I John 4:1-6  The Light has shone into the darkness and revealed sin.. the truth that was in the shadows.. that we love less... and in effect that it is hatred that is in our hearts.  The Light, Jesus Christ, reveals and exposes this and waits to see if we will deny it or confess it.  And when we acknowledge it and confess it.. He forgives completely! He cleanses us perfectly!

Jesus calls us to abide in the Light, in the Truth, in Him.  To abide and to love... to love Him and to love one another.  He gives us His Spirit to abide within us, to help us, to light the way, to counsel us, to fill us with His love that overcomes the hate.

Chapter 4 begins with another vital truth that we need to see in His Light.  There are spirits that are false.. spirits of antichrist.. spirits of error, from the world.  We need to "test the spirits" John tells us.
We need to discern. We need to listen carefully to what men say... to distinguish what is from God and what is not.
Jeremiah 29:8 "For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. "
Paul lists the gift of "distinguishing of spirits" in I Corinthians 12:10 and tells us in I Thessalonians 5:20-21 to " not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good. "
John gives us the precise test to apply to every "spirit"; every principle, every breath; every prophecy spoken.  "By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; ..." ( v2-3)

Twice in this passage John reminds us " You are from God" . 
Since we are His, "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." (v4)
We can overcome the spiritual deceptions because He gives us the ability to discern "the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." ( v6)

It all depends on the fellowship that we have with the Father and the Son.  It depends on us abiding in the Light that Jesus has given us. Here is truth. Here is life.

Father, abide in us!  Fill us with Your Spirit and keep us from the evil one.  Let our minds and hearts be filled with truth, with Jesus Christ who came in the flesh and who has brought us into fellowship with You. Give us discernment.  May we not listen to the dreams and lies of the world. Thank You for delivering us out of the darkness and into the marvelous Light, the Light of Jesus.  Blessed be Your Name in all the earth. Amen.

Constantly abiding. Jesus is mine.
Constantly abiding, rapture divine; 
He never leaves me lonely,
whispers oh, so kind
"I will never leave thee,"
Jesus is mine. 
( Anne S. Murphy 1942)

I John 3

Psalm 145: 11-12 " They shall speak of the  glory of the kingdom, and talk of Thy power; to make known to the sons of men Thy mighty acts, and the glory of the majesty of Thy kingdom."   The kingdom of God - is everlasting and His dominion endures to all generations.. ( verse13).

We are currently caught up in the political debates of our country that focus on our new president's agenda, which is quite different than our former president's agenda.  But, the agenda that really counts is the One that belongs to the King of Glory.  As I was thinking about that a few days ago, it occurred to me that His agenda has always been summed up in one word - Love.
The greatest commandment.. in His kingdom,  to accomplish His agenda, is to love the Lord with all our hearts , souls, minds, and strength .
The second, is to love our neighbors like ourselves.

John's message continues to focus on this Kingdom agenda.
The Light has shone to reveal this truth - the glory of the majesty of God's kingdom is love - love for the Father, who has bestowed His love on us and called us His children; and love for each other - in fellowship.. in communion.. in koinonia.

The world does not "know" this... this love..  it can't comprehend it, can't receive it, can't understand it.. or us, "because it did not know Him." ( v1)
But, we do.  We are not perfect yet... but we have the hope that is fixed on Him.. and there will be a day when we will see Him perfectly and be "like Him" .. and this hope "purifies" us. ( v2-3)

 A life based on this Truth and drawn into this love partnership is one that has recognized the sin and lawlessness in his own heart, and has come to know that Jesus "appeared in order to take away sins." 
In His kingdom, we abide in Him, we fellowship with Him, we partner with the One who has NO sin.  He is righteous  and brings us into His righteousness.  He changes our practices... from sinful living that started with the devil, into righteous living which is most obvious by the presence of love. 

John says that the "children of the devil" are obvious - by their unrighteousness and their lack of love.
They are like Cain.. who hated his brother and killed him. In God's sight hatred equals murder.
Hate - misos.. to detest.. to love less. ...
It goes further than just not being tolerant or despising someone... for John continues, " But, whoever has the world's goods and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in Him?" 

God's definition of love, this love that is His topmost priority on His kingdom agenda is revealed, brought to light, and displayed in the flesh is this, " We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." ( v16)
Love like this comes only in the abiding.. in the partnership and communion with the Father and the Son.  We must have His love.. abiding in us.  Anything less that this.. is misos.. hate.

In Christ, we can go beyond loving with words and tongues, to loving in "deed and truth."  We will find assurance in our hearts and confidence before God when we live this way.  We will pray and receive, we will obey His commands and please Him by doing the deeds of love in truth.  He commands us to" believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another.. "  This is abiding.. this is love.  This is His agenda for each of us individually and for His church altogether.

Father in heaven, great Father of Lights, I am Your child and I worship You. I want to abide in You and I desire that You abide in me. Take my heart and mind and will.. and make it Your own.  Forgive my lack of love.. my misos... and fill me with Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love, that I might fully love as You do.  Cut away... prune.. the dead pieces of this branch, so that I might bear fruit.. much fruit to the glory of the Vine and the Vinedresser.  I need You, Lord.  Come and breath on me once again.  I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ my Master. amen.

