Light Right and Love

9.2.2012

1 John 1.5-10 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 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. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ESV

Let’s read this passage this way:

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is right, and in him is no wrongness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in wrongness, we lie and do not practice the right. 7 But if we walk in the right, as he is in the right, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all wrong. 8 If we say we have no wrong, we deceive ourselves, and the right is not in us. 9 If we confess our wrongs, he is faithful and just to forgive us our wrongs and to cleanse us from all un-rightness. 10 If we say we have not wronged, we make him a liar, and his right is not in us.

To us (me included) right can be power – depending on where one stands. We can use right to club others over the head – to whip them into submission; to manipulate them. But right is not a weapon; it’s a way of thinking and doing that’s in perfect harmonious synchronization with the Living God.

Let’s try the passage again, but this time…

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is love, and in him is no un-loveliness at all. 6 If we say we have love with him while we walk in un-loveliness, we lie and do not practice the love. 7 But if we walk in the love, as he is in the love, we have love with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all un-loveliness. 8 If we say we have no un-loveliness, we deceive ourselves, and the love is not in us. 9 If we confess our un-loveliness, he is faithful and just to forgive us our un-loveliness and to cleanse us from all un-loveliness. 10 If we say we have not un-loved, we make him a liar, and his love is not in us.

Love is never a weapon – love and weaponry are not compatible. Selfishness can be a weapon but love is always a gift, if it’s freely given – anything outside of love freely given is love with condition and that isn’t love. And God has given us love freely in the gift of His right. His right is not compatible with our right because of the purity of His and the impurity of ours. And this is found in His light – the illumination of Who He is and what He does…and how He operates. Light, right, and love. Freely given.

So You Will Know

09.01.12

1 John 5.13 13 I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God so you will know you have eternal life. NCV

This morning I noticed several people had changed their profile photo on FaceBook and I briefly mused about changing mine. I thought I might try to find a pic of Sir Winston Churchill and use it as my profile foto. I then thought about Churchill’s dabbling into the occult (he was trying to defeat Nazi Germany and was looking for every advantage he could find) and decided maybe my current profile photo was just fine.

In ancient times, (history has it) Roman noblemen would try to know the future by gutting a sheep and allowing the entrails to spill out on the ground and study the path the guts took, as they spilled, then use that as some kind of indicator as to what the future held for them. (No, I wasn’t considering using a picture of a gutted sheep as my profile photo…)

I also read 1 John 5 where the apostle John wrote: I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God so you will know you have eternal life. It seems one of the characteristics of humans is a need to know. We want to know what happens to us. We want to know if our future is bright and shiny or dark and gloomy. And John wrote his letter so we who believe, would know that if nothing else, we have eternal life.

Faith in Christ in John’s time was under attack like it is in ours. People warped and distorted the message of Christ and His salvation then like they do now. It was important for John to write his letter to the believers to correct these distortions and help the believers to keep believing the truth despite the level of error around them. (Remember: it was at this same time in history that sheep were being gutted so the gentrified could try to figure out what was in store for them in the future.)

In our day folks are concerned about the future. In America we may not gut sheep but we’ll bet the farm in the stock market. In our day we try to use every advantage we can to figure out what is going to happen to us. Horoscopes, astrology, psychics – it’s all about wanting to know: what is going to happen to me. If ever there was a need for the truth and reassurance of First John, it’s now; right now in our times and in our day.

The future waits for no one – it comes at us every moment. But just because it does, doesn’t mean we need to fear it – I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God so you will know you have eternal life. (Yeah, yeah, yeah, eternal life; I just want to know what’s going to happen to me now!) Knowing I have eternal life, helps me to know that this present life and all that is in it prepares me for eternal life. Knowing nothing will stop me (and that I don’t have to spill any guts in the process) helps me to know I’m on the right path and God is completely in control of whatever happens in my life: I’m safe in His.

For now, the FaceBook profile photo will probably remain the same but my knowledge of God and His purposes for me will intensify until that day when I depart this place, with all it holds; and step into eternity – with all it holds – and live in His presence forever.

True Liars

8.28.2012

1 John 1:10 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and we do not accept God’s teaching. NCV

In 1 John 1 the word liar appears twice: once, in verse 6, in reference to us in that if we say we believe in God and yet continue to walk around in darkness, we’re liars because the evidence of our lives shows our beliefs to be that of darkness and not of light. The other is in verse 10, where once again, the belief we hold (that we have no sin) makes God a liar.

Calling God a liar is ballsy. With our limited knowledge and experience, to call God a liar is dangerous. To ignore our true condition is the height of arrogance and delusion. To ignore the true condition of the human race is denial of the highest form and delusional.

Light originates in God: God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1.5). The true light that is comes from the knowledge that there is a God and I am not Him. The true light is that light which shows me where I am wrong, and then how to get where I need to be to be right – or be in the right. Right is with God and wrong is every where else. The true light that is, is the light that shows me I have a place and a purpose in God and in all He does. But to ignore that light is to disrespect God in the worst way possible – and yet it happens all the time, everyday.

