Devotionary

This is the final episode on 1 John chapter one, verse 5 through chapter two, verse 2. It is called “Jesus Christ, the Righteous” and will take a look at John’s powerful description of Jesus as our advocate or intercessor in heaven. He not only died for us, He currently represents us in the throne room of God, His life a constant reminder to God the Father that our sins have been paid for in full. We no longer face any threat of judgment for our sins – past, present or future. In fact, Paul would have us remember, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 ESV). All because we have been given the righteousness of Christ. He took on our sins and their penalty. We took on His righteousness. It is what is often called The Great Exchange. And while we still harbor a sin nature and must crucify the flesh on a daily basis, we can do so in the power of the Spirit and with the assurance that any sins we commit are paid for and fully forgiven when confessed.  

This is our fifth episode on 1 John chapter one, verse five, through chapter two, verse two. This episode is entitled, “Godly Fellowship” and addresses John’s emphasis on our need for ongoing and uninterrupted fellowship with God and His Son. It is our fellowship with God and Jesus that makes possible godly fellowship with other believers. As we live in the light, we are able to reflect that light on to others. It was the apostle Paul who said, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV). It is impossible to spend time in the light of God’s presence and not have His glory reflect on to those around us. We end up being transformed into the likeness of Christ and bearing His characteristics in the form of the fruit of the Spirit. Fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, is essential to our ability to live in unity with others.

This is our fourth episode on 1 John chapter one, verse five, through chapter two, verse two. This episode is entitled, “The Danger of Deception” and deals with three very dangerous perceptions that lurked in the church to which John wrote. They each involve sin and our outlook regarding it. There are those who deny its very existence and, as a result, deny their need for salvation. They believe sin is simply a figment of man’s imagination or a throw-back to less enlightened times in man’s long history. Sin is nothing more than the natural outcome of a lack of education or opportunities. It’s merely a byproduct of man’s environment. Then there are those who acknowledge the reality of sin, but who deny their guilt when it gets exposed in their lives. They simply refuse to admit they did something wrong. But there is a third group John addresses. These individuals claimed to be walking in the light, but their behavior revealed something altogether different. Their lives were characterized by darkness, not light

Today, we continue our look at 1 John chapter one, verse five, through chapter two, verse two. Today’s episode is entitled, “To Sin or Not to Sin” because in these verses John is going to address the ever-present reality of sin in the life of the believer. While we have been freed from the penalty for our sin, we have not had the presence of sin eradicated from our lives. We still harbor our sin nature and must daily battle with its presence and its desire to fulfill what Paul calls the desires of the flesh. But John is going to make it perfectly plain that, as believers, we no longer have to sin. We have an option. Because we now have the Holy Spirit of God residing within us, empowering us to resist the pervading influence of the flesh. We can say no to sin and yes to righteousness. It is a daily choice, a minute-by-minute decision. And John will remind us that when we do sin, because we will, we don’t have to despair, we simply need to confess our sin and receive God’s forgiveness – paid for by the death o

This is our second episode on 1 John chapter one, verse five, through chapter two, verse two. Today’s episode is entitled, “If we say…” and in it we are going to take a close look at what John had to say to those who denied their need for a Savior. For some, it showed up in their unbelievable denial of even having a sin nature. Others simply said they were not guilty of sin. But in either case, John had strong words for them. They were liars and living in a fantasy world. We can say what we want about sin. We can deny its existence. We can refuse to admit we commit sin. We can try and diminish the gravity of the sins we do commit. But our opinion is not the one that matters. It’s not what we say. It’s what God has said. And He has made it quite clear that ALL have sinned. Not some. All. And the penalty for sin is death. But the good news is, there’s a way of escape. There’s a means by which we can have our sin debt wipe clean and our penalty taken care of. Once and for all.

With this episode, we move into the next section of John’s letter. For the next few weeks we will be camping in 1 John chapter one, verse five, through chapter two, verse two. Today’s episode is entitled, “Light in the Darkness” and will describe not only the coming of Christ as the light of the world, but the transformative power of that light to change the way we live our lives. John will use the contrasting images of light and dark to help us understand the dramatic nature of the change that Jesus’ coming into the world was meant to produce. There are no gray areas with Jesus. He’s not a dim light that barely makes a dent in the darkness. He is the all-powerful light of God that permeates and penetrates, not only illuminating, but eliminating the sin that darkens the lives of mankind. But as John will make painfully clear, there are still those who prefer living in the dark. They hate having their sins exposed and find comfort in the hiddenness that comes with living in darkness. And when we as believers c

This is our final episode in the first four verses of 1 John chapter one. I’ve entitled this episode “God Made Visible” and it will continue our look at the divinity and humanity of Christ. John is adamant about establishing the veracity of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God come in human flesh. There is no doubt that this claim is difficult to get your head around. It sounds unbelievable, if not preposterous. And, as in John’s day, there are still many who find it difficult to swallow the idea of God becoming a man and living among us. That God would use a human being as His spokesperson or as an example of righteous living is a whole lot more believable. But, according to John and the other apostles, that is not what God did. He sent His Son. Jesus, the second member of the Trinity, appeared as a man and made God visible. He walked among men. He knew what it was like to suffer from hunger, grow tired, be tempted, cry, face rejection, and eventually die. And He did it all without committing a single sin. Unbe

