Microchurch Minute
As we continue to dive into the book of 1 John, we jumped straight into the importance of discernment. Many people will be filled with words, however it is up to us to test claims, stories and prophecies against the truth that is the Living Word. Often times, you will see a video or hear a remark from someone in close proximity to you. Do you absent-mindedly go along with whatever claims brush your ears? I would certainly hope not, we can find miles of lies and conspiracy partial truths in the error of human teachings. It is wise to evaluate your circle of influence, those whom God has placed in your life. Never be afraid of testing their claims against what you know to be true. God wants to reveal the truth to us, His truth – through the power of disciplined discernment. But He requires that you seek it. This puts accountability on each of us. If we aren’t spending time diving deeper into the word of Christ, how will we know what to believe? Your circle is important. Be wary of those whom wear down your faith with their partial truths.
But in the same way that we are to be cautious not to believe everything we hear, we can also recognize that God was very intentional with the people that He chose to surround us with. It is our great responsibility to model Christ’s love to them. An unbeliever will certainly have doubts when your Jesus-loving self is not living out the Christ-like love that we have been called to. It isn’t easy, to love like Jesus. He is merciful and compassionate. How does that look when you interact with your spouse? Your children? Are your words and actions warm and embracing, radiating the light of your heavenly Father? Or do you speak with scorn and malice in your actions? If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in us! What a standard! God is love, and with His Spirit abiding in us, we are also called to walk out the actions of love.
Microchurch Minute
Would you drink poisoned water? What if it’s just a splash of poison in there? The poison is clear. No one can tell by looking at it that it’s dangerous for you. No one would know as it burned it’s way through your esophagus and into your stomach. It’s internal, right? (*PSA* do NOT drink poison!)
But now that I’ve got your attention, how much sin is “safe” for you to ingest? Just a little splash? After all, maybe no one would be able to see it anyway. John is very clear about this, there is no place for continual sin in the life of a believer. When we choose to walk with God and receive the Holy Spirit, we want to honor God. We walk in obedience to God by doing what is right, inside and out. Our spiritual family and community will see us holding our heads high with clear moral conscience. We will show love to all of God’s children. What if you don’t want to? Simply put, whoever does not love his brother or sister abides in death. If you’re with the Lord, we cannot be hating brothers and sisters, especially within the body of Christ. Mere humans won’t be able to express the true agape love of our Heavenly Father, but that is the level of humble excellence that we are called to pursue. Don’t just talk about it, walk out your actions. Actually love them, actually embrace them, actually tangibly bless them. God knows our hearts, He sees when we are freely giving and when we are selfishly withholding. God is greater than my heart, I pray that He sees, knows and exposes my heart until I am fully aligned in Him. When we fully surrender to His will, our obedience will yield spiritual fruit in this life.
Microchurch Minute
The second chapter of 1 John gives us a look at the contrast of authentic believers and deceivers of the Word. When we accept salvation through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, He becomes our advocate. It doesn’t mean that we won’t sin. But it does mean that when we do, there is an ally by our side, charging the debt of our sins to the full payment rendered on calvary’s hill. See, your sin shouldn’t make you shy away from Jesus. that’s just what the enemy wants you to believe. When we recognize that we’ve fallen short of the lifestyle that Christ has called us to live, we’re invited to run and cling to the robes of our savior. But what is put on you in this scenario, is your responsibility to acknowledge your sin and turn from it. Jesus’ perfect life on earth is the standard to which we are held and should aim to attain. Without God’s help to raise us up, this standard is simply impossible to achieve in your own strength. It’s a sad reality that the gravitational pull of the world is doused with lies from the enemy. You are held personally accountable to recognize those lies and reject them. But how do you successfully recognize lies? Test every claim, prophecy and belief against the bible. Like muscular endurance built in exercise, this skill becomes stronger the more that we abide in God. We are called to have nothing to do with the lies of false teachers as we lean on the foundation of biblical teachings and our spiritual family in submission and obedience to the lifestyle God is calling us to.
The beautiful thing we see repeated here is that God loves us and has given us a route back to Him. He provides atonement for our sins and uses us to shine His light into the darkness of the fallen world. People can be easily distracted and blindly fall into being tools of the enemy, yikes. What if we kept our focus on the life of Jesus, the Word of God and helping those around us? It’s a pretty stark contrast from the self serving culture that we live in. It’s not about self glorification or satisfying the lusts of your flesh. I dare you to invite Jesus into all the “rooms” of your life and pursue Him constantly. When you put good in, you get good back out. What are you feeding your mind and soul with today?
Microchurch Minute
We jumped into 1 John on Sunday, written by the disciple that Jesus loved. What a letter that has been preserved for us to study! Are we truly convicted in our faith? God provided us written accounts from apostles that were with Jesus in real time. They experienced Jesus, touched him, learned from him, ate with him. Jesus was very real! It is with great joy that John shares these truths with us. It is revealed that Jesus is light and brings light to those who choose to walk with him. The light sheds sight on our sin, sin that we all have. By walking in the light of Jesus, we can reveal both our own sins and those of our spiritual brothers and sisters. But good news, because we have sin, we need a savior. We have a savior. The ultimate savior, divine light, that laid down his own life to reconcile us to His father, our Heavenly Father, the God of the universe. If we aren’t aware of our sin nature. we wouldn’t know just how desperately we need the Savior! We’re granted relationship with God, because He is faithful and just to forgive us, to cleanse us of our unrighteousness. Though we cannot reach perfection, we choose to turn from walking in darkness in pursuit of the God that has never stopped pursuing us. Don’t stop confessing your sin both to God and within your spiritual family. Confession frees us from the agonizing snares that attempt to hold us back from our God-given potential. I encourage you to never stop walking this sanctification journey through the relief and accountability received from living openly with God. He is joyed to do life with you, to walk alongside you and convict you to do His will.
Microchurch Minute
Hello house church family and happy Tuesday. We had a full house Sunday, as we wrapped up our summer of Psalms. What better way to finish our summer than to answer the agonizing question “What am I here for?”. You have been made to praise God! In all known history there is nothing that compares to His unequaled greatness. This is the God that is responsible for all of creation, the parting of the Red Sea, the crumbling of Jericho, closing of the lion’s mouth’s and supernatural resurrection. While wholly incredible, these are only a drop in the bucket when we continue to list His infinitely amazing acts of greatness. The bible refers to Israel as God’s chosen people. Take a look at that today, how can they even still be standing? God is good. What is our response to be but to shout and bring attention to the majesty of our great leader! We sing, dance and let instruments ring out in a musical extravaganza, fit only for the most high God. Just like an instrument we learn to play, our faith grows from a practice squeal to a harmonious roar. Never stop playing your trumpet! It is music to the ears of your Father in heaven.