1 John makes repeated comparisons of truth and lies. There is truth and there are lies. There are the truthful and there are liars. And just to ignore God doesn’t make Him go away… it only exacerbates the problem that we are in need of a Savior and without Him we face God alone armed with only our lies.

So who is the liar? The one who claims God and yet walks in the darkness is a liar and the one who claims God and yet denies his sin is a liar. “As the Scriptures say: “There is no one who always does what is right, not even one. There is no one who understands. There is no one who looks to God for help. All have turned away. Together, everyone has become useless. There is no one who does anything good; there is not even one.”  “Their throats are like open graves; they use their tongues for telling lies.” “Their words are like snake poison.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and hate.”  “They are always ready to kill people. Everywhere they go they cause ruin and misery. They don’t know how to live in peace.” “They have no fear of God.”” (Ro 3:10-18 NCV)

Father in Heaven, I have lied to You, lied to me, and lied to others. I so want to be well thought of and liked and have gone to great lengths to obtain that liking. Sadly I have denied the true light in doing so and have called You a liar. Help me to change and help me to accept Your truth that You have all I’ll ever need and my greatest safety and value is in You. Thank You for Your truth – Amen.

Which Way I Need to Go

08.26.12

Somewhere in 1 John 4: Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. MSG

We all need to know the way to go – we need dreams, we need direction, we need to know right; we need to know wrong. We need to be able to handle other’s perspectives. We need to gauge what they say and be able to compare that to how they live. We need to know what is expected of us and what to avoid. We need to appreciate the smell of BS so we don’t get taken in by it…

So John opens this part of I John by saying: My dear friends, don't believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. (1 John 1, MSG) We all need to know what’s coming at us and what the source is of such stuff.

But then he quickly moves into the subject of love and the power of love. Simply put, Biblical love – agape (ah-gah’-pay) love – is the substance of power for the life of a believer. It is what tells us whether or not we’re on the right path. And we know we’re on the right path when we know we love each other. It isn’t romantic love (or eros (eh-ross)); it isn’t brotherly love (philos); it’s love for God expressed in the acceptance of and appreciation for people no matter how stupid and selfish they are: to us and to others.

It’s not conditional acceptance but unconditional acceptance. Loving a pervert or a sex-offender might sound like a tall order but that’s the expectation of God of those in whom His love resides. None of us (underscore the word none) deserve God’s love – our lives, actions, and our words deserve hell. But God Himself loves and appreciates us for who we are and the potential we have in Him. Want to see a miracle of God? Pray for a pervert and then see the fruit of your prayer become his salvation in Jesus Christ.

And then John makes his point about our knowing which way to go: Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

The other day I was at work and offered assistance to a customer who rudely responded, “I know what I need!” He might’ve been having a bad day – a bad month – a bad life. His mother may have died. His tax-preparer may have called and told him there was a dreadful mistake in the accounting and he now owed a lot more than he had already payed. He may have broken up with his spouse or SO. Whatever the case, he was rude and in my mind I responded: pr#ck!

And this morning while reading this statement in 1 John, I am reminded that with thoughts like that, my life is not yet fully formed in love; and I know which direction I need to go. A quest for a fully-formed life of love is a worthy of all my effort and energy. It is a life of peace – it is a life of worthiness. It is a life that pleases God. And it tells me which way I need to go. Have Thine Own way, Lord!

What a Fool Believes

08.23.12

Somewhere in 1 John 1: If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. MSG

During most of this past year I worked for an organization whose mission was to protect small business’s interests in the state capital and in Washington DC. My job was to present who we are and what we do to prospects and convince them to join by paying the membership dues that would in turn help fund the mission we were about. 1 John 1 reminds me of that job.

First the Apostle tells us what he saw, heard, and felt (actually touched with his hands.) John saw Jesus, heard Jesus, and touched Jesus. Jesus Christ was then, and is now, fully human. Jesus ate with John, talked with John, taught John, laughed with John, cried with John. And John, for three years or so saw, heard, and felt it all. And then he wrote about it. And he attempted to convince others of what he saw, heard, and felt in hope that they too would see the marvelous majesty of this One called the Son of God.

Most small-business owners are into their work. Their goal is to be as successful at their choice of vocation as they can be and sometimes it is to make as much money as they want as freely as they can. What hampers small business owners is unwanted and unnecessary government encroachment into their business through regulation and taxes. (Nowadays there are things called “fees”: fee is just another 3-letter word for tax.) The organization I worked for was all about reducing government intervention into the everyday operation of small businesses.

Most people on earth are into themselves. Their goal in life is to live however they want with as little intrusion by others; and to express themselves freely as they might within the cultures in which they live. What hampers most humans is the knowledge of, and the introduction to, God. The biggest issue in such discovery and meeting is the issue of sin.

Very few people on earth (who don’t already know God) will accept the issue of their own sin and when they do, most of them will have an issue with that issue. To come to know God and to find out there is an issue is a turnoff to most folk – I am who I am is kind of the normal response and, what I’ve always done is what I’ve always done. And now you tell me I a sinner!? I’m not a sinner, I’m a live-er and I live the way I’ve always lived. What is this sin thing!?

