Today marks the end of the looooonnnnngggg reading of Job in the One Year Bible. My conclusions:
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
You think you have it tough? Consider the apostle Paul. According to his own account in 2 Cor 11:24-28, he had received 39 lashes five times, survived three shipwrecks, and encountered all sorts of dangers and trouble in travelling about the world telling people about Jesus. On top of that, he’s getting old and becoming more and more aware of his mortality. He knows that if shipwrecks and beatings don’t kill him, time eventually will. Nevertheless, he was still able to enjoy the hopeful perspective recounted above. Amazing! How was he able to do it? Simple. He was able to maintain a long distance perspective. He was able to focus on the promises of God beyond this life, and not be distracted by the trials of his day to day life.
I bet you do have it tough. We all do. Underneath the “I’m fine” face we put on in public most folks I meet have a laundry list of troubles; troubles that distract us from the hope we have in Jesus. Follow Paul’s advice. Fix your gaze on things that cannot be seen. The troubles you experience today will soon be gone, but persevering them in faith will result in a glory that is far greater than our troubles – a glory that will last forever.
12/1 Readings from the One Year Bible Online
Happy December friends!
At FaithPoint, the church I serve as pastor, we have a Vision Statement that reads as follows:
Our Vision
Real People, Real Life, Real Faith
“To be a church where real people can experience real life with God and discover a real and vital life-changing faith in Jesus Christ.”
The reading from 1 John 2 today speaks clearly about the third leg of the that vision:
3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
A “real and vital life changing faith in Jesus Christ” is one that is obedient. It is a faith that KNOWs God’s commands, and lives them out. A proclamation of faith without an obedient life to back it up is a false proclamation, it is a lie.
Of course, obedience to God means knowing what God expects. So, what does God expect? The long answer is, “Read the Bible and find out.” Fortunately, John goes on to provide an abridged and concise summary:
7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister,[a] that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves another brother or sister[b] is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
Thank God for short answers. Few of us have time to study the Bible in it’s entirety in order to have the full depth and breadth of its truths at our disposal as we go about making real-time decisions in the living out of our lives. John makes it both clear and simple: Love one another. If you have any questions about what that looks like, John says look to Jesus, who lived that commandment out perfectly. Is there room for hate in the lives of the faithful? John makes it clear: absolutely not!
But what if I do hate those in the church? What if I do drop the ball when it comes to loving others? What if I don’t live it out perfectly like Jesus did? John gives us hope:
1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
We have an advocate – a God appointed attourney to represent us in the highest court in all creation. An advocate who has already satisfied whatever judgment might be brought against us.
So friends, I reiterate what John said so long ago. Do your best to live the life of faith you have been called to: a life of loving one another as Jesus loved us. And remember, when you fail to live up to his standards, he stands befor the Father on your behalf, so don’t stay down in shame, but get back up and try again!