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Gods story

Fan the Flames

Read Revelation 2:1-7

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.”
(Revelation 2:1-7)

Reflect

Just as when a man and woman fall in love, so also new believers rejoice at their newfound forgiveness. But the ardor of love later cools. When they lose sight of the seriousness of sin, they begin to lose the thrill of forgiveness (see 2 Peter 1:9). Here, Jesus confronts the believers in Ephesus about their lost love.

Paul had once commended the church at Ephesus for its love for God and others (Ephesians 1:15), but many of the church founders had died, and many of the second-generation believers had lost their zeal for God. They were a busy church—the members did much to benefit themselves and the community—but they were acting out of the wrong motives. They needed to fan the flames of love once more.

Respond

In the first steps of your Christian life, you may have had enthusiasm without knowledge. Do you now have knowledge without enthusiasm? Both are necessary if we are to keep love for God intense and untarnished (see Hebrews 10:32, 35). Are you in need of a “second honeymoon” with God? Ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle your love for God.

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Gods story

Practice Hospitality

Read 3 John 1:5-12

Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.
(3 John 1:5-8)

Reflect

In the church’s early days, traveling prophets, evangelists, and teachers were helped on their way by people like Gaius who housed and fed them. Since there were no hotels and not many inns, hospitality was crucial to the itinerant preacher.

The traveling missionaries neither asked for nor accepted anything from nonbelievers. This was not intended to be a criticism of unbelievers, but a statement of how things ought to be. Imagine the awkwardness of a Christian worker who was requesting funds or lodging from the very people he or she was trying to reach! Instead, it was the responsibility of churches and Christian individuals to support those who were called by God to full-time vocational ministry. In that way, unbelievers will not be questioning the missionaries’ motives for preaching.

Hospitality is a strong sign of support for people and their work. It means giving of your resources to them so their stay will be comfortable and their work and travel easier. When you help someone who is spreading the gospel, you are in a very real way a partner in the ministry.

Respond

Because of our individualistic, self-centered society, there are many lonely people who wonder if anyone cares about them. Some of these individuals are missionaries far from home. They long for someone to be gracious to them. Yet some of us fear reaching out to people we don’t know or don’t know well out of fear of danger befalling us. Or, we fear that we’ll be judged by the state of our homes. God doesn’t want us to live in fear, but instead to open our hearts and homes to those who could benefit from our hospitality. Actively look for creative ways to show hospitality to God’s workers. It may be in the form of a letter of encouragement, a gift, financial support, an open home, or prayer.

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Don’t Be Deceived

Read 2 John 1:4-11

How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.

I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.
(2 John 1:4-11)

Reflect

In John’s day, many false teachers taught that spirit was good and matter was evil; therefore, they reasoned that Jesus could not have been both God and man. In strong terms, John warns against this kind of teaching.

The term translated “deceivers” can also be translated “impostors”; it carries the idea of leading another astray. Notice that the verse refers to “many” such charlatans and pretenders. There are still many false teachers who promote an understanding of Jesus that is not biblical. These teachers are dangerous because they distort the truth and undermine the foundations of Christian faith. The great danger of deceitful leaders is that they seem so sincere and believable. They are not easy to spot in a crowd. Usually they are winsome and attractive; otherwise, how would they gather people to themselves? We do not want to become paranoid and suspicious about everyone we meet, but we do need to be wise in evaluating the character and conduct of those who would seek to influence people.

Respond

In the past how have you evaluated the veracity of a speaker’s message? The way your teachers live shows a lot about what they believe about Christ. John’s advice in 1 John 4:1 can help you prayerfully evaluate what you hear this week. Diligent study of the Scriptures is a good way to be well versed in truth.

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Gods story

Love One Another

Read 1 John 4:7-21

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
(1 John 4:7-13)

Reflect

If no one has ever seen God, how can we ever know him? John in his Gospel said, “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us” (John 1:18). Jesus is the complete expression of God in human form, and he has revealed God to us. When we love one another, the invisible God reveals himself to others through us, and his love is made complete.

God is the source of our love. He loved us enough to sacrifice his Son for us. Jesus is our example of what it means to love; everything he did in life and death was supremely loving. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love; he lives in our heart and makes us more and more like Christ.

