God is at work here in the lives of His people. I am excited to arrive at 1 John 5. Here is what we’ll be talking about on Sunday:
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
(1 John 5:1-5 ESV)
The first 5 verses take some thought to see the connections John (and the Holy Spirit) were making. But when these connections are perceived, wow, does the light come on! In my reflection, I was reading a commentary and the following stood out:
“So God calls us to a life of faith, demonstrated by love for him and for one another, by obedience to his commands and by victory over the world. As we exercise that faith, we find that it works. God keeps his promises, and fulfills his Word. As we believe that when God says ‘Do this’, or ‘Not that’, he knows what is best for us, we do what he says, trust him with the consequences and prove him to be true. When we are living that way, the world cannot trap or deceive us. This sort of faith is the only way to victory. When we think carefully about them, at root all our defeats are failure of faith; failures to trust or obey, or both. The potential, God’s dynamic, is always on supply. What faith does is to connect my situation to God’s resources, rather like plugging my electrical machinery into the power circuit. Only then will the light of God’s truth overcome the darkness of this world’s lies, and the warmth of God’s love expel the coldness of this world’s self-centeredness.” (David Jackman, The Message of John’s Letters, p. 144)
Can’t wait for Sunday!
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