ChristiansUnite Blogs. Set up your free Christian Blog. (Owner, rename this description.)
Tue, Jan 31st - 9:19AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
During a summer break from my studies at an engineering university, I worked in a scrap yard repairing construction equipment. One afternoon, I was taking apart a piling hammer that had some very large bolts holding it together. One of the nuts had corroded onto the bolt, so I started heating the nut with an oxyacetylene torch. As I was doing this, one of the dimmest apprentices I have ever known came along and asked me what I was doing. I patiently explained that if I heated the nut, it would grow larger and release its grip on the bolt so I could then remove it.
"So things get larger when they get hot, do they?" he asked.
Suddenly, an idea flashed into my mind. "Yes," I said, "that's why days are longer in summer and shorter in winter."
There was a long pause, then his face cleared. "You know, I always wondered about that," he said.
The cross bears those who bear the cross.”* Sundar Singh, one of India's most famous Christians
*24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24 (NRSV)
When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.
It is a blessing to repent, to turn from our wicked ways, to walk humbly with our God, to do justly. Acts implies that the purpose of God's sending His son was to bless us in turning us away from our sins…granting us repentance, which is the fear of God). How can anyone stare at the Cross of Christ without turning away from their sins?
I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me.
I believe that the fear of God He put in our hearts is radical repentance.
This is why I believe in eternal security. God put His fear in His children which is repentance guaranteeing that we will not turn away from Him. He will not turn away from us and we will not turn away from Him. This is eternal security.
As a young Christian trying to follow Jesus as best I could, often failing, but I trusted in the forgiveness of my sin upon confession of my sins. 1 John 1:9:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
As I listened to Sunday School teachers, pastors, and evangelists preach and teach, I felt there was something lacking. There was something that just did not ring true. After many years of wondering about this, I have finally concluded that what has been missing from much of the teaching and preaching I have heard is a lack of emphasis on repentance. Too many professed Christians sin with little or no compunction—remorse, or self censorship.
This is because church leaders have been more concerned about church growth than the purity of the Church. God is more concerned about church purity than about church growth. That means that every Christian must be concerned about purity and holiness of life and behavior. Our behavior must reflect repentance. Without this characteristic of repentance we cannot have assurance of salvation.
"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?
Jesus expected those who call Him ‘Lord’ to do what He says, …to obey Him. His Apostles taught the same thing. John is a good example of teaching this in 1 John 2:6
(W)hoever says, "I abide in him," ought to walk just as he walked.
Christians are spiritually obligated to walk as Jesus walked.
There is an acknowledged tension created here. And if there is no tension, one should examine himself to be in the faith. The tension arises when we know that God does not want us to sin. Yet, we know that we sin often. John said in 1 John 2:1
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
In the Greek “that you may not sin” is in a tense that should translate “that you not ever sin even once.” John recognizes the tension created by this statement and follows it immediately by
“But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;”
John would not have us believe that we don’t ever sin as he said in the first chapter-- 1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
As Christians, we must have this tension between what God expects of us, that we not ever sin, and what our experience is: We cannot say “We have no sin” We much confess our sins-- 1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
“…if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
A great illustration of this real tension in a Christian is the experience of Peter’s public and verbal denial of Jesus. Jesus prophesied Peter’s denial in John 13:36-38
Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward." Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.
It certainly happened as told in John 18:15-18
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.
Peter denied Him again and a third time as recorded in John 18:25-27
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.
Yes, Christians can and do sin grievously but that forgiveness is available as illustrated in John 21:15-19
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."
After Jesus restored Peter He commanded Peter: “Follow me.”
Repentance and conversion mean turning. When we are born again, when we repent and believe, when we are converted, we turn from sin to Jesus. When we fail, as Peter did, we go out and weep bitterly, repent and keep on following Jesus. If we do not have this inner struggle between what God expects of us and our behavior, we need to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith.
This reminds me of Samuel recorded in 1 Samuel 12:20
And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;
But there are a lot of professed Christians who sin without compunction, without remorse and self censorship. They are living like those Paul describes--the Antinomians, those opposed to law. Paul wrote in several of his letters describing these Antinomians. They are the ones he had in mind when he wrote Romans 6:1
“What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?”
Also, in 1 Peter 2:16
As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil.
Paul again in Romans 3:8
And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), "Let us do evil so that good may come"? Their condemnation is deserved!
Surely it is shown that Christians must take sin in their lives seriously. We must have that tension.
