Rv4

Do we worship as an overflow of our love for Christ or do we worship as an act of obedience? Maybe we don't worship period.

Notice how worship is the only appropriate response to seeing Christ! Whenever the elders get a glimpse of Jesus sitting on his throne they fall down and worship him saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

Worship is to be the overflow of our hearts. Worship is directed at Jesus. Worship should be the expression of our lives toward God. If we have to force ourselves to enter into worship, there is something desperately broken inside. Either we think too much of ourselves or too little of God.

We will worship! Now is the time to practice.

Rev3

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." - Jesus

This quote from Jesus needs to comfort our souls. His desire is to be "with us" and "in" us. He is waiting for us to "invite" him in by opening the door. What door is Jesus knocking on in our hearts?

For some, it would be the door of finances. God is calling us to trust him with our money. He desires us to get financially vested in his kingdom. He is calling us to a place of generosity and faithfulness.

For others, God is calling us to give up our worldly desires for pleasure and self-gratification. His desire is to make us "like" him in purity and holiness. We need to pursue holiness.

It would be so rude to keep Jesus out!

Rv2

If God were to write us a letter, what would it say? What would we be commended for and what would we be rebuked about?

I think this would be a great conversation starter for each of us today. Find a friend and ask them this question. Think honestly about your personal response. How would the response change if the question was directed toward your church?

I think too many of us would be quicker to know the rebukes than the commendations. Far too often we see God as a judge or discouraged and not a commender. God knows our good and our bad! He is quick to talk with us about BOTH.

Enjoy your conversation starter today.

Rev1

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. V.5

There is a lot in this verse! We are loved by God. He has freed us from sin through his death on the cross. He has made us priests in his kingdom and enabled us to bring glory to God.

What is our response? Do we feel loved by God? Are we living free of sin or are we in bondage to it? Are we able to lead out in worship to God in a manner that brings honor and Glory to him? If not, why not?

Jesus has cleared the path for us to have fellowship with him. How we respond to all he has done will have everything to do with how we feel in relationship to him.

Live strong today.

3Jn

It is a great thing to support people who are working to advance the church. We should all have "missionaries" that are receiving funds from us. Some we know and some we don't.

Paul was constantly deploying men and women into ministry! As a result, he was also constantly raising support for them. Gaius was a faithful brother and a generous supporter. Paul called his financial support "a faithful thing".

Giving money is not the only thing we can or should do, but we should all at least be giving our money for ministry. Where we put our money is where we move our heart to be. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is there your heart will be also."

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2Jn

There is a level of joy that comes from knowing and following Jesus. There is a completely different level of joy when you know that your children are following Jesus!

John wrote, "I rejoice greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth." John was so pleased to know that God's work was continuing to flourish without his direct involvement. He knew his leadership could compel others to follow, but he also knew that those who followed him were not necessarily following Jesus.

To watch your "children" following Jesus without your leadership is the greatest evidence that they are truly "following Jesus." Parents, we know we have done our jobs well when our children are teaching our grandchildren to follow Jesus! NOTHING gives a grandfather more joy than this.

Now that I am a grandfather I understand John's joy at new level.

1Jn5

Whoever HAS the son HAS life and whoever does not HAVE the son does not have life. v.11

Salvation is rooted in one truth. Does Christ live in us through faith? If so, we have eternal life. If not, we do not have eternal life. Eternal life is only possible through God. We only have eternal life when we have Jesus living in us.

If Jesus is living in us, not only will we have spiritual life, we will have spiritual desires and spiritual abilities. When Christ is in us we desire to live for him and we will be able to do so. Those without Jesus neither desire to follow him nor do they have the power to obey his commands.

1Jn4

The confidence that we can have that we truly "love God" is in the way we "love others". Loving others is the evidence of loving God. Our love for God is most clearly seen in the way we love others.

Anyone can say "I love Jesus" but nothing says "I love Jesus" better than the way we treat others. If we say that we love God and don't love people, we are simply deceiving ourselves. Others should be able to see our love for God in the way we treat them.

Simply put, God loves everyone! "God so loved the world…" If we call ourselves "followers of Jesus", loving everyone will be the natural overflow of following.

Who is it that we "don't" love? This "lack of love" is evidence in our hearts that we are not truly loving God. The solution is to pursue loving God more.

1Jn3

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (v.16)

Who will be most important to us today? Ourselves or others? Jesus gave himself for us. He laid down heaven so that we could have it. He emptied himself so that we could be made full. He became a man so that we could be restored to God.

The habit of christianity should be to give ourselves to others. There are so many needs all around us. Find someone to love today. Make others the focus of our day.

1Jn2

An "advocate" is one who speaks in support of and defends someone. It is also a term that can be used of a legal representative or defender. Our advocate is Jesus! What can be better than that?

This relationship should motivate us to "obey" Jesus' commands. He is the One guiding us into relationship with God. He is the One helping us to know how to live. He is the One who cares, not only for our time on earth, but also for our eternity.

