To get Hoff of my back ... I've decided to break my posting silence.

I'll even start where I left off ... but you'll need to read this post from the bottom up ...

October 8 1 Peter 1
The roles of the Trinity are seen here: "God the Father chose you long ago, and the Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Jesus Christ and are cleansed by his blood." (2) The Father is the team owner (calling the shots and organizing his team), the Son is manager (who is cleaning up our stink and serving our every need by sacrificing himself and being the perfect offering for us) and the Spirit is the coach (making us ready for great plays in the big games - making us HOLY). Sorry ... I'm watching Sportscenter and Monday Night Football.

vv7-8 speak of trials ... the purpose is found in this "So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." How does my faith respond to trials?

The call is clear in this chapter ... we are to be HOLY PEOPLE. It's not an option! It's the desire and hope of God that His children look and act like Him ... we are to resemble our Heavenly Father and be HOLY PEOPLE.


October 5 3 John
"I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children live in the truth." (4) I ECHO JOHN'S THOUGHTS ABOUT MY OWN KIDS!

"I sent a brief letter to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, does not acknowledge our authority." (9) Do you hear John's tone in that italics I placed here? That hit me between the eyes. I love to be the leader, too. I should really keep that in better perspective. Who has the final "authority" in my life? Am I living in a way that demonstrates that authority?


October 4 2 John
I get the picture in this letter that the church is established and has entered into another generation. The command to love is no longer new ... it's what we've had from the beginning. Once again we hear that loving God = obeying his commands.

I hear in this letter, too, that we can lose fellowship with God. John speaks of "wandering away" from this teaching. Wandering conjures pictures of not taking good care of the Truth, of not being diligent and consistent in the faith, etc. Can we wander away? Yes.


October 3 1 John 5
"For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory." (4) My mind wonders: victory over what? Evil? Life? Big picture or little picture?

Confused? "And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God." (20)


October 2 1 John 4
(1) false prophets are everywhere in our world today. I was listening to Joel Olsteen (sp) on TV Sunday night and just thinking ... is this guy for real? Now I think he is being used by God but I also think (in hearing a very limited amount of his sermons) that he is another example of leading people into this thinking that a life in God is going to lead in worldly good. Friends, that can't be further from the real truth. A life in Christ will be the best thing ever - but not necessarily in this world and definitely not by this world's standards.

How will the world know we are legit and the Spirit lives in us? "But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us." (12)


October 1 1 John 3
"See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!" (1) Remember our heaven discuss above? "... and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is." (2) This tells me there are questions even in John's mind about what entering Heaven will involve and what it will be like. Those questions will be blown away in an instant when our eyes will see the Truth in the flesh. That gets me excited!

John speaks often of "not sinning." "So if we continue to live in him, we won't sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known Him or understood who he is." How do we stop sinning? There's a great debate about whether or not this is possible.

Dr. John Seaman spoke on Sunday (10-7) and clarified some of this for us at High Pointe: sin enters into our life when we willfully tell God "no." His example was great when he allowed his actions to get out of hand and treat someone else very poorly. Once the Lord showed him that those actions were not becoming a disciple, he promptly went and made that right - by apologizing and seeking forgiveness to everyone involved - the one he wronged and to those he wronged in front of. Now the point was this: his actions were not sin (regrettable and wrong no doubt) but because he responded to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they were not sin. They would have become sin in his life had the Holy Spirit revealed that to him and he did nothing about it. I'm not doing the illustration justice. Bottom line: are you obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life - by making things right between you and another; by seeking forgiveness; by being aware of your actions and filtering them through the lens of righteousness??? That is how the CHILDREN OF GOD will live!

MEMORIZE THIS: "Dear Children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions." (18)


Sept 28 1 John 2
Remember that confidence issue earlier? "And how do we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments." (3) My good friend Mike is compiling a list of all the commandments that Jesus spoke of during his ministry as recorded in the Gospels ... that would be a great list to contemplate ... can't wait to see it.

