Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Called to Help

When we "see our brother in need" (1 John 3:17), how might we close our heart against him or her? To our shame, we do often close the door of opportunity and blessing to meet another's need. Do you have any personal examples of how you might have done this? How did God use that situation to help you grow?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Called to Love

1 John 3:16 reveals that as Christians, we are to love others and even lay down our own life for our brothers. How can that be done? What does this look like in the life of the believer? Does God really want us to suffer for the good of another? As we look into Scripture we see the command to think of others before ourselves, yet when someone has a need, we are tempted to give an excuse as to why we cannot help. True love is shown when we show it by our actions. Consider James 2:15-17. How can you fulfill that today?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Let's Talk About Love

What is love? 1 John 3:16 tells us we can KNOW love. Christ died for us! We know love by God and God alone. The love that we show others, proves our love for God. We'll be talking the next several days about love, it's characteristics, as well as share some personal examples of what love "fleshed out" has looked like in our lives

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Hatred = Murder

1 John 3:15 tells me that if I hate my brother, I am a murderer. Wow! Have you ever hated someone? Cain hated his brother and his hatred let him to kill his brother. You might think that you would never be capable of doing something so severe, but the Bible tells us that if we hate someone it is just like murder in God's eyes. Is there a relationship you need to reconcile? If so, pray that God would give you opportunity and grace to reconcile that relationship. Ask Him to help you confess any wrongs you have done toward the other person that Christ may be glorified! Don't let hatred boil in your heart.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Do Not Be Surprised!

Do you love surprises? I do...when they are for special celebrations or just because. But I hate being surprised by a scary noise in the dark! Well, we have a warning here in 1 John 3:13 - it says, "Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you." Why would the world hate you? Should the world hate you? What should your reaction be to their hate?

Monday, June 7, 2010

A Bad Example

1 John 3:12 tells us that we should not be like Cain. We will spend the next couple of days studying the story of Cain from Genesis 4:1-16. Cain's attitude and behavior are bad examples to follow. Is your life full of selfishness, anger, depression and rejection of biblical counsel? Be warned! Cain had these same attitudes and he murdered!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Message to Love

Over the next two weeks, we will be talking about 1 John 3:4-11. John begins this section with a reminder about loving others. Don't we all need reminders? John does this for our benefit so that we would not forget to love others. The command to love others was given from the beginning of our faith in Christ. I can't get over the power of Romans 5:5, "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit," and 1 Thessalonians 4:9 that says, "you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another." If God has poured love into our hearts and we ought to love others - then we have no excuse to not share God's love to others. People need to see the love of God - especially unbelievers! Are you sharing God's love? What evidence is there in your life that you are?

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Questions for Thought

As we conclude this section of 1 John 3:4-10, ask yourself the following questions to evaluate your life: 1.Do I have the divine nature within me or am I merely pretending to be a Christian? 2.Do I cultivate this divine nature by daily Bible reading and prayer? 3.Has any unconfessed sin defiled my inner self? 4.Am I willing to confess and forsake it? 5.Do I allow my flesh to control my thoughts and desires, or does the divine nature rule me? 6.When temptation comes, do I “play with it” or do I flee from it? Do I immediately yield to the divine nature within me?