Respond

John isn’t telling us how many people to love, but how much to love the people we already know. Our job is to love faithfully the people God has given us to love, whether there are two or two hundred of them. If God sees that we are ready to love others, he will bring them to us. No matter how shy we are, we don’t need to be afraid of the love commandment. God’s love always involves a choice and an action, and our love should be like his. How well do you display your love for God in the choices you make and the actions you take? God provides us the strength to do what he asks. In what creative way will you show God’s love to someone?

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God’s Story… For My Life – A Lifelong Struggle

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Gods story

A Lifelong Struggle

Read 1 John 3:1-10
But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.
(1 John 3:8-9)

Reflect

We are “born into God’s family” (1 John 3:9) when the Holy Spirit lives in us and gives us Jesus’ new life. Being born again is more than a fresh start; it is a rebirth, receiving a new family name based on Christ’s death for us. When this happens, God forgives us and totally accepts us; the Holy Spirit gives us new minds and hearts, lives in us, and begins helping us to become like Christ. Our perspective changes, too, because we have a mind that is renewed day by day by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-24). So we must begin to think and act differently.

Accepting citizenship in heaven means that we’ve left our country of origin—the devil’s kingdom. But he doesn’t give up his citizens easily. He fights tooth and nail against us. That’s why we all have areas where temptation is strong and habits are hard to conquer. These weaknesses give the devil a foothold, so we must deal with our areas of vulnerability. The battle over sin, however, is one we’ll fight for the rest of our lives.

In this passage, however, John is not talking about people whose victories are still incomplete; he is talking about people who make a practice of sinning and look for ways to justify their actions. “They can’t keep on sinning” (1 John 3:9) means that true believers do not make a practice of sinning, nor do they become indifferent to God’s moral law. All believers still sin, but they are working to gain victory over sin.

Respond

We all struggle with “pet” sins—those things we can’t stop doing. Three steps are necessary to find victory over prevailing sin: (1) seek the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word; (2) stay away from tempting situations; and (3) seek the help of the body of Christ—be open to their willingness to hold you accountable and to pray for you.

God’s Story… For My Life – Divine Discipline

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Gods story

Divine Discipline

Read Hebrews 12:1-13
Have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
(Hebrews 12:5-13)

Reflect

Who loves his child more—the father who allows the child to do what will harm him, or the one who corrects, trains, and even punishes the child to help him learn what is right? It’s never pleasant to be corrected and disciplined by God, but his discipline is a sign of his deep love for us.

We may respond to discipline in several ways: (1) we can accept it with resignation; (2) we can accept it with self-pity, thinking we really don’t deserve it; (3) we can be angry and resentful toward God; or (4) we can accept it gratefully, as the appropriate response we owe a loving Father.

God is not only a disciplining parent but also a demanding coach who pushes us to our limits and requires our lives to be disciplined. Although we may not feel strong enough to push on to victory, we will be able to accomplish it as we follow Christ and draw on his strength. Then we can use our growing strength to help those around us who are weak and struggling.

Respond

How do you usually respond to correction? A spoonful of humility helps the discipline go down. When God corrects you, see it as proof of his love and ask him what he is trying to teach you.

God’s Story… For My Life – It Takes Faith

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Gods story

It Takes Faith

Read Hebrews 11:1-40

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. . . .

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
(Hebrews 11:1, 13-19)

Reflect

Hebrews 11 is the great “faith hall of fame”—shout-outs for the people who exhibited faith in God. Many died without receiving all that God had promised, but they never lost their vision of heaven (Hebrews 11:16—“a better place, a heavenly homeland”). The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we are “foreigners and nomads” (Hebrews 11:13). Just as nomads wandered the desert without a permanent home, this world is not our permanent home. Heaven is our permanent home. It is best for us not to be so attached to this world’s desires and possessions that we can’t move out at God’s command.

The beginning point of faith is belief in God’s character: He is who he says he is. The end point is believing in God’s promises: He will do what he says. When we believe that God will fulfill his promises even though we don’t see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith (see John 20:24-31).