A servant girl, who was asked how she knew she was a converted Christian, replied: 'Well, you see, I used to sweep the dust under the mat, but now I don't.'”
Repentance is the result of God granting it to us. Acts 11:18 (KJV)
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Acts 11:18
When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."
Repentance and faith are the indispensable and inseparable elements in the requirements of salvation. But too many use faith in the absence of repentance in their invitation to Christ. The fact is that true faith includes repentance and true repentance includes faith. Faith and repentance are inseparable one from the other.
When Paul got saved and identified with Christ in Baptism he was commanded in Acts 22:16 (KJV)
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Acts 22:16
And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.'
It is not baptism that washes away sin. Repentance is what washing away sin, turning away from sin is what washes away sin. Sins are washed away when we call upon the Name of the Lord for salvation.
When John said in 1 John 1:7
(B)ut if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
John was saying that the blood of Jesus Christ washes away our sin in the sense that Act 3:26, our text says:
“When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
“The salvation promised in the covenant is a salvation from sin, not from the Romans; and no man can have his sin blotted out who does not turn away from it.”
— Adam Clarke's Commentary
God blesses us in granting us repentance, turning away from our sin, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, turns us away from all sin.
A family who had just moved into a new neighborhood was anxious to make a good impression.
But the neighbors seemed cold and made no overtures of welcome. The mother of the brood was overjoyed when finally her youngest son ran in and announced happily, "Mommy, the lady down the street asked my name today!"
"Oh, how nice!" exclaimed the mother enthusiastically.
"And then what did she do?"
"Then she gave it to the policeman." the boy said.
*6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace Ephesians 1:6 - 7 (NRSV)
"The safest place in all the world to be is the center of the will of God." Are you safe today?*Dr. Baker James Cauthen quoted by Dr. Jim Denison, Pastor Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas TX.
*14And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14 (NRSV)
Mrs. Jones was reading a letter at breakfast. Suddenly she looked up suspiciously at her husband.
"Henry," she said, "I've just received a letter from mother saying she isn't accepting our invitation to come and stay, as we do not appear to want her. What does she mean by that? I told you to write and say that she was to come at her own convenience. You did write, didn't you?"
"Er, yes, I did," said the husband. "But I couldn't spell convenience, so I made it risk."
God is able to give my prayers His undivided attention without neglecting anyone else’s!*
*3then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” Genesis 35:3 (NRSV)
28 so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted— Job 34:28 (NRSV)
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. Psalms 34:17 (NRSV)
33 For the LORD hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds. Psalms 69:33 (NRSV)
29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 15:29 (NRSV)
6But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.Matthew 6:6 (NRSV)
17pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NRSV)
Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone.*
* "Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead," Philippians 3:13
Being confident? There shall be nothing lacking on God's part to support you; and to make you wise, holy and happy; and bring you at last to his kingdom and glory. ? Adam Clarke's Commentary God provides everything we need to do His will! Doyle Purifoy*
*I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 (NRSV)
Mrs. Lonefold's dishwasher quit working, so she called a repairman.
He couldn't accommodate her with an evening appointment, and, since she had to go to work the next day, she told him: "I'll leave the key under the mat. Fix the dishwasher, leave the bill on the counter, and I'll mail you the check. By the way, don't worry about my Rottweiler. He won't bother you. But, whatever you do, do not under *any* circumstances talk to my parrot!"
When the repairman arrived at Mrs. Lonefold's apartment the next day, he discovered the biggest and meanest looking Rottweiler he had ever seen.
But, just like she had said, the dog just lay there on the carpet, watching the repairman go about his business.
However, the whole time he was there, the parrot drove him nuts with incessant cursing, yelling, and name-calling. Finally the repairman couldn't contain himself any longer and yelled: "Shut up, you stupid ugly bird!!"
Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.* -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)
*"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," Matthew 5:44 (NRSV)
"By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things." Galatians 5:22-23 (NRSV)
Self-sufficiency is spiritual suicide. Spirit-dependence is spiritual victory.* Dr. Jim Denison, Pastor Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas TX
*2 Corinthians 10:4 - 5 (NRSV) 4for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human,but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments 5and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.
When asked for her occupation, a woman charged with a traffic violation said she was a schoolteacher.
The judge rose from the bench. "Madam, I have waited years for a schoolteacher to appear before this court," he smiled with delight. "Now sit down at that table and write 'I will not pass through a red light' five hundred times."
