Burunche’s Blog

1 John 3:4 – 6 “Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness. But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.”

Today news media and social media are filled with horrible images of young people rioting and throwing molotov cocktails. There have also been photos of mobs bearing signs demanding that God leave a given area. These events are both tragic and ridiculous – tragic because of the damage that is done and ricidulous because it is impossible to demand that the Creator of the Universe leave His creation.

Jesus told his followers that they would know whether someone was righteous or not by the fruit the person bore. Good trees bear good fruit. Bad trees bear bad fruit.

In the end, the main thing that matters is this: will you tell God “Thy will be done,” and follow Him, or will God say to you, “Thy will be done.” For if God leaves you to your own will, you are choosing lawlessness and sin and spiritual death. The choice is yours. Which will you choose?

PRAYER: Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief! We are lost and are not even sure how to choose you, but we do want eternal life with you. We confess that we are sinners and cannot free ourselves. Lord, please deliver us from our sins and hep us to follow you all the days of our lives. Amen.

1 John 3:1-3 “Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.”

We live in an age when childhood is under attack! Now proud parents are being warned not to post photos of their cute kids on social media. lest sexual predators and sexual traffickers target those children and abduct them from schools and playgrounds and other public places. Americans in many cities have also found themselves as victims and targets of rioters. It is highly likely that many of these rioters came from broken homes where they were abused or neglected. Never having known the love of a father, these poor young people find it easy to attack others as a form of payback for the lack of love in their lives. It is one of the shameful acts of the American church that we have ignored young people outside our walls.

There are many parts of the world in which poor families literally sell their children into slavery, sometimes for very small amounts of money. We have friends who worwk with a ministry that rescues children from slavery to fishermen on the Volta Lake. Only God knows how many small children have drowned in the pursuit of the work forced upon them after their parents have sold them.

God’s view of children and childhood is entirely different from the experiences many have had as children. First of all, we must understand that God is a good Father. Say the word “father” to many people of any age and you might be horrified at their reactions. Some people have only known fathers who beat them, cursed them, belittled them, or even sexually abused them. Some children have been tortured by their fathers. Some children have watched their fathers beat or even kill their mothers. And much of this has come about because we have refused to acknowledge God as the ultimate Father or to learn what true fatherhood means.

In the Bible, God calls himself “a father to the fatherless.” The Biblical view of fatherhood means that a father is the head of the family, the protector, the defender, the provider. It is the father who is to discipline children and to reward them. Psalm 68:5 says, “A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.”

When we choose to follow Jesus and confess our sins and ask him to come into our hearts, we become God’s children. And as a good Father, God begins to lead us and to guide us and help us and even to discipline us. One problem for many of us is that if we have never known the love of a good father, we don’t have a clue as to how to behave. We remain willful, disobedient, and rebellious. It is only because God is patient and loving that He bears with us. But God DOES bear with us. Why God should trouble Himself to love us is both a question and a miracle, but He DOES love us. And if we love Him in return, we will want to please Him in everything that we do.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us, even though we don’t deserve it. We confess that we are sinners and that we cannot help ourselves. Please forgive our sins and help us to follow hard after you all the days of our lives. Thank you that you sent Jesus to die for our sins and that because of his death and resurrection, we can have eternal life with You, our true Father. Amen.

1 John 2:24 – 29 “As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life. I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught. And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.”

In the American South, there is a saying “Keep it in the middle of the road!” People use that saying to encourage others to keep going, not to get distracted, and not to go off on tangents.

When John wrote these letters to early Christians, he was writing to people who had plenty of distractions, more distractions than they knew what to do with! The Roman Emperors were persecuting Christians. The local people in the towns in which the early Christians lived were putting pressure on them to conform and to sacrifice to the local gods before conducting any kind of business. And there were all the normal stresses of raising families, earning a living, hoping that your kids would turn out all right, etc.

Sound familiar? It should. Despite all of our technology, the spiritual challenges haven’t changed a great deal in nearly 2000 years. “what you have heard from the beginning…” This phrase refers to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born of a virgin as the Son of God and Son of Man. Jesus lived as a man and ministered as a man. And then Jesus laid down his life to die on a cruel cross in the most shameful kind of death imagineable for the sins of the entire world.

As an eye witness to most of the life of Jesus, John is uniquely suited for writing about his first hand experiences with Jesus. But what does John mean about “the anointing that you received from Him?” Jesus was already dead and resurrected when most of these people became believers, so how did this anointing come about?

