No More ......

                                   
As we come to the end of our Know the Bible study, we're encouraged once again to see what the future holds for Believers. The book of Revelation is just that - the revealing of who Christ was and is and is to come. He is the righteous Judge who will punish the wicked and the triumphant King who will return to establish His kingdom for all eternity.

One of the privileges of being part of His kingdom is found in Revelation 21:4 - "He (God) will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying or pain. These things of the past are gone forever."

We "hear" God's words of comfort in this devotional from the book Heaven Calling: "Beloved, one day I will gently touch your face and wipe away your tears. Tears you've shed in sorrow over sin. Tears over the pain in your heart from regret. Tears for the loss of loved ones to sickness and death. Tears from the hurt that people inflicted upon you. Tears of frustration and anger.

I know about tears. My Son wept at the grave of His friend, Lazarus and in the garden before His own death. One day tears will be no more. There will be no more reason to cry, for I will remove all of that regret and loss and hurt and frustration and anger.....Gone!  I will replace your sorrows with myself, my love, my presence. I will make all things new." 

As soon as I finish this writing, I will go attend the funeral of a close friend's 6-month old grandson who passed away last Friday. One minute he was sleeping peacefully and the next he was in the arms of Jesus. There will be tears. There will be questions. There will be doubts about God's purpose in all this sadness. No one has the answers - and in times like this, we wish we did.

This song came to mind last night as I was thinking about what to write today and I wanted to share it as an encouragement and a reminder of that day when all tears, questions, fears, and doubts will disappear.

* Lyrics to No More Night :
Words & music by Walt Harrah

The timeless theme, Earth and Heaven will pass away. It’s not a dream, God will make all things new that day. Gone is the curse from which I stumbled and fell. Evil is banished to eternal hell.

No more night. No more pain. No more tears. Never crying again. And praises to the great "I AM." We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

See all around, now the nations bow down to sing. The only sound is the praises to Christ, our King. Slowly the names from the book are read. I know the King, so there’s no need to dread.

No more night. No more pain. No more tears. Never crying again. And praises to the great "I AM." We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

See over there, there’s a mansion, oh, that’s prepared just for me, Where I will live with my savior eternally. There will be no more night. No more pain. No more tears. Never crying again. And praises to the great "I AM." We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

Download the lesson from Revelation

True or False?

Can you identify a fake? Do you know what to look for when it comes to telling the difference between who is lying and who is speaking the truth? In his short letter to the Jewish Christians, Jude wanted to celebrate their shared salvation and belief in Christ, but found it more urgent to warn them about the threat of false teachers invading the church and how they should respond to them.

Jude's warning was not just for the people of his day, it's a warning for us as well. He wants us to be aware of what these false teachers look like, act like and want to see happen. Many of them are looking to turn us away from God's truth and to embrace their false teaching - also known as apostasy. Jude sought to motivate his readers to wake up from their complacency and take action - and it's his call to us as well!

* Who They Are: Jude 4 describes them as "godless men who have secretly slipped in among you." Their goal is to get Christians to believe that they can do whatever they want without fear of God's punishment. They have made God's grace a license for immorality and make light of God's holiness and justice.  Even today, wome Christians minimize the sinfulness of sin, believing how they live has little to do with their faith.

* What They Do: False teachers's attitudes represent a rebellion toward God's truth and a desire to promote themselves and their beliefs. Jude warns that this only will lead to their own corruption and destruction (v.10b). Their attitudes include pride, selfishness, jealousy, greed, lust for power and control and a disregard for God's will.

* What They Are: False teachers promise much but produce little, like rainless clouds and fruitless trees. Verses 14-16 describe them as ungodly in their acts, their ways and with their words. They are grumblers, complainers and faultfinders following their own lusts. They speak evil of anyone who disagrees with them and their "swelling words" boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

* What We Must Do: The Jewish believers had been warned. They had been told what to look and listen for...and so have we! Jude gives us a plan of action in v. 20-21. 1) Build yourselves up in the faith - know what you believe and why you believe it. 2) Pray consistently in the Spirit of God's will and 3) Keep ourselves in God's love by living close to Him and not listening to false teachers who want to pull us away.

Do these false teachers exist today? Yes! As long as Satan is alive and well, false teachers will threaten the church with error. We must do what we need to do to know the truth! One of the revealing characteristics of a false teacher is his fearless and disrespectful disregard for God's truth and ungodly behavior. They act as if God will not punish them for what they say and do....but the truth is - God always punishes rebellion against Him. Know that genuine servants of God will faithfully point to Christ with their words and actions.

