God's Righteousness

1 John 2:29 tells us that God is righteous. What a comfort know and believe His righteousness! But how do we know that God is righteous? We know in God's Word that He tells us He is righteous. Here are some verses that talk about God's righteousness. 1) Psalm 7:9 - Righteousness is part of God's character. 2) Psalm 71:15 - we cannot comprehend the dept of his righteousness. 3) John 17:25 - Christ acknowledges God's righteousness. Psalm 119:172 - His righteousness is exhibited in His commandments. Do we acknowledge His righteousness? How does God's righteousness affect us in how we see His plan, how we walk, talk and behave?

What the Bible says about Truth

Our discussion today reflects on what the Bible says about Truth. Here is a shorter list of verses that talk about Truth. There is a much lengthier list located on our study notes if you wish. We hope you will find this list helpful in your study. 1. God is a God of Truth (Deut. 32:4; Ps 31:15) 2. Christ is Truth (John 14:6; 7:18) 3. Christ was full of Truth (John 1:14) 4. Christ spoke Truth (John 8:45) 5. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17) 6. The Holy Spirit guides into all Truth (John 16:13) 7. The word of God is Truth (Daniel 10:21; John 17:17) 8. God regards, with favour Truth (Jeremiah 5:3) 9. The judgments of God are according to Truth(Ps. 96:13; Ro 2:2) 10. Saints should a. Worship God in Truth (John 4:24; Ps. 145:18) b. Serve God in Truth (1 Samuel 12:24) c. Walk before God in. 1Ki 2:4; 2Ki 20:3. 11. Is in Christ (Romans 9:1) 12. Is purifying (1 Peter 1:22) 13. The devil is devoid of Truth (John 8:44).

Identifying the antichrists

To identify the antichrists, know Christ! 1 John 2:22-23 tells us that those who deny the Father and Son are the antichrists. Here are some characteristics of antichrists: (1) Depart from the fellowship (2:18-19), (2) Deny the faith (2:22-23), (3) Deceive the faithful (2:26-29). How do you get to know Christ better? Are you using your biblical glasses to evaluate philosophies and teachings of others to know if what they are teaching is biblical?

Hospitality

The Lord wants us to be hospitable, but it does not always turn out like we might like it to. I think that today was sort of one of those times. We had guests over for Sunday dinner, which is always interesting with Seth being a pastor and us having one car. That means that he is at church for a while after the services, and that I can't go home early to get things going. We also had a meeting after the service, so that put us back a while as well. I generally do a majority of the meal in the crockpot for Sunday dinners (have I ever mentioned that I think that was one of the best inventions ever made?). So, other than being delayed in getting home, everything was going okay until...I was trying to check if the meat was done in the crockpot and the peas boiled over. Then, as we were trying to stop that and get the bread done in the toaster over, I realized that trying to put to many rolls in at one time does not work as I started smelling a very bad smell...smoke. I opened the toaster oven and realized that the rolls were actually on fire! We then had to try to get the rolls out so the fire could be taken care of. Then, because we have our table basically in our kitchen area, I needed to air it out so we could breathe while we ate. I had to open the door to the deck (in Minnesota, in January) to get some fresh air inside. Needless to say, Seth and I ate the very "well-done" rolls. I felt like I had been cooking over a camp fire. But, it was a good afternoon, because we were able to spend time with people from church and they could realize that we are very real people, just like everyone else!!

Anointing by the Holy One

Today we continued in our study of 1 John in chapter 2:20. We asked the question: What is the significance of being anointed by the Holy One? How can we understand this verse? The term “anointing” refers back to the Old Testament when one was anointed with oil to be set apart. As believers we are anointed, set apart. John 6:69 tells us that Jesus is the Holy One who gives this anointing. The anointing is the Holy Spirit as we see in John 1:32-33. This anointing is given at salvation (Ephesians 1:33) and abides in us (1 John 2:27). How exciting that as God’s children, we have the resource we need to discern doctrinal error through the Holy Spirit that abides in us. In the context of 1 John, this was encouraging to the believers in this church as there were many who were turning away from the truth of God’s Word. Join us tomorrow as we continue discussing this verse.