When a customer left his cell phone in my store, I scrolled through his saved numbers, stopped at "Mom" and pushed send. His mother answered, and I told her what happened.
"Don't worry," she said, "I'll take care of it."
A few minutes later, the cell phone rang. It was
"Mom."
"Martin," she said, "you left your cell phone at the convenience store."
“....all who believe in Christ are beyond the reach of danger.”*R. W. Dale
*I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me. Jeremiah 32:40 (NRSV)
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. John 10:28 - 29 (NRSV)
Once upon a time there was a prince who, through no fault of his own, was cast under a spell by an evil witch. The curse was that the prince could speak only one word each year.
However, he could save up the words so that if he did not speak for a whole year, the following year he was allowed to speak two words.
One day he met a beautiful princess (ruby lips, golden hair, sapphire eyes) and fell madly in love. With the greatest difficulty he decided to refrain from speaking for two whole years so that he could look at her and say, "My darling."
But at the end of the two years he wished to tell her that he loved her. Because of this he waited three more years without speaking (bringing the total number of silent years to five).
But at the end of these five years he realized that he had to ask her to marry him. So he waited ANOTHER four years without speaking.
Finally as the ninth year of silence ended, his joy knew no bounds. Leading the lovely princess to the most secluded and romantic place in that beautiful royal garden the prince heaped a hundred red roses on her lap, knelt before her, and taking her hand in his, said huskily, "My darling, I love you! Will you marry me?"
The princess tucked a strand of golden hair behind a dainty ear, opened her sapphire eyes in wonder, and parting her ruby lips, said: "Pardon?"
THOUGHT FOR TODAY! By brilliant New Testament scholar William Barclay: "A man will never become outstandingly good at anything unless that thing is his ruling passion. There must be something of which he can say, 'For me to live is this.'" True, but what should be my "ruling passion"? Jesus was clear: to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Only then can I love my neighbor as myself (v. 31) and live a life that matters.* Jim Denison
*"you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31 (NRSV)
The new family in the neighborhood overslept, and their six-year-old daughter missed her school bus.
The father, though late for work, had to drive her if she'd direct him to the school.
They rode several blocks before she told him to turn the first time, several more before she indicated another turn. This went on for 20 minutes - but when they finally reached the school, it proved to be only a short distance from their home.
The father, much annoyed, asked his daughter why she'd led him around in such a circle.
The child explained, "That's the way the school bus goes, Daddy. It's the only way I know."
In a Tottenham church Sunday morning the preacher said, "Anyone with 'special needs' who wants to be prayed over, please come forward to the front by the altar."
With that, Leroy got in line, and when it was his turn, the preacher asked, "Leroy, what do you want me to pray about for you?"
Leroy replied, "Preacher, I need you to pray for help with my hearing."
The preacher put one finger of one hand in Leroy's ear, placed his other hand on top of Leroy's head, and then prayed and prayed and the whole congregation joined in with great enthusiasm.
After a few minutes, the preacher removed his hands, stood back and asked, "Leroy, how is your hearing now?"
Leroy answered, "I don't know. It ain't til Thursday. (courtesy Don Bates)
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: G. K. Chesterton was asked to submit an essay to a contest titled, "What's wrong with the world?" His entry:
Dear sirs:
In response to your question, What's wrong with the world,
I am.
Sincerely yours,
G. K. Chesterton
The source of my problems is lurking in the nearest mirror. The solution to my problems is waiting for my next prayer.* (Jim Denison in God Issues 2/1/08
*1 Timothy 1:15 (NRSV) 15The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.
(Sorry I am late with this Thought For Today. My Internet Provider had problems that prevented me from sending. I did get Joke For Jason and LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE OUT.)
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: One can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay "in kind" somewhere else in life.* - Anne Morrow Lindbergh, writer (1906-2001)
*"If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." James 2:15-17
"Our patience will achieve more than our force."* -- Edmund Burke
*"So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 (NRSV)
"And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5 (NRSV)
After a worship service at First Baptist Church in Newcastle, Kentucky, a mother with a fidgety seven-year-old boy told me how she finally got her son to sit still and be quiet.
About halfway through the sermon, she leaned over and whispered, "If you don't be quiet, Pastor Charlton is going to lose his place and will have to start his sermon all over again!"