I John 2  John writes... shining the light into the darkness, to reveal the Truth.  He exposes the sin that hides in the shadows of every heart.  Don't be fooled, he warns us... don't deceive yourself that you're ok, that you haven't sinned.  Instead, confess it.. acknowledge it.. for we have One who forgives and cleanses and makes righteous.

Jesus Christ.. our "Advocate with the Father" - the intercessor, the paracletos.  The consoler.
Jesus Christ the "propitiation for our sins" - the atonement, the expiator who pays the penalty.

It is in knowing Him and abiding in Him, that Life is manifested... brought out of the shadows and into the true light.
When we know Him, John says, then we will "keep His commandments" and we will "walk in the same manner as He walked."  We will be in "fellowship" with the Father and the Son.  We will be in communion with them. We will communicate with them.  We will partner with them.  We will share with them.

Light will expose the sin in this fellowship... and the biggest, baddest, deadliest sin that it will expose is hatred.
Hatred hides in the shadows.
Hatred causes stumbling.
Hatred causes blindness.
But, the Light comes and shines and tells us again and again, " your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake."!  Your hatred is forgiven you.. for His name's  sake.
When you come to know Him, you will overcome evil. You will overcome hatred.
Stay strong and keep overcoming... by keeping fellowship with the Father and the Son.

Abide in God, not in the world.. John counsels us.
The world is "passing away".  It is temporary.
So don't waste your time lusting after what is flesh.
Don't get sucked into those things that tempt your eyes.
Don't fall into the trap of pride.
Those things are the same tricks that the devil has used since the beginning .
By the Holy Spirit, we can know the Truth that is found in Jesus Christ and keep in partnership with Him.

There are those who are "antichrists" who deny Jesus and deny God.
They are pretenders.
They are liars.
They try to deceive the children of God.
But, we have no need to fall into their traps.  We have the Holy Spirit so that we can discern the Truth. We do not need to shrink back. We are secure in His righteousness.

Oh, what great love!  What amazing grace!

Father, O Holy and Glorious God who shines Your light into our darkness and reveals all truth, how we praise You. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see Your glory, Your Truth, and your Love.  Come fill us again with Your Spirit and abide with us.  We ask this in the Name of Jesus our Advocate. Amen.

I John 1

John spent time at the feet of Jesus.  He knew Him in a way that we can only imagine.  His testimony begins with this, " what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled...."  

John and his fellow disciples walked with Jesus on dusty roads and grassy hills.  They heard His stories and His prayers.  They saw the miracles.. of bread, multiplied in their own hands; of lepers being made spotless; of a withered hand restored to normal use... They touched the hand of Jesus and felt the nail prints with their own fingers.  They saw and felt and heard.. and now they proclaim, "the Word of Life". 

Jesus was and is Life - "manifested to us".  Eternal life. He who was "with the Father" was made known, rendered apparent; openly revealed; to mankind. The Greek word for manifested is phaneroo, from the base word phaino - to lighten or shine.   The Invisible was made visible. The Immortal was made human.  He who is Light, came to shine in the darkness.  Life is revealed in Light.

This is the essence of John's message.. " God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all." 
Light - phos.. to shine; to make manifest; luminousness. Light makes known... reveals.. manifests.  It makes apparent what is already there... although it may have once been hidden in the darkness.  Darkness - skotos - shadiness; obscurity;  shadow... absence of light.

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness ( in the shadows.. in the absence of light), we lie and do not practice the truth."

The Truth is that Jesus is Light.
The Truth is that none of us is without sin.  " If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 
The Truth is that  " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
The Truth is that if we say we are not sinners, we are the liars, not God.

John writes "so that our joy may be made complete."  He writes so that the Truth, which was personally  made known to him, could be also made apparent to us.  Life, real life, is obscured  by darkness.. and is only made known when the Light comes to chase away every shadow. That Truth is absolute and complete joy!

Father in heaven, how we thank You for the gift of Light, in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Thank You that He came to cleanse us from all sin, by the shedding of His blood.  Let Your Light shine on us and flow over us, chasing away every shadow, that we might walk in the Light as He is in the Light. Forgive us our sins. Purify our hearts. Help us to have fellowship with one another in truth and in love. Help us to obey Your Word with whole hearts.  Thank You. Amen.

Psalm 147-150  This hymn book of sacred songs comes to a beautiful crescendo with these words of praise to the Lord, our God.

Psalm 147 continues the unending list of His great grace towards mankind.  We praise Him because He:
Gathers outcasts.
Heals the brokenhearted.
Binds up our wounds.
and He numbers the stars and calls them by name.

Our great God is "abundant in strength ". 
He has infinite understanding.
He sees and cares for the afflicted.
He tackles the wicked.

Our God "provides rain for the earth."
He makes grass grow.
He feeds the animals. Even the ravens.
He isn't impressed with the strength of a horse or a man...
But, He "favors those who fear Him."

God strengthens ...
He blesses...
He makes peace.
He satisfies.
He commands nature... the snow is His, the wind is His.