We must be able to tell the difference between true vs. false teaching. As in Jude's day, the false teachers slipped in secretly, not making a big announcement of their arrival, and then slowly started getting people to question God's truth. It's not an option to be complacent. We are to earnestly fight for our faith. You've heard that a frog won't know it's boiling to death when the heat is turned up a little at a time - so we must not let our faith die, one lie at a time.

Knock! Knock! Who's There?

Do you know who's at the door? John warned the believers not to receive false teachers into their homes.  (2 John 10) By doing so, they were approving of what these deceivers were saying and how they were living. (In John's day, these false teachers did not affirm that Jesus actually came in the flesh - that He was only a spirit.) John admonished them to be alert because deceitful people will appear to be saying the right things and will seem sincere and believable. They attract people with their eloquence and likability...so beware!

Do we invite false teachers into our homes today? We may physically allow people of other religions in, in hopes of "converting" them, but we must be careful that we are strong in what we believe and why before we do.  Aside from this, most times, we don't invite deceivers in intentionally. Remember though, they are deceitful. They are doing the work of the enemy and his main weapons are distraction and disillusion. We too must be alert and aware of what/who we are allowing into our homes. One of the easiest ways for deceivers to enter is through our eyes.

What we watch and/or allow to be watched on television is an easy way for deceivers to enter our homes. Are we distracted with false teachers preaching a false "gospel"  even though it sounds alot like what we believe? Are we allowing our children, and even ourselves, to be drawn into the disillusion that success and fame - the Hollywood lifestyle - regardless of its cost, is what they should be dreaming of and pursuing? Soon, the things we watch and the people we admire become idols we can't live without.

What about books and magazines? Are we distracted by the flash and fashion, promises and potions, gossip and glamor that we are disillusioned into believing that everything we read is true? Or are we strong enough in the real Truth, that we can tell the difference? Do our teen age girls (and boys) know the people on the covers of magazines are not "real"? Yet sadly, they are deceived and disillusioned into thinking they must look like them in order to be accepted and loved.

What about computers/phones? The false teachers we allow into our homes through the computer/phone screens are just as deceiving, but easier to hide. We spend more time looking at these screens then we do anything else it seems! We allow them to distract us from the actual people and "real friends" around us. Some become disillusioned and struggle identifying what is real and what is virtual reality. We no longer use the phone to talk to people and the social skills of our children are becoming non-existent.

So do we know who's at our door begging to be let into our home? Are we leaving our doors unlocked and allowing anyone and anything to come in and make themselves comfortable? Have the deceivers become a part of the family that we can't imagine life without them?

We must be aware and alert  - as Peter warns us - because our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (I Peter 5:8). He wants to devour our faith, our family and our future. Do not give him a foothold into your home or a place to settle! (Ephesians  4:27)

Download this week's lesson from 2 & 3 John

It's Spring Cleaning Day!

Is it cleaning day for you today? Are there some things in your own life (attitudes, actions, affiliations) that  need to be removed? Can you see where these things are interferring with your fellowship with God?

John, the only remaining original disciple of Jesus, reminds his readers in I John, about the importance of walking in the light (with God), the benefits of fellowship and the need for cleansing of sin.

In I John 1:7, John writes, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." This verse gives us three ways to stay clean in a spiritually polluted world:

1) By walking in the light. This means striving to be so honest before God and man that you wouldn't be embarassed or ashamed to have anyone read in tomorrow's newspaper , what you did today! Walking in the light means following what is good, pure, holy, right and true = folllowing God! Who or what are you following today? Is it leading you to closer fellowship with God or in the opposite direction?

2) By being accountable. To grow strong in an area of weakness, sometimes you need someone mature enough to deserve your confidence, gracious enough to put up with your inconsistencies and honest enough to confront you. Above all, they should be commited to you  in love. Who we fellowship with should make our walk with God stronger. Do you have such a person in your life? Are you this person for someone else?


3) By dealing with your sin right away. The moment that you recognize you have sinned, should be the moment that leads you to confession. You must believe that Christ's blood cleanses us from all sin and that according to I John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrightesousness." Confess today - then get up and continue your walk with God.
 
If there's something rotten in your refrigerator you know it every time you open the door. You may not know exactly where it is, but the smell tells you it's in there. Our lives are like that. If there's something wrong within us, those we come into contact with are going to sense it. It gives off an "odor" that's detectable. That's why we must continually open ourselves to God and allow His Spirit to cleanse our hearts and remove whatever is hindering our walk with Him.
 
What are you going to clean out of your heart and life today? An action that you'd be ashamed of if it were on the front page of the paper? A weakness that continues to overtake your best intentions to change because you are trying to do it all on your own? Unconfessed sin that will continue to rot and cause others to sense somthing is wrong, even if you're doing your best to cover it up?
 
Make today a cleaning day that will leave you not only clean on the inside but shining bright on the outside :)
 
Download this week's lesson from I John