Today is the first day since I started this blog that I have not posted anything, and it feels pretty good:)

Wait a minute...

The Next Chapter

For the past 130 days, I've written a short post each day on one chapter of the Bible. I started in Acts and went all the way through Jude. And while I have really enjoyed it, I've decided to make the next chapter of the blog a little different.

I'm going to continue writing regularly, but I'm going to step away from my current format. I'd like to open up a little bit, and give myself the opportunity to write more broadly on what God is teaching me. This way I can continue to write posts on chapters of Scripture when I choose, but I will also have the freedom to write about other things.

My hope in making this change is that it will make the blog more personal. I have so many thoughts about the world around me, particularly as it relates to what the Bible says. Hopefully the ones I write about are interesting and thought provoking, and will allow readers to know me much better.

But far more important than knowing me better—and I really mean this—is knowing God better. That's the journey I'm on, and I'm excited to keep sharing it with you.

Jude

Normally you would think if people were perverting the gospel, they would be coming from outside the church. But what if those people were members of your church? What would you do if someone in your church started distorting the foundation of what you believe?

Jude wrote this letter to deal with one such situation. "For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (vs 4). Some have, "crept in unnoticed," he says. It's sneaky. They pretended to be something they weren't in order to get on the "inside." Once there they began to turn the gospel into a license for immorality, and even deny that Jesus is our only Lord.

So I'd like to ask, are your beliefs strong enough that you would notice if they were being perverted? Do you know the gospel well enough that you could tell if someone was distorting it?

This is why, at the end of his letter, Jude offers a call for believers to persevere. He says, "But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God" (vs 20). "And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire" (vv 22-23).

It's okay if you're unsure of your faith; but don't let that be too comfortable a place for you. Let it be motivation for you to build yourself up in your faith. Maturing in the faith is a process, and it usually doesn't come easily. It takes hard work and prayer. But if you are faithful, I promise the reward will be great. Not only will it lead you deep into the love of God, but it will give you opportunities to lead others there as well.

2 and 3 John

2 and 3 John are very similar to the first one. Not surprisingly, as they are all written by the same author—John. He continues to emphasize joy in truth, and love by obedience.

"I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father" (2:4). John's rejoicing was directly related to the truth in which those believers were walking. And that truth was caught up in the story of everything—from the very beginning, to the teachings of Jesus, to the early church (which John's readers belonged to). All through that story God had given commandments to his people. And they all flowed out of the one from the beginning, the commandment to love. So these believers, who were walking in truth by obeying the commandment to love, brought John great joy.

In fact, in 3 John he says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth" (vs 4). What?! Nothing brought him more joy than to hear that people to whom he had shared the gospel, were living it out in their lives? That's crazy. The only way that would be possible is if the focus of his life was to see others walking in the truth of God's word.

I want to be the kind of person whose life's focus is to see others walking in the truth of God's word. I want to get my greatest joy because of that. It's not that I don't get joy from hearing that now; but I don't know if it's my greatest joy. What about all the times my wife goes out of her way to care for me? Or when my students tell me how much they love coming to youth group? Or when one of my friends in Franklin housing gets a bed to sleep on?

Those are all wonderful things and I will continue to take great joy in them. But I'm praying for God to stir in my heart an even deeper joy than all those things, a joy that comes from seeing others walk in the truth of his word.

1 John 5

A relationship with the God of the Bible—the one, true God—is all about love. He loved us first by sending his Son to die so that we could be called children of God, and so we are. And then we love him in response to his love for us. I said yesterday that love is a choice; in this case, a choice to love God by doing what he says. This is laid out in God's law, which is summed up by loving God with our whole being, and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Many will stop after that, though. They will tell you that Christian faith is all about the two greatest commandments, loving God and loving others. But they miss something so important. They make it sound like Christians love only because they have to. 

But that's not what we've been saying. And that's not what John is saying. That's why if you asked me to pick one verse in the whole Bible that sums up my relationship with God, I would choose 1 John 5:3. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."

Keeping the two greatest commandments is central to our loving God. But don't miss that last sentence. "His commandments are not burdensome." Doing what God says is not a burden to those who love God. No! Those who love God delight to do what he says!

Do you ever feel like God just wants to ruin your life because he gave you a set of rules? Like being a Christian is just a bunch of dos and don'ts? Why doesn't John feel that way? It's not like God told him to do something different than he's telling you.

I think it's because John's love for God was a matter of his heart. It was not a definition of love that he was told he should have for God. Look at your own relationship with God. If you love him because people tell you you're supposed to do what he says, then pray and ask God to give you a heart like John's. Ask God to give you a heart of love for him that delights to do what he says.

1 John 4

Here's a startling statement: "He who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen" (vs 20). If there was any doubt that our relationships with others here on earth reflect our relationship with God, I think this verse settles it.

This verse is similar to one from yesterday: How can someone see his brother in need, close his heart to him, and then say that the love of God abides in him? (3:17). Except this verse answers the question instead of asking it.

The reason I said this verse is startling, at least for me, is because there are many times I do not love those around me very well. I focus on what I deserve instead of caring for the person in front of me, and loving them well. I'm getting a little better at paying attention to this; it used to be that I wasn't even aware I was focusing on myself.

So think back to the last conversation you had. How well did you pay attention to loving that person while you were talking to them? Were you listening to the words they were saying, and looking for non-verbal cues that might clue you in to what they were really feeling? Perhaps they were troubled by something, and you missed it because you were focused on something or someone else.

Don't miss the next opportunity you have to connect with the person right in front of you. Focus on truly loving them, and caring for them well. If you truly want to love God, you must learn to love the people in front of you first.