The small business owner for the most part puts up with a lot of government encroachment into his business and believes it will go away. But to tell him it’s getting worse is something he doesn’t want to hear – or think about. To tell a man who’s perfectly happy (within reasonable limits) that he’s a sinner before God – well, that just a little more than he wants to hear or think about. Not everybody joined my organization. Not everybody accepts God. Not everybody is convinced that there’s an issue of some kind or another.

Sin is something most proud individuals cannot accept, and to deny sin, is to deny God and to fool ourselves. The worst thing I can do is to fool myself that my errant behavior is acceptable to Almighty God. The worst thing I can do is to fool myself into thinking everything is going to be okay and that someday if I need to make things right with God, I’ll do it – but for now I’m happy just the way things are without a demanding, intrusive God claiming I’ve somehow sinned against Him and need to repent and ask for His forgiveness. What a fool believes, is whatever he wants. I can fool myself but I cannot fool God.

Day 5 – Community

08.22.12

1 John 5.4 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. NASB

Last Saturday, August 18^th, I embarked on an activity that I have never done before: I am devoting 40 days to reading and meditating on the New Testament Epistle of First John. Today, I finished (at least on the calendar) day 5. And so for the next 35 days I am going to read through 1 John by reading a chapter a day. I’ve decided that it would be a nice alternative to my annual reading plan and (tongue in cheek) I won’t disappoint God J.

Some of my thoughts regarding my reading are these: 40 days is a significant period of time in human calculations. Jesus fasted for 40 days. Moses spent 40 days up on Mt. Sinai getting the instruction of God. So, forty days in 1 John seems to be an appropriate length of time to give myself to reading this very important and insightful portion of God’s ancient writings. As of today I’ve realized 40 days doesn’t even scratch the surface… I could give the next forty years to the study of 1 John.

1 John is like James – it hits you in the face… hard. Actually it hits me hard in the hard heart I have – hard. John’s words are strong and call me to a different plane of living. John wrote these words apparently to a community of people whose beliefs were under attack under the criticism of insidious dissidents. (I think they were intellectuals using man’s argument to take down the tenets of faith in Christ.) John wrote to his people to help them combat the criticism and sarcasm of men who hate the truth and want to water it down make it less hard and more palpable.

And so today is the crescendo of: this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. And John closes out his letter with these simple words: little children, guard yourselves from idols. If there is one thing that needs to be overcome in this world it is the arrogant, self-righteous, critical opinions, and snide commentary of men (who are often educated beyond their intelligence.) One thing that smarts is man’s sarcastic pity: you poor uneducated fool. An idol may be to wrongly worship intelligence. An idol may be to be knowledgeable about all the wrong things. An idol may be to fear man’s criticism and phony pity.

One thing the world will not accept is the statement that our faith has overcome the them. “How pathetic!” is their cry. John says, Fear not little ones, Jesus has overcome the world’s intelligentsia, and because you believe in Him, you have as well. Little children, guard yourselves from intimidation; guard yourselves from the sneers, the laughter, the ridicule and the mocking; if they knew what you know they’d keep themselves from it as well.

Day 5, thirty-five more to go. I think I’ll change up versions too – nothing like a little different perspective and as some of you know: I’m all about perspective…

Paneling and Paint

08.16.12

Jeremiah 22.15 15 “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. NASB

What do most people do when faced with impending doom? I don’t know many, but those I do seem to get more serious about life – their legacy, their living, making right with those they may have wronged. Gardening. Writing letters. Taking time to make time with others.

Jeremiah’s ministry was unpleasant at best – not because he had a lousy Boss – because those he spoke to weren’t concerned at all with the hoard of Babylonians camped outside the walls of Jerusalem who were ready to destroy them and take any survivors of worth back to Babylon.

The king of Judah was more worried about the construction of his home than he was with the impending doom he faced. It wasn’t getting his house in order that he was concerned with, it was the cedar paneling he was putting in the den. It was the tile he used in the entry. It was the color of paint they were going to put on the outside. Fella! You got bigger issues that this!

The lesson for me this morning is that I am to be more concerned about what is going on around me than I am. What I mean is that I see the world around me falling apart and there are going to be many casualties. And in the midst of this, do I take a view like the king of Judah did and worry about paneling and paint; or do I seek the Lord on behalf of those who seem to be concerned about those kinds of things and not their own souls?

I long for days of decency and discipline and self-control for us as a nation. They’re gone. Even if all of our national problems were to go away tomorrow there wouldn’t be a longing for God the next day; we’re too far gone.

So, in the face of impending doom here is what I think I’m to do: pray, serve, and seek. I pray for my own family and others about the toll that these days are taking on them. I serve my local church faithfully and to the best of my ability. And I seek God in these days. He isn’t worried and until He gets worried, I shouldn’t be, but there are many out there who don’t give a rip because they think this will be over soon and we’ll all get right back to carefree living. We’re too far gone.

Father, if there’s one thing You hate, it’s selfishness and self-centeredness. The ancient kings were all about their slice of the pie not realizing their slice was false hope. Help me not to waste my time on worthless things but to serve You honestly and humbly and faithfully in the autumn days of my pilgrimage on earth. May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in my life, Amen.