One of the true miracles of the Christian life is the three – part nature of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit who comes into the hearts of all those who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. It is the Holy Spirit who then helps guide Christians into the ways of God’s truth and who helps us understand when we read the Bible. And it is also the Holy Spirit who helps us remain centered, who leads us, and who gives us the power to live the Christian life.

Many people are afraid of the Holy Spirit! After all, isn’t this a bit spooky or ridiculous? But Jesus himself promised that when he went away into heaven, the Holy Spirit would come. The night before Jesus died, he told his disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17 When we ask Jesus to come and live in our hearts and be our Lord and Master, he sends the Holy Spirit to speak to our minds and to guide us.

The last thing Jesus told his disciples just before he was taken up into heaven was that when he went away, the Holy Spirit would come. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 The disciples might have been scratching their heads at that point, but when the Day of Pentecost arrived and the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in strength and power, Peter suddenly found himself preaching to thousands of people and three thousand of them became Jesus followers on the spot.

Some day, Jesus is coming back. We know neither the day nor the hour, but we know that he has promised to return. Until that day, we need to guard our hearts and to make sure that we are “keeping it in the middle of the road,” and following hard after Jesus.

PRAYER: Father God, help everyone who reads this devotional to stop and ask you to reveal yourself to them. Thank you that you are a good father, and that you always show up when we ask. Let those who ask find you and follow you for the rest of their lives. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 2:20 – 23 “You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”

John is continuing to teach us how to know truth from falsehood. Many years ago, there was a television program called “To Tell the Truth.” Three contestants would appear before a panel of distinguished judges. A short autobiography of the real contestant would be read, after which, the judges would question each contestant. The idea was to discern which contestant was actually telling the truth and which were the two impostors. It was a fascinating program, especially since many times the impostors proved far more believable than the person actually being described in the biography.

One of the advantages Christians have is that we have “an anointing from the Holy One.” What does that phrase mean? When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord and Master of our lives, we turn our lives over to Him completely. At that point, the Holy Spirit, the Third Member of the Trinity, comes into our hearts and minds to help us as we grow as Christians. And it is the Holy Spirit who helps us discern true from false. Putting it in mechanical terms, if we let Him, the Holy Spirit is like a governor on a vehicle that will help keep the vehicle from over speeding. But just as a clever mechanic can override that governor, so we can also ignore the Holy Spirit when He prompts us. When the Holy Spirit prompts us, we can ignore His prompting, but we will do so at our cost.

“And all of you know the truth.” How can we know the truth about God? About the Holy Spirit? About Jesus? We must read the Bible and study the Bible and pray and ask God to help us. Remember that God promises us in James 1:5 – 8 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

In the old days in chemistry labs, litmus paper was used to tell whether a substance was an acid or a base. If a drop of a liquid was placed on the paper, it would turn a certain color, indicating whether the liquid was an acid or not. The term “litmus test” or “acid test” came to be used as a synonym for a test for truth. Here John is describing a spiritual litmust test: “Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”

Don’t settle for substitutes and don’t be deceived! Many of us deceive ourselves because we want to. When Jesus asks us to do something really difficult, we turn away, telling ourselves that we must not have heard God rightly, that surely God wouldn’t ask us to do THAT!

There is a wonderful story about a London parlor maid named Gladys Aylward. Gladys was a poorlly educated young lady who got saved and who felt that God wanted her to go to China as a missionary. Gladys spent several months in the China Inland Mission training center in London, where they finally told her that she could never be a missionary because the Chinese language was too difficult. But Gladys still felt strongly that God was calling her to China. One day, Gladys prayed a simple prayer, “Oh God, here’s my Bible. Here’s my money. (She had only a few small coins.) Here’s me. Use me, God.” Accepting the invitation from an elderly British lady missionary in China, Gladys boarded a train and took off across the European continent for China. It took months of struggle, but Gladys did become a missionary and she did learn to speak Chinese fluently. Eventually, Gladys was responsible for revivals in prisons and for saving innumerable Chinese orphans, all in the middle of political upheaval. What would have happened had Gladys not listened to the leading of the Holy Spirit?

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for your Holy Spirit! Thank you that you will give your anointing to anyone who asks as long as they have turned their lives over to you. Thank you that you will guide us into all truth and that you will lead us into incredible places of ministry if we will only follow you. Help us to always listen for your still small voice and to follow hard after you all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 2:18 – 19 ”Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.”

“Whenever God is about to do something wonderful, Satan sends in counterfeits to try to deceive people.” (Sermon by the late Reverend Curtis Petrey)

The Apostle John, that wise old fisherman and elder of the fledgling Christian church, is really worried. John can feel that his time is getting short; he has already lived far longer than most of his age mates and most of the disciples. And already there are problems within the newborn church. Self – styled preachers and prophets are coming in and attempting to deceive people by preaching various doctrines that have nothing to do with Jesus and everything to do with their personal prejudices or beliefs. While there is yet time, John wants to warn the believers so that they will be able to carry on without him. To that end, John is trying to teach believers how to tell the real from the fakes.

