WORD From The Woods
1 John 5:1-5
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God”
This is a short passage full of deep truth. John tell us plainly and boldly here that if someone claims to love God and follow Jesus, then it is evidenced by their obedience to His commandments. If we Love God then we will keep His commandments. If we say we follow Christ but don’t do what he calls us to do, then we aren’t really following Him. If we say we love God and don’t love others then we don’t have the love of God within us. When we talk about commandments most of us instantly think of it in a negative way, that somehow obedience to someone else’s commandments or demands is somehow degrading or beneath us. Or we think that keeping God’s commandments will be burdensome when in fact, doing what He calls us to do is where we’ll find true freedom! We have a great sense of self-pride and we want to do things our own way, because after all, we know what’s best for us better than anyone else right….. A lot of people really only claim to follow Jesus because of what He offers, eternal life, love, peace, grace, mercy and so on. Those are good things, things that we all want, and we should want those things. But, if we come to God for what we can get from Him then we haven’t come for the right reasons. There are some people that come to the masters table simply because they love the master, and there are others that come to the masters table because they want what’s on His table. It’s really about whether we want to do things God’s way or our own. C.S. Lewis said “There are only two types of people in the end: those who in the end say to God “thy will be done,” and those to whom God says in the end “thy will be done.” When we feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders and everything around us is crashing down, we should run to Jesus and seek the will of God. As John says, it’s through Christ that we find victory and overcome the world!
God bless and have great week! -Terry-
1 John 5:1-5
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God”
This is a short passage full of deep truth. John tell us plainly and boldly here that if someone claims to love God and follow Jesus, then it is evidenced by their obedience to His commandments. If we Love God then we will keep His commandments. If we say we follow Christ but don’t do what he calls us to do, then we aren’t really following Him. If we say we love God and don’t love others then we don’t have the love of God within us. When we talk about commandments most of us instantly think of it in a negative way, that somehow obedience to someone else’s commandments or demands is somehow degrading or beneath us. Or we think that keeping God’s commandments will be burdensome when in fact, doing what He calls us to do is where we’ll find true freedom! We have a great sense of self-pride and we want to do things our own way, because after all, we know what’s best for us better than anyone else right….. A lot of people really only claim to follow Jesus because of what He offers, eternal life, love, peace, grace, mercy and so on. Those are good things, things that we all want, and we should want those things. But, if we come to God for what we can get from Him then we haven’t come for the right reasons. There are some people that come to the masters table simply because they love the master, and there are others that come to the masters table because they want what’s on His table. It’s really about whether we want to do things God’s way or our own. C.S. Lewis said “There are only two types of people in the end: those who in the end say to God “thy will be done,” and those to whom God says in the end “thy will be done.” When we feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders and everything around us is crashing down, we should run to Jesus and seek the will of God. As John says, it’s through Christ that we find victory and overcome the world!
God bless and have great week! -Terry-