36] and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” [37] The two disciples *heard him say this, and they *followed Jesus.
We know that God sent John to testify of the coming of the LORD. He does that to these two disciples and they follow Jesus. But notice how they explain that to Peter:
John 1:41
[41] He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have *found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
The pattern continues with Jesus and Philip:
John 1:43
[43] The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He *found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
John 1:45
[45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have *found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
God is the one who pursues us and finds us! But you might say, “But were they not looking for Messiah anyway?” But then I’d ask, “Why are they looking for Messiah and how do they know what to look for?” The answer is God had made promises to them through his word.
We must not miss the fact that God sought us and bought us with his redeeming blood. He is the one who reconciled himself to us. If we get this wrong we will not live a very Christ-centered life. It will be me-centered and we know how that plays out. It is simple but true: God saves! Turn your eyes upon Jesus!
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This was an observation and a continuation from yesterday’s encouragement.
After Jesus sought his scattered disciples and gave them evidence of his resurrection he gives them even more—understanding of God’s Word.
Luke 24:45-46
[45] Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, [46] and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.
The resurrection of Christ resulted in the new exodus…the new creation. The result of understanding how all that fit together and what they should do in light of it is further evidence not of just the living Savior but the living Word.
—Repentance and forgiveness was to be proclaimed to all nations.
—The promise of the Holy Spirit was coming.
—They worshipped Jesus (instead of hiding).
—They gladly obeyed as they returned to Jerusalem to wait on the promise.
—And they returned with great joy!
This is what happened when they understood the Word. May the Lord open our eyes to understand his word and resurrection and may it have the same effect on us.
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The Word Is Not Imprisoned 