Steven Cole points out that John gives us three tests by which we may evaluate the soundness of a teacher, as well as our own lives. In 1 John 2:3-6, John has already given us the moral test of obedience to God’s commandments. He has given the relational test of love (1 John 2:7- 11) Now he gives the doctrinal test of truth about the person and work of Jesus Christ (1 John 2:18-27). He says, To avoid spiritual deception, be discerning of people and doctrine. John shows that to avoid spiritual deception, you must develop discernment with regard to people. (https://www.preceptaustin.org/1 John_218-23_commentary)

When John had his vision on Patmos that resulted in the writing of the Book of Revelations, God warned some of the churches of falling into false teachings.

Revelations 2:12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword. 13I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. 15In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.”

 Who is the Antichrist? There are all kinds of guesses as to the human identity of such a person, but the spirit behind any Antichrist is always Satan, the deceiver and manipulater. Jesus told his disciples that Satan was a liar from the beginning and nothing has changed. John describes “many Antichrists” who started out in the church and then split away to form their own groups. There is a chilling modern account from a Nigerian Christian who once was a witch, describing attending a Gospel – preaching church and watching as demons rode in on the shoulders of the church members. As the church members sang praise songs, the demons laughed! Why was this possible? These people were church members all right, but they were not Christians. They had settled for form and not for substance.

How can we guard against becoming entranced by Antichrists?

First: who is getting worshiped? Is the emphasis on the teacher/preacher/prophet/evangelist or are the services actually glorifying Jesus? Turn on the television and you can watch innumerable programs glorifying teachers or prophets with Scripture merely being used as a glossy enamel over a half – done paint job.

Second: what is being taught? Is the teacher/preacher/evangelist faithfully teaching the Scriptures or is he/she teaching something else?

Third: at the end of the day, what are the results of the teaching? Are people being urged to dedicate themselves and all that they have to Jesus Christ or are they being encouraged to send in money in exchange for handkerchiefs, tee shirts, and all kinds of “blessed” memorabilia?

Fourth: Are people being encouraged to delve into Scripture for themselves, to read it, meditate upon it, and memorize it, or are they being encouraged to buy the latest book produced by a Christian superstar?

PRAYER; Father God, thank you for loving us and for sending Jesus to die for us. We confess that we have sinned against heaven and against you in everything we have thought or spoken or have done. Please forgive us our sins and help us to trust you completely. Help us to follow hard after you all the days of our lives and help us to study your Word so that Antichrists will have no attraction for us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

John 2: 15 – 17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

Matthew 6: 31 – 33 “Therefore, do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of Godd and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

There is a famous demonstration to help us understand how we need to fix our priorities. Take a large clear glass jar and equal amounts of sand and rocks. If you put the sand in first, you will not have sufficient room for all of the rocks. But if you put the rocks in first, you can pour the sand in around the rocks and everything will fit into the jar. Our lives are like that glass jar. If our priorities are only at an earthly level, we will be consumed by our daily worries with no time to think about eternity. But we are already in eternity! We entered eternity the day we were born. The question really is this: where will you spend the rest of eternity?

On Facebook there are many nostalgia groups posting photos of cars, furniture, houses, and clothing that were popular in different eras. And at the time those things were popular, people literally lusted after them. As a small child in the 1950’s, I remember my older sister wanting a poodle skirt and saddle shoes when those things were the height of fashion for teens. When I was a teenager, we all wanted our small portable radios. I remember when Sony Walkman casette players became all the rage. Now teens have smart phones with ear buds. And let’s not even start on models of cars that have been the objects of so much lust over the years! These days, parents who have spent years collecting china or silver or other items are learning that their children have NO interest whatsoever in inheriting these things. One recent obituary really caused me to laugh. It read, “She left behind a hell of a lot of stuff to her daughters and sons, who have no idea what to do with it.”

John was right; the world is passing along with its desires. What do you really love? Where are your priorities? If you love God, love for your family and your friends will flow naturally. But if you idolize your family or your friends or your job or a sports team or anything else, there will be no room left for God in your life. And if there is no room for God in your life now, where will you spend the rest of eternity? “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever.” Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.”