This is His command: "Do not love the world or the things in the world…the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

1Jn1

"If we say we have fellowship with God while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice 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 cleanses us from all sin." v.6-7

To be "in fellowship" with Jesus requires that we walk in the light of confession. God knows our sin! Why does He need our confession? He doesn't! Confession is for us…not Him. If we are going to walk together, we have to agree with what is true. Until we confess our sins, we "deceive ourselves". As long as we are deceiving ourselves, we are not in fellowship with Jesus.

Confession is good medicine. It it the way we receive forgiveness and fellowship with God.

Jn20

The supernatural appearance of Jesus and angels almost always was accompanied with this saying, "Peace be with you."

In this season the disciples were overwhelmed, confused and directionless. They had left everything they had to follow Jesus. He was the promised Messiah and they were going to follow Him into a triumphant kingdom. Just a couple of weeks earlier Jesus was escorted into Jerusalem with shouts of joy and praise.

Everything changed in one week! The shouts went from "Hail to the King" to "Crucify Him!". The joy turned to hatred and ended in a brutal crucifixion. And now, reports were that Jesus was alive. The disciples huddle together in a locked room, gripped with fear. It was in this context that they saw Jesus and heard His words, "Peace be with you."

I don't know what your circumstances are today, but I don't they are as desperate as it seemed to the first disciples. Hear Jesus say to us, "Peace be with you." Regardless of our external situation, Jesus has come to give us peace. Inner peace that can handle any of life's many storms.

Experience peace today.

Jn19

As we think about the cross, what comes to our minds? For most, I think it is that Jesus died for our sins. The cross has become a sign of hope and healing for all who believe. It is a symbol of beauty, not torture.

For the first disciples the cross was a sign of brutal death and the dashing of all hope. It became a memory that would forever shape their faith. They saw with their own eyes what sinful men will do to a perfect savior. They witnessed pure evil and hatred of everything good. They were overwhelmed with fear!

Imagine the hopelessness that they must have felt. Imagine the desperation that they must have suffered. It is hard for me to wrap my mind around the depths of their pain.

But something was about to radically change their point of view! Sunday was coming.

Jn18

If we took Jesus' words to heart, "My kingdom is not of this world", how would this change our prayer life?

As I think about my own prayers, my heart is revealed. My desire is for Jesus to bring his power to bear on my earthly existence. I want my life to be better. I want my friends to be saved. I want everything to go great with everyone I know. I want to have a presidential candidate I can vote for! Etc.

Shouldn't I be praying a different kind of prayer? Shouldn't my prayers reflect that this life is not about my personal happiness? Shouldn't my prayers be about God's will? It is so easy for me to get wrapped up in my world. It is so difficult for me to think about the kingdom of God.

Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done." What would happen if we focused our prayers on this idea? How many of our prayers would be radically changed?

It's not about me today. It's not about you today. Pray for God's kingdom to come. Pray that we will be laborers in that kingdom.

Jn17

Eternal life begins the moment we meet Jesus. He said, "This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

There is a big difference between knowing "about" Jesus and "knowing Jesus". From childhood I was taught about Jesus. It wasn't until I was 17 that I truly met Him. I heard people talk about a "personal relationship with Jesus", but the relationship I had with God was definitely not personal. It was distant at best.

At 17, I can say that I met Jesus personally. That experience continues to change my life every day. My relationship with Jesus is personal and transformational. It is the most important relationship in my life. This relationship has not come through the work that I have done, but rather through the gift of the Holy Spirit that I received by faith.

Can we all say that we are experiencing "eternal life"? Is our relationship with Jesus personal?

Jn15

This is one of the most comforting and convicting chapters in the bible. Jesus asks us to "abide in Him" and allow His words to "abide in us." He promises to be "with" us and gives the promise of the Holy Spirit Who will be "in" us. He knows that we desire to be "fruitful" and gives the pathway for that to happen. It is such a rich chapter!

But consider these words in verse 5, "for apart from me you can do nothing." Nothing? What does Jesus mean by that? We all know that there is plenty that we do "apart from" Jesus. We pursue our own paths and do lots of things. Sometimes even really good things! But Jesus calls them "nothing".

I believe Jesus is calling us to obedience. Abiding for me sometimes means "doing less". Abiding for me sometimes means "waiting, watching and listening." Abiding is choosing to obey Jesus' voice. It is deciding to follow Jesus wherever He leads and not to trying to drag Him down our own paths.

Activity, even good activity, can amount to "nothing" if it is not done in obedience to Christ. He measure with a different scale.

Jn14

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." - Jesus

Jesus was getting ready to give his life for us all on the cross. He knew exactly what He was about to do. After washing the disciples feet, He began to teach them about the Holy Spirit. He knew the disciples would feel "orphaned". He knew that they would feel "disrupted in their souls." Yet He promised to "come" and He promised to give "peace".

Do we feel the loving embrace of God as father? Are we daily living in the "peace" that only God can provide? Or…do we feel abandoned and unsettled?

Look closely at what Jesus instructed His disciples. He said, "walk in my words". The emotional stability that we get from God that was promised in Jesus is NOT simply from an intellectual understanding of salvation. It comes as an overflow of a life of faith. If we are not feeling the presence and peace of Christ, it is likely because we are not walking in obedience to Him.