2 John 4-6 Walking in the truth in troubling times

God is love without it we are just clanging symbols making noise!

1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

If we walk in love we will not hate others. God loves all of His creation and He wants no one to live without Him. He has given all of us free will to choose Him some it may  take longer to accept. His unconditional love is hard to understand for those of us who are used to being judged. Two wrongs never make a right.

2 John 4-6

4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received a commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. The New King James Version

The Spirit of God was on Jesus and His life. In the Spirit He was strengthened as a man to fulfill the will of God for His life. As God He came to rescue those that had been turned aside by the world in general and in believers in Jesus personally. 

Luke 4:16-21 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus came and taught in the synagogue to those under the law. He came to His people and they did not recognize Him. He came to fulfill the Law and all the prophesy known about His coming. 

Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Psalm 2:6 

The kings of the earth set themselves,

And the rulers take counsel together,

Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,

“Let us break Their bonds in pieces

And cast away Their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;

The Lord shall hold them in derision.

Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,

And distress them in His deep displeasure:

“Yet I have set My King

On My holy hill of Zion.”

We who believe in Jesus should be the most humble and grateful of all people knowing that will be with Him for eternity. Our faith is alive and active in our love for others.

Galatians 5:6 for in Christ Jesus circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. Carla

The link between love and keeping the commandments is made also in 1 John 5:2–3. Faithlife Study Bible

Walking in truth means having an authentic relationship with God. Our walk with the Lord if genuine must be based upon His Word. Specifically, our walk with God is based on His commandment to love one another.  

God’s love is the basis of His desire for our obedience, and it is the reason He has revealed His will through His commandments in His Word. We prove our obedience to Him by demonstrating love toward one another. Love is an unlimited resource readily available to us, and it is tremendously effective in furthering the work of Christ. The NKJV Study Bible

1 John 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.

3 John 3–4 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

1 John 2:5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that

cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a

rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

Psalm 90:2: "Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God" (CSB). Before anything existed, God existed. God's presence with His people was and is everlasting.

This is a truth we can still cling to today: While we may find ourselves straying from God, He never changes (Malachi 3:6). There is nowhere we can go apart from His presence, whether we find ourselves lost in our own spiritual wilderness or even without a physical home (Psalm 139:7-12).

And as New Testament believers, we know Jesus has promised to "prepare a place for [us]" in heaven (John 14:3). While this "place" is certainly a home we can look forward to, we can also take comfort now, during our time on earth, because nothing can separate us from God Himself (Romans 8:38-39; John 10:29).

Our everlasting God is ever-present in our everyday lives. May the promise of His loving presence remind us that our true home is found in Him. First5

There is a part of every single one of us that is eager (yes, hungry) for connection. And we want to open our arms in a welcoming pose.
But let me pause, and talk about another awareness here. For those who have known and lived with abuse, putting one’s arms up is visceral, just for safety.
They are up for protection. Yes. It is our body instinctively saying, “Don’t hurt me.” This, I do understand. At my core.
It’s not easy when someone tells me to put my arms down. So. It is okay to go slowly. Taking stock of our lives, reflecting on what no longer serves, and embracing what is most precious in our lives, beginning to release through a gentle cleansing of our minds and our bodies, saying goodbye to old hurtful stuff. When we embrace this process of self-compassion, think of it as creating a releasing ritual, honoring both our gratitude and our grief.

Our invitation this week: if I do expand my world, open my fields, invite “them” (or any other) into this world, I (and my heart) am exposed to touch.
To connection. To kindness.
To tenderness. To empathy.
To wounds. To love. To untidiness. To healing.
To generosity. To loss. To bounty. And yes, to the unknown. Sabbath Moments 

Tim Alberta | Full Episode 1.5.24 | Firing Line with Margaret Hoover | PBS

How twisted Christianity led to Trump 

Romans 1:16-17 FAITH

The only “work” necessary for salvation is that we believe in Jesus whom God sent.

John 6:28–29 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

By faith we believe that Jesus died for us on the Cross and rose again. He is now resting at the right hand of the Father. In Him and with the unity of Holy Spirit we live for God and fulfill His commands to love God above all and our neighbors as ourselves. It is the miracle of God to those who believe in the perfect blood sacrifice offered in Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Faith plus nothing!  God’s unmerited and undeserved gift to mankind.

Romans 1:16-17

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” The New King James Version

Eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love Him!

1 Corinthians 2:13-14 

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Without the Holy Spirit it is impossible to fully understand the Scriptures. Man’s wisdom is fleshly but the Spirit takes the word of God and allows us to understand it. 

Genesis 4:2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering

It took a blood sacrifice to offer the perfect sacrifice for sin. God’s way is the only way. Today we believe with everything that is in us in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the Cross to redeem us from sin.