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Don’t count time. Make time count.* (Church Sign)
*2He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Luke 10:2 (NRSV)
12 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. Psalms 90:12 (NRSV)
"Don‘t jump to conclusions. You might brake your nose!"*
*"Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but one who has a hasty temper exalts folly." Proverbs 14:29 (NRSV)
"Those who are hot-tempered stir up strife, but those who are slow to anger calm contention." Proverbs 15:18 (NRSV)
"One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and one whose temper is controlled than one who captures a city."
Proverbs 16:32 (NRSV)
"rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing." Joel 2:13 (NRSV)
"The LORD is slow to anger but great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." Nahum 1:3 (NRSV)
"You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;" James 1:19 (NRSV)
The effectual, fervent prayer of faith is prayer offerred without any conflict of interest!*
*10Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 (NRSV)
16Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. James 5:16 (NRSV)
An American businessman goes to Japan on a business trip, but he hates Japanese food, so he asks the concierge at his hotel if there's any place around where he can get American food.
The concierge tells him he's in luck, there's a pizza place that just opened, and they deliver. The concierge gives the businessman the phone number, and he goes back to his room and orders a pizza.
Thirty minutes later, the delivery guy shows up to the door with the pizza.
The businessman takes the pizza, and starts sneezing uncontrollably. He asks the delivery man, "What on earth did you put on this pizza?"
The delivery man bows deeply and says, "We put on the pizza what you ordered, pepper only."
An Irishman by the name of O'Mally proposed to his girl on St. Patrick's Day. He gave her a ring with a synthetic diamond. The excited young lass showed it to her father, a jeweler. He took one look at it and saw it wasn't real.
The young lass, on learning it wasn't real, returned to her future husband and protested vehemently about his cheapness.
"It was in honor of St. Patrick's Day," he smiled. "I gave you a sham rock."
"Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality."* -- Les Brown
"Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is." 1 John 3:2 (NRSV)
Christians are commanded to honor the President of the United States, or the Governor on any Nation they are citizens of. Christians are commanded to give thanks for their leader and to pray for them.
Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:17 (NRSV)
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 1 Timothy 2:1-3 (NRSV)
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." -Ralph Waldo Emerson "It is in your own best interests to think of others first."* Doyle Purifoy
*"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:31 (NRSV)
Instead thinking about things you do not have, spend the day thanking God for the things you do have.* Terry Austin
*7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Psalm 37:7 (NRSV)
A fourth-grade teacher was giving her pupils a lesson in logic. "Here is the situation," she said. "A man is standing up in a boat in the middle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and begins splashing and yelling for help. His wife hears the commotion, knows he can't swim, and runs down to the bank. Why do you think she ran to the bank?"
A girl raised her hand and asked, "To draw out all his savings?"
Acts 3:26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” This verse implies that the purpose of God's sending His son was to turn us away from our sins (repentance, the fear of God). A favorite verse of mine is Jeremiah 32:40 (NRSV)I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me. I believe that the fear of God He put in our hearts is radical repentance. This is why I believe in eternal security.
As a young Christian trying to follow Jesus as best I could often failing but trusting forgiveness upon confession of my sins. 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As I listened to Sunday School teachers, Pastors, and Evangelists preach and teach, I felt there was something lacking, if not totally, then missing in emphasis. After many years of wondering about this, I have finally concluded that what has been missing from much of the teaching and preaching I have heard is a lack of emphasis on repentance. Too many professed Christians sin with little or mo compunction—remorse, or self censorship.
This is because church leaders have been more concerned about church growth than the purity of the church. God is more concerned about church purity than about church growth. That means that every Christian must be concerning about purity and holiness of life and behavior. Our behavior must reflect repentance. Without this characteristic of repentance we cannot have assurance of salvation.
Jesus was concerned about purity rather than growth. He said in Luke (NRSV) 46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you? Jesus expected those who call Him ‘Lord’ to do what He says, …to obey Him. His Apostles taught the same thing. John is a good example of teaching this in 1 John 2:6 (NRSV) 6 whoever says, "I abide in him," ought to walk just as he walked. Christians are spiritually obligated to walk as Jesus walked.