PRAYER: Father God, help! Our lives are totally consumed with worry and a fear that what we have will never be enough! And when we get some money, we spend it on things that can fall apart or become outdated. Help us to fix our eyes on you and to follow hard after you. Help us to desire you and your love and your mercy and not “stuff.” In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

 “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” 1 John 2:12 – 14

John wants to make sure that those receiving this letter understand that it is for everybody, and not merely for church leaders. John also wants to make sure that his readers understand that he respects their faith, no matter the level. “Fine,” you say, “but if that’s the case, why isn’t John mentioning women? Why address fathers and not mothers as well?” And that is a fair question. Does John hate women or is he deliberately ignoring them?

Here, John is using these male terms to refer to three different age groups of believers: the new believers, “little children,” the more mature and vigorous believers, “young men,” and the mature believers, “fathers.” John assumes that those receiving this letter and reading it or hearing it read will understand these distinctions without becoming offended. Certainly the annals of the early church are full of mentions of strong female believers such as Lydia and Priscilla. John spent much of his life traveling, except for the time of his exile on the Island of Patmos. During those travels, John must have enjoyed hospitality from a number of Christian women. It is impossible that someone encouraging people to be loving would be so ungrateful as to ignore the women who had welcomed him into their homes. So, laying aside that concern, let’s look at this list. John wants to encourage believers at all levels without accidentally omitting anybody.

New believers: “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.” “I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.” Our first step as believers must be to confess that we are sinners and that we cannot help ourselves and must trust Jesus Christ for salvation. Once we have taken that step, we are trusting God the Father to forgive our sins.

More advanced believers: “I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.” “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” As we grow in grace and in the knowledge of God, we find ourselves fighting many spiritual battles. Anybody who tells you that becoming a Christian solves all your problems is crazy! When I rededicated my life to Christ in 1978, I was haunted by recurring dreams in which I was on a dry and arid planet – perhaps Mars – and being pursued relentlessly by Satan with no hiding place. I had to learn to call on the Name of Jesus to stop the dreams and to gain deliverance. Although I had read the Bible through many times before that, the Bible became important to me in a new way; I NEEDED those verses to combat the evil that was rising up against me! But we must fight spiritual battles, for if we do not, our faith will remain weak and helpless.

Mature believers: “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning.” The interesting thing is that John later repeats this statement, as if to emphasize it. What does it mean to “know God?” I have friendships that have lasted since my primary school days. I not only know my friends, but I have also known their parents and grandparents. I was amazed not long ago to see a profile photo one of my friends posted. Why? Because as my childhood friend has aged, she now closely resembles her grandmother, a neighbor lady whom we all greatly loved. I love that photo because I never thought I would get to see that face again until heaven. Knowing God means that we know who He is, what He can do, and have sufficient experience with Him that we trust Him to act perfectly. Such knowledge only comes after years of experience with God; there is nothing instant about faith.

No matter where you stand in the community of faith, be encouraged that God sees your problems. God knows your concerns, and if you will trust Him, he will answer your prayers far abundantly above all that you can ask or think.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us and for accepting us as your children. Help us to grow in our faith. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

1 John 2:9 – 11 “If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

When I was growing up, there was a game popular at children’s birthday parties called “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” A large poster bearing the likeness of a donkey would be put on the wall, and then contestants would each be given a paper tail that was to be pinned to the donkey’s rear. The tricky part was that then contestants would be blindfolded and would have to find their way to the poster and then to the correct part of the poster. To make things even more difficult, the one blindfolded might be spun around a few times so that he/she became really disoriented. The one who came the closest would be declared the winner. What seemed so easy in the daylight suddenly became very difficult when one was fumbling in the darkness.

Those who reject moral absolutes are just like someone wearing a blindfold in a game of “Pin the Tale on the Donkey.” And as we saw yesterday, loving God and loving your neighbor are the two foundations on which the rest of the law and the prophets rest. Remember Jesus’ conversation with the scribe recorded in Mark 12:28-34:

“Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. 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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him, and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

“But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” Proverbs

14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Notice that you can be walking in the dark without realizing it. In the last of the C.S. Lewis Narnia series, The Last Battle, there is a pathetic little group of dwarves who have become so involved with themselves that when Aslan, the Jesus figure, appears, they don’t even recognize what is happening. All they can do is to keep muttering “the dwarves are for the dwarves.”

Today there are anarchists burning and looting in American cities. These people have destroyed large numbers of homes, businesses, and public buildings. Masquerading as demonstrators, they have frequently destroyed the livelihoods of the very people for whom they claim sympathy. These people are truly caught up in darkness and do not understand the way they are going because the darkness has blinded their eyes.

Today, the question each one of us must face is this: do our beliefs meet the test of love? If our beliefs cause us to act in a loving fashion, if we are honoring God by loving those around us, then we are in the light. But if we reject God and fail to love those around us, we are in darkness.