1 John 3

"There is hardly any activity, any enterprise, which is started with such tremendous hopes and expectations, and yet, which fails so regularly, as love." Eric Fromm said that 55 years ago, but we're still trying to figure out what love is, and why it fails so regularly.

1 John 3 has something to say about it. "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does the God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or tongue but in deed and truth" (vv 16-18).

Love is defined here as Jesus laying his life down for us. But Jesus didn't just sort of drift into this. He chose to love us in this way. Love is a choice. And if love is a choice, it's not hard to figure why it fails so regularly—people don't think it's a choice. Perhaps they think it's a feeling. And when the feeling goes away, the love goes away.

So instead, John says in effect, "Just as Jesus chose to love by giving his life away, go choose to love one another by giving your lives away too." He says we're to do this not just by saying we love people, but by showing it in our actions.

Anyone can let their love float along on the waves of emotion. But it takes strength and courage to choose to love when those waves get fierce.

1 John 2

Last Sunday we had a "family service" at our church. You know, where the parents and children are all part of the service together. I know this is hard on the parents, so we don't do this often. But sometimes I wish we did because I just love the atmosphere it creates! It makes me feel like I am part of a much bigger family; like I have lots of moms and dads and brothers and sisters and grandparents. Sometimes I feel that same way when reading the letters of the apostles to their churches.

In verses 12-14 of this chapter John addresses the children, the Fathers, and then the young men. He's writing to these different age groups directly. He has something to say to the children, and he addresses them specifically. I love that. It gives the sense that the families are together as they read these letters. That the whole church is together as they read these letters.

But it seems like the Western church is sliding away from this kind of church and family unity. Our society promotes independence and individuality; "don't let anyone tell you what you to do." Young people grow up with this. They're struggling to figure out how to become a "man" or "woman," and it seems like parents either aren't there to tell them how, or they think they have lost their voice in the matter completely.

Look at the emphasis in all that John is saying in those three verses. It's all about the children's, father's and young men's relationship with God. The children knew the Father (vs 13), the Fathers knew him who was from the beginning (vs 14), and the young men had the word of God abiding in them (vs 14). The family's were together, and a relationship with God was central at every age.

How does this compare to your family experience?

1 John 1

New book, new author. The apostle John wrote this one, and much like the gospel he wrote, it has a unique way of expressing faith in Jesus as a balance of truth and joy.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life" (vs 1). What was from the beginning, concerning the word of life? Read on. Verse 2 says that life was "with the Father and made manifest to us," which basically just means that the life was with God, and then revealed to us. And not just revealed, but revealed in a way that John could hear, see, and touch the life. So what, or who, is John talking about?

Jesus. So John's faith in Jesus was not based on rumors. His faith in Jesus was based on his own eyewitness testimony! He saw what Jesus did, and heard Jesus' teachings. He saw Jesus die, and he was the first man to get to Jesus' tomb after he'd risen. John had faith in Jesus because he believed everything he heard and saw and touched was true. Because of this we too can have confidence that our faith in Jesus is based on truth.

But John's faith in Jesus is not based only on truth. Look at verse 4: "And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete." His joy is complete when he shares with others what gave him joy in the first place, and that's his relationship with Jesus! He gets so much joy from being in fellowship with God that he simply must tell others about it. Because of this we too can be encouraged that our faith in Jesus is also based on joy.

Many think truth is more important for having real faith; others say it's a person's passion and fervor for Christ that is more important. But it is these two elements—truth and joy—that must go hand in hand for those who desire biblical faith in Jesus.

2 Peter 3

I've said before there are more opinions regarding the end times than I can keep up with. And there is plenty in this chapter that could support many of those opinions. But I think it's most helpful to focus on what we do know, and what we're told to do about it.

Peter says in verses 10 that "the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." Well it's easy to get caught up in all those statements, and miss the very first one: the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. We can debate about all the other stuff, but we know two things for sure: (1) the day of the Lord is coming, and (2) we don't know when it will come.

So in light of those two things, what sort of people ought we to be? Peter says to lead lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God (vs 11). God is going to return one day, and we don't know when. This might make you feel a little like the kids did after the cat in the hat had just trashed their house, and their parents are on the way home. But that's not the picture Peter is giving. He says we are to wait for and hasten God's return. That means we're not scared of his coming back, we're thrilled at his coming back! And we're so excited he's coming, we want to be ready.

If you've got the kids-in-the-messy-house-and-parents-coming-back-are-gonna-be-angry mentality, it's time to adjust your thinking. Some children may be terrified of their parents coming home, but God's children look forward to nothing more. It will be out of your love and desire for him that your life will be holy as you wait for God's return.

2 Peter 2

One of the interesting things about Peter is that not only did he know the Scriptures well, he also believed them to be true. One example is his speech in Acts 2 in which he quotes the prophet Joel and also king David. Here in chapter 2 he makes reference to the Old Testament five different times. Angels being cast out of heaven (Ezekiel 28), Noah and the flood (Genesis 6), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the rescue of Lot (Genesis 19), and the proverb he quotes at the end (Proverbs 26:11), are all found in the Old Testament.

Notice that he uses the first four as examples of God's justice, that "the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment" (vs 9). And he uses the proverb to describe those who "know the way of righteousness" (vs 21), but who do not follow it. He would only use these Old Testament references to support his main points if he thought they were true.

If Peter believed the Old Testament writings were true, then we have good reason to believe they are true as well. Much like we said yesterday, these are not just made up stories. These writings are accounts of what actually happened. The stories tell us much of God's character, and the proverbs offer real, practical wisdom for daily life.

Think about that as you read Scripture. It's all there for a reason, and all of it is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16). So use Scripture like Peter does, to gain insight into God's character, and apply biblical wisdom to your daily life.