1 John 2:4-6

He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Personal Challenge…

These are pretty tough words to read. We are being called liars if we do not keep His commandments. And what are these commandments? They are to love God and to love our neighbors; basically to do everything in love. Do I get angry and short with the people in my life? Do I get involved in gossip about other people? Do I put down others so that I look better? Do I lift myself up and call attention to myself? If I do any of this then I am not walking as Jesus walked and I am a liar about being His follower. God doesn’t look at how many books I have read, or how many creeds I can quote, or how articulate I can be about His teachings, but He does care about how much I am willing to love Him and others and then follow that love with loving, Christ-centered actions. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Judges 7:9-11

On that same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. Listen to what they shall say, and afterward your hands shall be strong and you shall then go down into the camp.” And he went down with Purah his servant to the edge of the camp of the fifty.

Encouraging Words….

God knows us. He knows our hearts. He knows our fears. And He is willing to guide us through our endeavors, our battles, our challenges, gently and effectively to victory. He does not just demand that we go out and fight without first preparing us and the way before us. However, winning the battle is a joint effort. We must act. We must prepare for the fight. We must trust God and that He is our Protector. The early church fathers taught that the battles recorded in the old testament were metaphors for the battles that we fight in our lives against the passions of our flesh that lead to sin. What an interesting way to be reminded to prepare for the battle, to be equipped for the battle, and then to fight the battle with all the energy we can muster until the victory is won…theosis.

James 1:5-6

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Encouraging Words…

We are promised that if we ask of God in faith that He will provide. The key here is not the asking and the providing, but the faith without doubt. If we are living out our faith in Christ then we will only be asking for those things that God wants us to have. This promise is not about God being at our beck and call, but about us trusting in Him so much that we don’t desire things that are apart from Him.

Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Personal Challenge…

Our lives as Christians are to be transformed from worldly centered lives to Christ centered lives. This requires a transformation of our minds, which can only be accomplished through God’s grace. We cannot do this on our own. Living this way will begin to draw us away from the ways of the world and toward the ways of God. Living this way will take work on our part, but it will result in knowing and living out God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will in all that we do. Glory be to God.

Luke 18:27

But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Encouraging Words…

Proverbs 16:18 (16:16 LXX)

A man wise in his deeds is a discoverer of good things,
But he who trusts in God is the most blessed.

Encouraging Words…

2 Peter 1:5-7

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self- control, to self- control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

Personal Challenge…

Faith is just the beginning of our journey of theosis, or being in the image of Christ. We are to be striving to grow, to do good works that take us up the rungs of this ladder of spiritual growth. As we look at these verses we find that those things so often lifted up as the ultimate in godliness, faith and knowledge, are only the beginning steps of our journey. There is so much that must be done with these two virtues to be living in the image of Christ.

Hebrews 4:9-10

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Encouraging Words…

We have a promise here, a promise that if we remain in Christ we will someday enter into His place of rest, His kingdom. This implies that our days here on earth are to be days of work. Work for Him, work for our fellow humankind, work that draws others to Him and addresses the needs of our neighbor. What a glorious promise to look forward to.

1 Timothy 6:11-12

But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Personal Challenge…

Living a godly, Christian life is a never ending battle. A battle of fleeing from the passions and pursuing the virtues as presented in these verses. As long as I am present in this body and living in this fallen world I will be fighting these passions. But by the grace of God we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to help us through these struggles.

John 15:15-17

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

Encouraging Words…

What a blessing it is to know that we are not just some followers of a set of rules and requirements, but that we are considered as friends to our Lord. We will never be His equal, however He chooses to treat us as His peers. This makes me ask the questions, “Am I living my life as a friend of my Lord? Or am I living it as an acquaintance or a servant?” Truly some profound questions to ask because of the difference in how the behavior plays out. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.