There is an acknowledged tension created here. And if there is no tension, one should examine himself to be in the faith. The tension arises when we know that God does not want His children sinning and disobeying Him. John said in 1 John 2:1 (NRSV) My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
In the Greek “that you may not sin” is in a tense that should translate “that you not ever sin even once.” John recognizes the tension created by this statement and follows it immediately by “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;” John would not have us believe that we don’t ever sin as he said in the first chapter--1 John 1:8 (NRSV) 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
As Christians, we must have this tension between what God expects of us, that we not ever sin, and what our experience is: We cannot say “We have no sin” We much confess our sins--1 John 1:9 (NRSV) 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And 1 John 2:1 “…if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
A great illustration of this real tension in a Christian is the experience of Peter’s public and verbal denial of Jesus. Jesus prophesied Peter’s denial in John 13:36-38 (NRSV)
Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward." Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.
It certainly happened as told in John 18:15-18 (NRSV)
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.
Peter denied Him again and a third time as recorded in John 18:25-27 (NRSV)
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.
Yes, Christians can and do sin grievously but that forgiveness is available is illustrated in John 21:15-19 (NRSV)
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."
After Jesus restore Peter He commanded Peter: “Follow me.”
Repentance and conversion mean turning. When we are born again, when we repent and believe, when we are converted, we turn from sin to Jesus. When we fail, as Peter, we go out and weep bitterly, repent and keep on following Jesus.
But there are a lot of professed Christians who sin without compunction, without remorse and self censorship. They are living like those Paul describes, the Antinomians, those opposed to law. Paul wrote in several of his letters describing these Antinomians. They are the one he had in mind when he wrote Romans 6:1 (NRSV) “What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” Also, in 1 Peter 2:16 (NRSV) As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Paul again in Romans 3:8 (NRSV) And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), "Let us do evil so that good may come"? Their condemnation is deserved!
Surely it is shown that Christians must take sin in their lives seriously. There must be that tension.
A servant girl, who was asked how she knew she was a converted Christian, replied: 'Well, you see, I used to sweep the dust under the mat, but now I don't.'
Repentance is the result of God granting it to us. Acts (KJV) 18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Acts (NRSV)
When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."
Repentance and faith are the indispensable elements in the requirements lf salvation. But too many use faith in the absence of repentance in their invitation to Christ. The fact is that true faith includes repentance and true repentance includes faith. Faith and repentance are inseparable one from the other.
It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business*. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
*"And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" Matthew 5:47 (NRSV)
There are as many mansions in my Father's estate as there are children of God.* (Doyle Purifoy)
*"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:1-2
A dinner speaker was in such a hurry to get to his engagement that when he arrived and sat down at the head table, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten his false teeth. Turning to the man next to him, he complained, "I forgot my teeth, what am I going to do now!?"
The man said, "No problem." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of false teeth. "Try these," he said.
The speaker tried them on. "Too loose," he said. The man then said, "I have another pair -- try these."
The speaker tried them on and responded, "Too tight." The man was not taken back at all.
He said, "I have one more pair. Try them."
The speaker said, "They fit perfectly." With that, he ate his meal and gave his speech.
After the dinner meeting was over, the speaker went to thank the man who had helped him. "I want to thank you for coming to my aid. Where is your office? I've been looking for a good dentist."
The man replied, "I'm not a dentist. I'm an undertaker."
*1 John 2:6 (NRSV) 6whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.
Romans 12:1 (NRSV) 1I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: "Be inspired with the belief that life is a great and noble calling; not a mean and groveling thing that we are to shuffle through as we can, but an elevated and lofty destiny."* -- William E. Gladstone
*"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live," Deuteronomy 30:19 (NRSV)
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10 (NRSV)
There is a hard law…When an injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive.* - Alan Paton
*12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. 14For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:12-15 (NRSV)
A man traveling down a country road was forced to stop before a giant puddle covering the entire road. Looking to the side of the road, the man noticed a farmer leaning on a fence. "Think it's safe to cross?" the man asked.
"I reckon so," replied the farmer.
The car was immediately swallowed by the puddle as the man drove in. In fact, it was so deep that he had to roll his window down to swim out of his car back to the surface.
As his head broke the surface the man said to the farmer, "I thought you said I could safely drive through this puddle!"
"Well, golly!" said the farmer, scratching his head.
Name: Doyle Purifoy ChristiansUnite ID: doylepurifoy Member Since: 2010-04-23 Location: Corsicana, Texas, United States Denomination: Baptist About Me: I was born Jan 2, 1934 in Stamford Tx. I was born again August 8, 1942 at First Baptist Church, Munday Tx. I was called to preach at 13 years old at First Baptist Church Mineral Wells Tx. I married Jo Ann Stuard of Abilene Tx. I was in the Navy from ... more
Name: Doyle Purifoy