Psalm 148 is a call for all of creation to praise the Lord.  Everything from the highest heavens to the lowest depth of the sea.  Everyone from the angels in glory to the child in your arms...
"For HIs name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven."

Psalm 149 shows us how to praise Him...
With new songs..
With congregations.
With dancing.
With instruments.
With joy and gladness...
 Sing praises everywhere and always.. "For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation." 

Psalm 150 Praise to the Lord comes from hearts that recognize His "excellent greatness".  The final note rings out with clear beauty and majesty.. " Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" 

Father,  You are great, with unsearchable, boundless greatness.  You are gracious and compassionate, You are powerful and awesome.  We praise You with our every breath..  even as You give us breath.  Praise the Lord!  You have healed our broken hearts.  You have set us free from sin, death, and the devil.  You have given us salvation through Jesus Christ the Lord.  You have brought us near to Yourself.  You have forgiven us and cleansed us and made us righteous by the blood of the Lamb.  We exalt You and bless Your name. You are worthy of our highest praise.  Praise the Lord! Amen.

Psalm 146

Psalm 145 exhorts us to "declare His mighty acts"(v4);  meditate on His " wonderful works"(v5);  speak of His "awesome acts"(v6) ; and "make known... [His] mighty acts" ( v12). Verses14-20 then tell us of what He does...  and this Psalm continues to proclaim His praise:

To this God, who is our Hope, we give praise with all our soul, because:

He "made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them;" v6
He "keeps faith forever".
He "executes justice for the oppressed" v7
He gives "food to the hungry".
He "sets the prisoners free." 
He "opens the eyes of the blind" v8
He "raises up those who are bowed down"
He "loves the righteous".
He "protects the strangers." v9
He "supports the fatherless and the widow". 
He "thwarts the way of the wicked".

He "will reign forever". v10

In Charles Spurgeon's book, The Fullness of Joy,  he writes a chapter titled "Marvelous Things".  The verses he cites are Psalm 98:1-2 " O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things; his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. The Lord hath made known his salvation; his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen."  Spurgeon expounds on what is marvelous about what the Lord has done:
The marvelous things:
Christ overcame sin... the guilt of it and the power of it!
He overcame death. "... He has gone up into glory and left heaven's gate wide open to all believers".
He overcame Satan.
"Therefore, dearly beloved in Christ, this is the joyous news we have to bring sinners; sin and death and the Devil have all been vanquished by the great Captain of our salvation."
The marvelous ways:
Christ did this alone... He did it all. We can "throw [our] weight entirely upon Him"
He did it "so wisely".   "The design of salvation is the very perfection of wisdom, because all the attributes of God are equally glorified in it"  Mercy and justice both completely fulfilled in Christ!
"The hand that was pierced by the nails conquered sin; the hand that was fastened to the wood has fastened up the accusation that was written against us; the hand that bled has brought salvation to us, so that we are Christ's forever. Infinite wisdom shone through in our Lord's conquest of sin and death and the Devil."
He did it with absolute holiness.
He did it with perfect, amazing, unbiased grace.
The marvelous revelation:
" It is truly marvelous that the Holy Spirit, who is equally God with the Father and the Son, should come and reside in these bodies of ours and make them His temple."
We could not know Him any other way..

We come again and again to the Word  of God, to remember, to declare, to sing, and to praise His marvelous works! It is like daily bread.. manna from heaven... life giving.  To meditate and rejoice in His unfathomable greatness and unmeasurable love for us should lead us into songs of praise.
"Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!  I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." ( Psalm 146:1-2)
Amen.

Psalm 145... my favorite..   I memorized this psalm a few years ago and recited it in my head so often, meditating on all the truths found in it.. learning how to praise and bless and extol my Lord and King.  Unfortunately, my aging mind has betrayed me a bit, and I forget parts... but I want to learn it again.

Here are some things to think upon from this psalm:

To "bless" the Lord's name is to speak well of Him and to honor Him with our words.
To praise Him every day forever and ever will bless Him!
The Lord is great... His greatness is "unsearchable" - unfathomable; beyond what we can know.. Yes, He is worthy of the highest praise.
Each generation needs to.. NEEDS TO.. praise the works of God and declare His mighty acts to the next.
Each of us needs to meditate on His wonders and on His majesty.. and on His glorious splendor.
We need to speak.. we need to tell... we need to utter eagerly.. we need to shout joyfully... these truths about our God:
He is awesome!
He is great!
He is righteous!
He is gracious and merciful!
 He is slow to anger and great in lovingkindness!
He is good to all!
 He is compassionate about His creation!

We need to give Him thanks!
We need to talk about His kingdom.
We need to talk about His power.
We need to "make known" His works, His wonders, His everlasting kingdom.

It is the Lord who holds up those who are falling.
It is the Lord who raises up the humble.
It is the Lord who provides food for every creature.
It is the Lord who satisfies us.
It is the Lord who, in kindness and righteousness, is near when we call.
It it the Lord who hears us, saves us, keeps us, and loves us.
It is the Lord who justly deals with the wicked.

Yes, I will open my mouth to praise Him and to lead others to bless His Name forever!

Amen!