Counterfeit Christians

"Counterfeit Christians." Does that term seem to make sense? 1 John 2:19 tells us that this church had these counterfeit Christians. There were those who were part of the fellowship that once claimed salvation and then left. 2 Timothy 4:1 tells us that in the later times some will depart from the faith. Note this does not state they "lost" their salvation. When we read 1 John 2:19 it says when these counterfeit Christians left it was so that it would be "plain that they all are not of us." Have you experienced this in your church? Have you had professing believers part of your fellowship and then later leave the church to go back to their old lifestyle? It could be that they never truly accepted Christ. This gives you a way to pray for them - that if they are not saved, then the Lord would lead them to salvation. Only God knows the heart and if they are a child of God. You can be confident that those who are truly saved that God can lead them to repentance. Pray for those who have left...

A study in 1 John 2:18

As the ladies dig into verse 18 of chapter 2, they asked today what it means that "many antichrists have come"? They shared how John was referring to those in the church who were false teachers, those who were opponents of Jesus. These false teachers were not accurately reflecting Christ which is why John was writing against them. In personal application - does your life accurately reflect Christ? Do your attitudes, behaviors and words reflect the true nature of Christ? I hope that this has been a challenge to you today as it has been to me.

Introduction of 1 John 2:18-25

As the ladies begin this new section in 1 John 2:18-25, please note that there is much discussion regarding meanings of words in this section. They will be doing their best to practically apply this section to our lives. We pray that you'll enjoy digging in with them in this more difficult passage.

What are the Father's Desires?

As the study continues today in 1 John 2:16, the question is asked - what are the Father's desires? Matthew 22:37-39 tells us to love the Lord. We need to love Him with all our heart and love what He loves. Colossians 1:9-11 tells us that we need to walk worthy and please Him! Are you striving to fulfill the Father's desires or your own? We pray that the study over the next several days will be an encouragement to you as you seek to do the Father's will.

Humility, part 2

Over the last 2 weeks the ladies have discussed the manifestations of humility. Here are the remaining manifestations. Are these present in your life? 3) Focusing on Christ, 4) Biblical praying, 5) Being overwhelmed with God's grace, 6) Being thankful towards others, 7) Being gentle and patient, 8) Seeing yourself as no better than others, 9) Having an accurate view of your gifts, 10) Being a good listener, 11) Talking about others if it is good, 12) Being submissive to those in authority, 13) Preferring others over yourself, 14) Being thankful for criticism or reproof, 15) Having a teachable spirit, 16) Seeking ways to build up others, 17) Serving, 18) Quickness to admit when you are wrong, 19) Quickness in granting and asking for forgiveness, 20) Repenting of sin as a way of life, 21) Minimizing other's sins or shortcomings in comparison to your own, 22) Being genuinely glad for others, 23) Being honest about your spiritual growth, 24) Possessing close relationships.

Humility

Today the ladies continued on in our study of "pride in possessions" from 1 John 2:16 by introducing the "put on" of humility as the opposite of pride. The manifestations are taken from the book From Pride to Humility by Stuart Scott. 1) Recognizing and trusting God's character, 2) Seeing yourself as having no right to question an Almighty and Perfect God. As the ladies continue with this study over the next several days, we pray that you will ask God to help you cultivate these manifestations of humility in your life.

Pride, part 4

We welcomed Crystal to the program today and finished up the study of pride and it's manifestations. 26) Being jealous or envious, 27) Using others, 28) Being deceitful by covering up sins, 29) Using attention-getting tactics, 30) Not having close relationships. We pray that you have prayerfully asked the Lord to reveal to you any of these prideful manifestations that might be present in your life. Next time, the ladies will begin discussing the opposite of pride - humility.

Pride, part 3

Here are additional manifestations of pride that have been discussed in the last week and today: 7) perfectionism, 8) talking too much, 9) talking too much about yourself, 10) seeking independence or control, 11) being consumed with what others think, 12) being devastated by criticism, 13)being unteachable, 14) being sarcastic, 15) a lack of service, 16) a lack of compassion, 17) being defensive, 18) not admitting when you are wrong, 19) not asking for forgiveness, 20), a lack of biblical prayer, 21) resisting authority, 22) voicing opinions when not asked, 23) minimizing your own sin, 24) maximizing others' sin and 25) being impatient or irritable with others. Are there any on this list that are in your life? What have you done to change?