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

We must trust in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ by faith. His blood sacrifice is the only way to the Father. By faith Abel offered his animal sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. In the Old Testament it was the sacrifice of the perfect spotless lamb for sins committed. In the New Testament  it is the perfect spotless Blood of the Lamb of God…Jesus Christ. He is the High Priest who offered His blood and entered into the Holy of holies and did what the blood of animals could never do. He purged us and allowed us to enter into relationship with God through Him. The Old Testament from beginning to end was a foreshadowing of the coming of the Christ and the mercy and grace God gifted to His creation. Carla

Not ashamed expresses a high degree of confidence in the gospel. Paul is confident that the hope he has placed in the gospel message will not be disappointed. The Greek for power used here, dynamis, often refers to miraculous works. Here, it refers to God’s ability to deliver His people from sin and future judgment. 

God’s power also relates to the power of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word used here, sōtēria, refers to deliverance from the final judgment. It also might refer to deliverance from sin and the results of sin: death and alienation from God. 

Paul uses references to both Jews and Greeks (or Gentiles) to encompass all of humanity. Although the gospel message applies to all people, Paul describes it as being directed first toward the Jew because God gave the Jews the covenants and promises to which the gospel refers. The priority of the Jews in God’s plan of salvation also anticipates the discussion of Israel’s future role. 

The righteousness of God is one of the key phrases in Romans and Paul’s other letters. It could refer to righteousness that comes from God—that is, the righteous status or right standing that God grants to those who have faith in Jesus Christ. Alternatively, it may refer to God’s own righteousness and His saving work. 

It’s also possible to combine these possibilities: Righteousness is an attribute of God that is manifested in His provision of salvation. As a result, those who believe are granted righteous status before God, who is himself righteous. God reveals His righteousness in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

This good news about Jesus Christ—the gospel message—also might be the way that the righteousness of God is made known. Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 to support his position that righteousness before God is only by faith. In the original context of Habakkuk 2:4, faith in God sustains a righteous person through hardship. This same faith in God—which relies on God’s promises for deliverance—is applicable to salvation. Will live probably refers both to a life of trust in God and to the eternal life which God grants believers. Faithlife Study Bible

The New Testament speaks of salvation in the past tense, the present tense, and the future tense.

In the past, the believer has been saved from the penalty of sin. In the present, the believer is being saved from the power of sin. In the future, the believer will be saved from the very presence of sin.

From faith to faith means faith is at the beginning of the salvation process, and it is the goal as well. When a person first exercises faith in Christ, that person is saved from the penalty of sin and declared righteous. As the believer lives by faith, God continues to save him or her from the power of sin to live righteously. The NKJV Study Bible

Habakkuk 2:4 

“Behold the proud,

His soul is not upright in him;

But the just shall live by his faith.

Romans 2:9–10 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Acts 3:26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

Ephesians 1:13-14 (CSB) "In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory." 

The Holy Spirit is the first installment of the Christian's inheritance. Paul borrowed this language from the commercial world to describe the Holy Spirit as a first installment of believers' eternal inheritance in Christ. And this terminology was also related to betrothal in Paul's day, similar to how modern engagement rings promise a wedding to come: The ring represents a commitment that is already real but not yet fully realized. God has already promised us His Spirit today, and at the end of the age, He promises to open the treasuries of heaven to all who are in Christ. Until we reach heaven, we live in an exile of sorts on earth. We are saved from the penalty of sin, and we are being saved from the power of sin through a lifelong process Scripture describes as "the sanctifying work of the Spirit" (1 Peter 1:2, CSB). However, we are not yet saved from the presence of sin. We feel the effects of sin in the world as well as in our own daily battles against temptation. 

…during our exile on earth, we can pray as Jesus taught us, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10, CSB). One day this line from the Lord's prayer will no longer be a request but a reality. God's Kingdom will fully come, and His plans will be fully accomplished on earth as in heaven. He will bring everything together, and the total at the top of the page will be Christ. First5

Speaking of uncertainty and parts of our world (life) out of control, there are so many now affected by the two recent hurricanes, and it is easy to see how parts of us can be shell-shocked (yes, frozen), not sure how to navigate. And while we may not be able to solve all the problems or heal all the wounds, let us begin here: we can hold space for both gratitude and concern in our heart, trusting that this balancing act is a part of the human experience. Knowing that grace is real in a world where we can be absolutely disheartened and absolutely grateful at the same time.

“You become freer to be yourself,” Poet Kim Rosen writes, “not because you finally found a place where you are protected from feeling what you don't want to feel, but because you welcomed those unwanted feelings and lived to tell the tale. Maybe your idealized image of yourself didn't survive, but you did.” Sabbath Moments