PRAYER: Father God, today we beg you to bring your light and your truth into our lives. Shed light into every dark corner where we have failed to love you and to serve you and where we have failed to love our brothers and sisters. We thank you that you are the true source of holy light and that you will clean us up if only we will ask. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 2; 7 – 8 “Beloved, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This commandment is the message you have heard. Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.”

Remember that John was the disciple closest to Jesus, the one of whom it was said that Jesus loved. Now, Jesus loved all of the disciples, but there was something special about John. Having known unshakeable love, John is uniquely qualified to speak about it. What are the old commandments that John is describing?

The first command to love one’s neighbor is found in Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” On numerous occasions, Jesus referred to this commandment, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, in the story of the Good Samaritan, and when answering the questions posed by a young rich man who hoped to justify himself.

Matthew 5:43 – 45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 22:37 – 40 “Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The Gospel of Mark records a conversation between a scribe, a Jewish teacher of The Torah, and Jesus. It is one of the most wonderful conversations in the Gospels, because you can feel the love Jesus has for this man and the excitement Jesus has for this man’s grasp of the foundations of Scripture. (Mark 12:28 – 34) “Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. 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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him, and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Scripture does not record it, but I like to imagine that when this impassioned teacher of the Law gave his wise answer, Jesus grasped both of his hands as he announced, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And the two men looked at each other and in that instant, the scribe KNEW that he had met the Messiah for whom his heart longed. And Jesus, looking at the man, instantly was aware of all the mornings that scribe had prayed that prayer and had begged that he might see Messiah.

So why does John also refer to this commandment as being a new one? Consider the society in which the early Christians lived. Slavery and human trafficking were rampant. Sexual immorality was the norm. Those engaged in business frequently cheated one another. One Latin phrase from that time remains: “Caveat emptor,” “Let the buyer beware.” In such a society, the idea of loving one’s neighbor and caring for someone else more than you care for yourself would definitely rate as a new idea.

John is writing with a sense of urgency. Nobody knows when Jesus will return; therefore, it is vitally important to walk closely with God. “For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.”

None of us knows how much time we have left in our lives. Let us seek God and follow hard after Him, pursuing lives of love. And let us pray that the true light will enter every one of us.

PRAYER: Father God, we want to love as you love, but we are so limited and so frustrated with those limitations! Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief! And let your true light shine in our hearts so that those around us will see that light and will be drawn to you. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 2:3 – 6 “By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.”

There’s a story about a little boy who misbehaved. Wanting to punish her son, his mother ordered him to sit on a chair facing a corner for thirty minutes. Not long after the boy sat down, his mother passed by and heard him muttering, “I might be sitting down on the outside, but I’m STANDING UP on the inside!”

Many of us are like that with God. We want everybody else to think that we are really good people who follow God’s commandments; however, when it actually comes to keeping those commandments, we want to cut corners. Remember Satan in the Garden of Eden, “Did God REALLY say….?” Many of us routinely use that line of reasoning. “Oh, but surely God didn’t REALLY mean that I had to forgive all of my enemies all of the time! Surely there are some times when my anger is justified.” You fill in the sin that most besets you. It’s different for each of us, but each one of us has some little corner of our hearts in which we practice rebellion. The problem is that we are attempting to deceive a Supreme Being who knows our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts even before we do!

When I was a small child, we used to play a game in which one child would hold up a single finger and claim, “You can’t see me; I’m hiding!” The problem was that assertion was ridiculous. The child was only engaging in “magic thinking,” i.e., believing something was so because he/she hoped that it was. We do the same thing with God.

God wants us to keep His Word and to act in His Love. Will we get all of it perfectly right? Absolutely not! That is why we all need a Savior who can stand on our behalf. But is it necessary for us to keep God’s Word as much as we can? Absolutely yes! Practice still makes perfect, or at least more perfect. If we continue to attempt to walk as Jesus walked, the more we study His life and try to copy Him, the closer we will become to God. And the closer we are to God, the more joy and peace we will have in our lives, regardless of outward circumstances.

The Apostle Paul told the Philippian church, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have laid hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

Why should we try to become like Jesus? Well, what do you have to lose? You will lose anxiety, stress, depression, despair, hopelessness, and the presence of evil in your life. You will gain the fruits of the Holy Spirit as described in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Such a deal!

PRAYER: Father God, we want to be like Jesus, but we have these corners of rebellion in our lives. Please help us to confess our sins so that you can forgive us and free us from them. Help us to walk in the light as you are in the light and to follow hard after you all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.