Pride, part 2

The ladies continued their discussion today on the topic of pride. As they discuss pride and humility over the next several weeks, they will be using the book From Pride to Humility by Stuart Scott as a guide in the discussion. They will be sharing some manifestations of pride. Here are some: 1) Complaining against God, 2) A lack of gratitude, 3) Anger 4) Seeing yourself better than others, 5) Having an inflated view of your importance, 6) Being focused on the lack of your gifts. Each day over the next several days, they will share more manifestations of pride and verses giving examples of each. We hope that as you listen you will prayerfully consider if any of these prideful manifestations are a part of your life. If you find they are, please remember that God desires for you to repent and turn away from your sin.

Pride

Over the next two weeks, Pam, Rebecca and Karen will be digging into verse 16, "pride in possessions." The ladies will be sharing a lot of verses. These verses are all listed on our online study notes, which can be found on the right side of our blog. Please use this study guide as you listen to help you follow along. Pride - a strong word to describe our desires and what we depend on. What we are proud about can be an idol. Am I a slave to my stuff? This is a good question to ponder as we begin thinking about if we have pride in our life. Please pray that God will reveal any area(s) in your life where you have pride in your possessions. Ask that God would help you to recognize these areas and then take the proper steps to repent and seek God's forgiveness.

Outward Beauty, continued....

Over the last couple of days we shared many verses regarding beauty. If you missed the program or would like the verses - the audio archives and study notes are located on the right of our blog. We discussed today some practical tips on how to be sure we are staying focused on God's beauty as well as modesty. Modesty is a difficult thing to teach to our daughters or other young women we have influence over, yet it is such an important principle to teach. We believe that the biblical principles we gave concerning beauty will help as well when discussing modesty with your daughter, granddaughter or other woman you are encouraging. What are some practical tips to help be sure you are modest? Please share your thoughts with us here by clicking on "comment" under this blog post.

Outward Beauty

Our last topic for discussion under the section of "desires of the eyes" in 1 John 2:16 is outward beauty. There are many principles in Scripture regarding beauty and what is beautiful in God's sight. We asked a question today - is there a Scripture verse that tells us what to physically wear? We couldn't find any, but we know that Scripture tells us to "wear" godly qualities. We hope that through the next couple of days that we can give you some good biblical principles to help you think biblically about your outward beauty.

Discontentment, continued...

We pray that the verses we have shared concerning this topic has helped you to think biblically about contentment. If you missed any of the references we shared, you can download the free study notes from the right of this blog. Use these notes as a guide to help you follow along in our discussion or simply to have the verses and questions we ask about our study. We hope that these notes and this blog are tools that you can use to help you in your quest to know God and His Word more. We mentioned some practical helps to identify areas of discontentment today on the program. Our contentment truly comes from God alone. So ask yourself - do you get upset when you don't get what you want? True contentment comes from a right standing with God. Are you in His Word and is pleasing God your greatest desire? Contentment is a mindset and we must purpose to be content with what we have. When you pray, do you say "I want" or do you pray "if the Lord wills"? These are all tough questions to ask, but we hope that you will ask yourself these questions to see if you are truly being content. Do you have any other practical questions or thoughts we could consider about this topic?

Discontentment

The second example we are using under our discussion of "desires of the eyes" in 1 John 2:16 is Discontentment. As we begin this study, please pray that God would help you see any area in your life where you are discontent. If we were truly honest with ourselves, I think we would find that we are discontent in at least one area of our life. Today we played the "if only" game. We mentioned things that we had thought of ourselves or have heard. For example "if only I had more money, I could ...." Sometimes we think that "if only" we had something that would bring us joy. If YOU played the "if only" game yourself, what would be on your list? We need to remember that our true joy comes through knowing and believing in Christ. In the days ahead we will be sharing more thoughts on how to be content.

Raising Children, continued...

As we complete our discussion on raising children, we see that we need to love our children with a "tender" love. We have to admit, we do love our children, but we do not always show our children tender love. In Titus 2:4, it tells us that the older women are to teach the younger women to "love their children." The love in this passage means a tender, affectionate, warm and caring love. Our kind words and tender affectionate actions towards our children go a long way to show our children we love them. Finally, we see that the ultimate goal of our raising children is that they might receive and accept the gospel. That is our focus! Our love, discipline and example to them ought to be so that we can share Christ with them - that they may be saved. What a calling we have! We challenge you to remember these truths as you seek to raise your children to honor the Lord. Remember that what God has called you to do, He will equip you to fulfill. Seek the Truth from God's Word and be confident in Him alone.