For today’s episode we remain in 1 John chapter one, verses 1-4. I’ve entitled this episode “Christ, the Eternal Life” but it has to do with far more than just our future existence in heaven. Far too often, we equate eternal life with eternity. And while that is the ultimate outcome of our faith, Jesus came that we might have abundant life, here and now. Our eternal life does not begin at death or when the Lord returns. It began when we placed our faith in Christ as our Savior. And John wants to point out that Jesus is not just the way to eternal life, He is the eternal life. Jesus even said of Himself, I am the way, and the truth and the life” (John 14:6 ESV). Jesus is the very essence of life. It is only through Him that we can have life – including abundant life here and eternal life in the future. Eternal life is far more than a guarantee of heaven. It is about a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ, His Son. John wanted his readers to know that their eternal life began at salvation, beca

Today’s episode is entitled “The Incarnation” and is based on the first four verses of 1 John chapter 1. We have chosen to remain in these opening verses because there is a lot of rich content packed into what seems to be a short section of Paul’s letter. The incarnation, or Jesus’ taking on of human flesh, is an essential doctrine of the church. For Paul, it was non-negotiable and critical in terms of the entire gospel message. Had Jesus not become a man and lived a sinless life, He would not have been the proper sacrifice to pay for the sins of mankind. His divinity and humanity were both necessary. He was the God-Man, who was fully capable of living in complete dependence upon God, obeying all His commands and, therefore, accomplishing what no other human being had been able to do. It was His perfect obedience and sinless life that qualified Him to be the unblemished lamb, chosen by God to die in the place of sinful men and women. To refuse Christ’s deity is to deny the gospel. And Paul knew that salvation

In today’s episode, we’ll remain in the first four verses of 1 John 1. This episode is entitled “Something Worth Proclaiming” because John is going to address that passion he shared with the other disciples for sharing the good news regarding Jesus Christ, the Word of Life. John’s desire was that others would come a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Savior and enjoy not only fellowship with God the Father, but with the rest of the body of Christ. For John, the real heart of the matter was the non-negotiable nature of Christ’s incarnation. In other words, the gospel was completely dependent upon the reality that Jesus, the Son of God, had taken on human flesh and lived among us as a man – but without sin. Jesus wasn’t just another man. He wasn’t merely a good teacher with some powerful moral truths to share. He was the very Son of God and, therefore, God Himself. And not only that, Jesus was, by His own self-admission, the only means by which men could be restored to a right relationship with God. And

In this opening episode, we are going to focus our attention on one particular subject: The Word of Life. John opens his letter by referring to “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life…”.  And he will go on to talk about this word of life being made manifest or made known, and how he had been one of those who had been privileged to get a first-hand, up-close-and-personal glimpse of this “life”. Of course, we know John is referring to Jesus, but we sometimes lose sight of the fact that John calls Jesus the “eternal life.” He is not just the source of eternal life, He is, in fact, eternal life itself. It was His life that made eternal life possible. It was His willing, sacrificial death on the cross that made forgiveness of sins and a restored relationship with God the Father achievable. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. And that event brought about a revolutionary change in mankind’s relationship wi

While the letter of First John is relatively short in length, it is anything but short on depth. Just five chapters long, it is one of the most theologically rich books in the entire New Testament. And for that reason, we are going to take our time working our way through it. While this is not intended to be a verse by verse study, you will find that we are going to spend a bit more time digging into each chapter, so that we can better understand all that John is trying to say.

With today’s episode, we’ll be wrapping up our study of Second Timothy. I’ve entitled this episode, “A Final Word of Warning” because, in it, we will see that Paul closes out his letter to Timothy with some strong words of encouragement and admonition. He wanted Timothy to run the race well and to finish strong. Paul knew that the days ahead would be difficult for his young protégé, and that he would need to remain committed to the cause of Christ, no matter how bumpy the road may become. The role Timothy had to play was multifaceted, requiring compassion as well as tough love. Timothy would need to preach the Word to those who would listen, but also rebuke those who refused to accept it. The temptation would be to sugar coat the truth and to alter the message to make it more acceptable. The lure of popularity is always a real threat to any pastor/teacher. But you don’t build a strong church by building a large following. You don’t grow believers by growing your reputation.