Key words for me in this line of thinking ... grace, surrender, obedience, love, confidence, power

For those who think they worship the same God as me and who want to deny the DIETY of Christ ... "Anyone who denies the Son doesn't have the Father either. But anyone who confesses the Son has the Father also." (23)


Sept 27 1 John 1
In college, I had to translate this book from greek to english. I was terrible at it ... I still don't enjoy greek ... not one part of it ... other than I appreciate how perfectly deep and powerful it is ...

"We are writing these things so that our joy will be complete." (4) This makes me wonder, what gives me joy? What would make my joy complete? I can see John's desire to do something that would help someone else GROW closer to the Lord.

"If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong." (8-9) Great verses to commit to memory. He is faithful! Praise His name for His forgiving power.


Sept 26 Titus 3
Praise God for all He has done for us! I praise You with words that can't even begin to do justice to how much I appreciate SALVATION.


Sept 25 Titus 2
"And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching." (7) I'm drawn to that word "integrity." I'm amazed how that line of integrity can be so easily blurred today. Here's what makes integrity clear: live in self-control, with right conduct, and devotion to God. (12)

How would you grade yourself in those 3 areas?


Sept 24 Titus 1
Confidence. We can all have confidence in various things - most of are confident in what we do for work, or how we guide our family or how we play a sport. But very few Believers walk around beaming with confidence in our relationship with God. Consider this:
A confident Believer:
- thrives in sharing their faith journey with others (in love - not in bragging manipulation)
- understands the major concepts of God's plan for all of mankind
- is growing in their faith out of love for Christ - not out of shame or duty
- lives with a clear conscience and a positive approach to life

A non-confident Believer:
- shrinks for opportunities to share their faith or their personal story of God
- lacks much understanding of how God is at work in the world and in their life
- isn't growing in their faith because they aren't practicing spiritual disciplines
- lives with a miserable outlook on life and the church


Sept 21 2 Timothy 4
Do you ever wonder how you will leave this world and enter the next? I do. A lot! As a kid, I would get so focused on that kind of stuff I'd make myself sick. I still can if I'm not careful. Just think, we have ideas of the Heaven; we have people who have claimed to have died, hung out there for a while and then came back but was that real or just their mind snapping a few more dreams into their memory; seriously - that's what I wonder about.

So Paul is in bad shape. He's in prison and life is being squeezed from him. He concludes this leader like a man on borrowed time: "this jerk left me, this one stayed faithful, please come see me and bring so and so." He's wanting to be close to his disciples - those he loves and who love him in return. Pretty sweet image.


Sept 20 2 Timothy 3
WARNING! WARNING! "They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly." (5) Boy, it's not hard to find or imagine examples of this verse. Honestly, I've lived that verse more than I'd care to admit. How often do we all reject the power that is made available to us? Rejecting the Lord is a sure recipe for despair -

Did you know that the Jannes and Jambres spoken of in v8 are the names of the Egyptian magicians who challenged Moses by reproducing his miracles before Pharaoh? "Their minds were depraved, and their faith is counterfeit." (8) The power of the world - magicians, cult leaders, etc - it all seems real enough, but it is 100% counterfeit to the REAL THING!


Sept 19 2 Timothy 2
"Follow the Lord's rules for doing his work, just as an athlete either follows the rules or is disqualified and wins no prize. Hardworking farmers are the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Think about what I am saying. The Lord will give you understanding in all these things." (5-7) First of all, v5 is amazing with the recent admission of Marion Jones doping in the Olympics ... no prize for you ... at least on earth ... but confession and living justly is now a worthy goal for her. I like, too, that Paul says, "think about this ... you'll get what I'm saying because the Lord will help you ... He will make it obvious." That to me puts an import emphasis on a couple of things:
1) study of God's Word is vitally important - you probably won't get it the first time through.
2) the Lord will reveal His Truth - it doesn't come from human logic but from divine inspiration


Sept 18 2 Timothy 1
"It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began - to show his love and kindness through Christ Jesus." (9) This is worthy of memorization. So simple. So easy to get. Yet so profound!