Respond

Some Christians become frustrated and defeated because their expectations and demands are not immediately met when they believe in Jesus. They become disillusioned. Are you discouraged because the achievement of your goal seems far away? Take courage from these heroes of faith who lived and died without seeing the fruit of their faith on earth and yet continued to believe.

God’s Story… For My Life – A New Agreement

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Gods story

A New Agreement

Read Hebrews 10:1-18

Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
(Hebrews 10:9-14)

Reflect

Canceling the first covenant in order to put into effect a far better one meant doing away with the system of sacrifices contained in the ceremonial law. It didn’t mean eliminating God’s moral law (the Ten Commandments). The ceremonial law prepared people for Christ’s coming. With Christ’s death and resurrection, that system was no longer needed. A new agreement—God’s provision of salvation through Jesus—is now in place. And through Christ we can fulfill the moral law as we let him live in us.

If the Jewish readers of this book were to return to the old Jewish system, they would be implying that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t enough to forgive their sins. Adding anything to his sacrifice or taking anything from it denies its validity. Any system to gain salvation through good deeds is essentially rejecting the significance of Christ’s death and spurning the Holy Spirit’s work.

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus made believers perfect in God’s sight. We have been made perfect, yet we are “being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14). At the same time, he is making all believers holy (progressively cleansed and set apart for his special use) in their daily pilgrimage here.

Respond

We should not be surprised, ashamed, or shocked that we still need to grow. God is not finished with us. We can encourage this growth process by deliberately applying Scripture to all areas of our lives, by accepting the discipline and guidance Christ provides, and by giving him control of our desires and goals. What excites you or frustrates you about your spiritual growth?

God’s Story… For My Life – Once for All

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Gods story

Once for All

Read Hebrews 9:11-28

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
(Hebrews 9:11-15)

Reflect

The high priest could enter the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 9:3), the innermost room of the Tabernacle, one day each year to atone for the nation’s sins. Their only access to God was through the high priest, who would offer a sacrifice and use the animal’s blood to atone first for his own sins and then for the people’s sins (see also Hebrews 10:19).

When the people in Bible times sacrificed animals, God considered the people’s faith and obedience, cleansed them from sin, and made them ceremonially acceptable according to Old Testament law. But the sacrifice of Jesus—the ultimate High Priest—transforms our lives and hearts and makes us clean on the inside. His sacrifice—once for all—is infinitely more effective than animal sacrifices. No barrier of sin or weakness on our part can stifle his forgiveness.

Respond

Though you know Christ, perhaps you sometimes believe that you have to work hard to make yourself good enough for God. But rules and rituals have never cleansed people’s hearts. By Jesus’ blood alone (1) we have our consciences cleansed, (2) we are freed from death’s sting and can live to serve God, and (3) we are freed from sin’s power. If you are carrying a load of guilt because you are finding that you can’t be good enough for God, take another look at Jesus’ death and what it means for you. Christ can heal your conscience and deliver you from the frustration of trying to earn God’s favor.

God’s Story… For My Life – Promises You Can Count On

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Gods story

Promises You Can Count On

Read Hebrews 6:13-20
Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
(Hebrews 6:15-20)

Reflect
Abraham waited patiently; it was twenty-five years from the time God had promised him a son (Genesis 12:7; 13:14-16; 15:4-5; 17:16) to Isaac’s birth (Genesis 21:1-3). God kept his promise.

These two unchangeable things are God’s nature and his promise. God embodies all truth; therefore, he cannot lie. Because God is truth, you can be secure in his promises; you don’t need to wonder if he will change his plans. Our hope is secure and immovable, anchored in God, just as a ship anchor holds firmly to the seabed. To the true seeker who comes to God in belief, God gives an unconditional promise of acceptance.

Respond
Because our trials and temptations are often so intense, they seem to last for an eternity. The Bible and the testimony of mature Christians encourage us to wait for God to act in his timing, even when our needs seem too great to wait any longer. Yet waiting is never easy. Is there something for which you’re waiting that seems to be taking forever? Sometimes doubt or fear creeps in to separate us from God. While you wait, review some of God’s promises (for example, Hebrews 13:5-6, 8). May the truth of God’s acceptance and faithfulness provide you with encouragement, assurance, and confidence and keep you connected to him.