In the second half of chapter three, Paul gives Timothy a lecture on the primacy of Scripture and provides an unapologetic testimony to his own faithfulness to the Word. For Paul, the Old Testament Scriptures were not just important, they were essential to understanding the incredible nature of Jesus Christ’s coming. As a former Pharisee, Paul was a student of the Hebrew Scriptures and was equipped to see in them the incredible fulfillments of prophecy brought about by Jesus’ coming, His death and resurrection. These were not the writings of men, but the words of God Himself. And as such, they were powerful and profitable. The Scriptures were key to living the godly life. Without them, men were left to their own devices. Even with them, men were prone to misinterpret them or provide God’s Word with meanings He never intended. Treating God’s Word as just that – His word, was a non-negotiable requirement if Timothy wanted to be complete, equipped for every good work.

As Paul goes deeper into his letter to Timothy, the urgency of his message can be tangibly felt. He warns Timothy about a pseudo-godliness that will mark the last days – the days in which he lived and in which we still exist today. We live more than 2,000 years after these words were written, but they are as applicable now as they were the day Paul penned them. While the world has enjoyed much in the way of technological, medical and scientific advances, our moral trajectory has been anything but upward. Mankind’s love affair with sin is evident all around us. And while religion still plays a significant role in our day and age, it has done little to change the ethical and moral decline of society. In many cases, it has been a key contributor to the problem. Money, materialism, pleasure and self-determination are the gods of our age – just as they were in Timothy’s day. And while our goal remains godliness, it is no easier to achieve now than it was then.

Today’s episode is entitled, “Ready, Willing and Faithful” because it deals with Paul’s continued charge to Timothy to stay committed to his calling and faithful to the gospel message. We’ll be looking at chapter two, verses 15-26. In these verses, Paul will challenge Timothy to live a fearless and faith-filled life that is focused on the pursuit of righteousness. He is to make sure he doesn’t repeat the mistakes of Hymenaeus and Philetus, two individuals whom Paul accused of swerving from the truth. Their false doctrines, preached as truth, were having a devastating impact on the local church. Disagreements, quarrels, false teaching, and all kinds of other problems were a reality in the church located in Ephesus. And as a leader, Timothy had the undeniable and sometimes unpleasant responsibility of dealing with these potentially deadly controversies. And through it all, Timothy needed to stay above the fray, not allowing himself to be contaminated or distracted from his role as a shepherd.

In today’s episode we’ll be in chapter two, verses 1-14. In this section of his letter, Paul will attempt to pass the mantle of leadership to Timothy, encouraging his young protégé to stand firm in his faith and to serve the cause of Christ like a good soldier. He continues to prepare Timothy for the difficult days ahead by recalling his own suffering and that of Christ. Jesus was the God-man, the Son of God who took on human flesh and suffered an agonizing death at the hands of men. All so that the sins of men might be atoned for and that some might enjoy a restored relationship with God the Father by placing their faith in His Son’s sacrificial death on the cross. Paul wanted Timothy to never forget the reality of the resurrection, because it is in that fact all our hope is based. Jesus died, only to rise again. And we too, will one day rise again to new life, sinless and free from the effects of death – forever.

In this opening episode on Paul’s second letter to Timothy, we’ll be looking at chapter one, in which Paul will emphasize the faithfulness of God. And he will call Timothy to remain faithful to his calling and committed to his job as a minister of the Word of God. Paul knew that Timothy was under a great deal of pressure, facing opponents to his ministry and spiritual forces that would want to destroy all that God was doing in Ephesus where Timothy was ministering. The temptation to give in or give up would be great. Suffering wasn’t just a possibility for Timothy, it was an inevitable reality – a fact that Paul knew all too well. So in this opening portion of his letter to Timothy, Paul will go out of his way to stress God’s incredible faithfulness and encourage Timothy to respond with a determination to remain faithful to his God and his commission as a minister of the gospel.

Today marks the end of our study in the letter of First Timothy. We will wrap up with chapter six, verses 11-21. Paul closes out his letter with some last words of warning and encouragement to his young protégé. His overwhelming desire for Timothy is that he pursue godliness and righteousness at all costs. That he fight the good fight of faith and finish strong. He knows that Timothy is going to face difficult days ahead. It came with the role of pastor/teacher/shepherd. This young man was in for his fair share of headaches and heartaches, failures and setbacks. Temptations would come his way. He would have moments when he wanted to give up. He would face days when he felt like a failure. There would be deserters and detractors, false teachers and fake followers. But Timothy was to remain faithful to His charge and complete reliant upon the Spirit of God to accomplish will of God to which he had been called.

Today, as we move into chapter six of 1 Timothy, we’ll be looking at verses 1-10, where Paul is going to address the idea of godly contentment and how it relates to true godliness. To make his point, Paul will address three specific groups within the local church, giving them insights into how they were to live their lives within the local context of the body of Christ. Each was radically different from the other, but they each shared a common power to influence the church in a negative way. The antidote to becoming a cancer within the local body of church was to pursue godliness, at all costs. Seeking a change in your less-than-ideal circumstances in the hopes that it produces more joy is misguided and will prove disappointing. Chasing after money and material things in order to find contentment and happiness will never produce the results you’re looking for. And teaching a form of truth other than that revealed by God through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, will always be revealed for exactly w