1 John above all LOVE

Only by the precious blood of the Lamb are we saved. His spotless life given in exchange for ours. GOD IS LOVE…No greater love exists!

Let’s give Mark Hack the last word. "Let someone love you the way you are--as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as unaccomplished as you think you are. To believe that you must hide all the parts of you that are broken, out of fear that someone else is incapable of loving what is less than perfect, is to believe that sunlight is incapable of entering a broken window and illuminating a dark room.” SabbathMoments 

Draw us forth, God of all creation.
Draw us forward and away from limited certainty
into the immense world of your love.
Give us the capacity to even for a moment
taste the richness of the feast you give us.
Give us the peace to live with uncertainty,
with questions,
with doubts.
Help us to experience the resurrection anew
with open wonder and an increasing ability
to see you in the people of Easter.
Amen. (Author Unknown)

John most likely wrote this letter with two purposes in mind—one pastoral and one polemical. John’s pastoral purpose was to promote fellowship. But for the believers to have true fellowship, they needed to understand the true nature of God. Thus the pastoral purpose naturally leads to the polemical purpose, which was to protect his readers against the deceptive ideas of false teachers. If the believers were deceived by false doctrine, they would eventually lose their unity, which is possible only in the love of Christ. Evidently some deceivers had arisen among the believers. If Christians could sort out truth from falsehood, they would be able to maintain their unity in the faith and have an opportunity to show love to their fellow believers. For John, a person’s behavior was naturally a result of that person’s belief. The NKJV Study Bible

1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 

1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.

2:18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.

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

The New King James Version

John is writing to address a division in the community of believers. This community might have been located in Ephesus, where the Apostle John resided near the end of his life.

God is light is a  common metaphor in the old testament and Jewish literature for God’s perfection God’s light serves as a beacon for the righteous and leads others to Him. Darkness serves as a metaphor for sin, unrighteousness, and wickedness

Those who do wrong by others reveal themselves to not be in right relationship with God. A person’s actions should be the first measure of whether they are in relationship with God.

Those whom God has fathered spiritually (believers in Christ) enjoy a relationship with Him, they have been adopted as God’s children. As Father, God provides His children with guidance through the Spirit. John’s use of this language reflects God’s act of making people one with Him and restoring the image that God intended for humanity in the beginning.

Trying to deceive refers to the antichrists.

John may have inherited this language about the false-messiah from Jesus’ discussion of the end times. Jesus had noted that those who falsely claim authority—as anointed (messianic) leaders—would come. 

From the beginning loving one another has always been foundational for faith. Faithlife Study Bible

The primary reason John writes is to provide his readers with an understanding of what they must do to have fellowship with the apostles and God. Fellowship carries both the idea of a positive relationship that people share and participation in a common interest or goal.

God is light by nature, in His essential being, just as He is Spirit and love. Light refers to God’s moral character. God is holy, untouched by any evil or sin.

Since God is righteous, those who practice righteousness will be recognized as being born of God. This verse does not say that everyone who is born of God practices righteousness. Believers can walk in darkness and sin. The point here is that when a child exhibits the nature of his or her father, he or she is perceived as the child of the father.

Love for one another, which here means fellow Christians, proves our spiritual birth and our relationship with God. Born of God recalls Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.

John views the rise of those who deny the truth of Christ from within the Christian community as an indication of the beginning of the end of all things. Antichrists is a combination of two Greek words: anti, meaning “instead of” or “against,” and christos, meaning “anointed one.” Antichrists most likely means those who seek to take the place of Christ. The many antichrists are the false teachers John opposed in this letter. They are reminiscent of the false christs Jesus told the disciples about. They are forerunners of the future Antichrist, also known as the beast in the Book of Revelation, who will exalt himself above God. 

Those who try to deceive you refers to false teachers, or antichrists. You indicates that it is possible for believers to be deceived by false teaching.

John identifies loving one another as absolutely basic to living for Christ and advancing His kingdom. The NKJV Study Bible

When believers had confidence towards God, through the Spirit of adoption, and by faith in the great High Priest, they might ask what they would of their reconciled Father. They would receive it, if good for them. And as good-will to men was proclaimed from heaven, so good-will to men, particularly to the brethren, must be in the hearts of those who go to God and heaven. He who thus follows Christ, dwells in Him as his ark, refuge, and rest, and in the Father through him. This union between Christ and the souls of believers, is by the Spirit he has given them. A man may believe that God is gracious before he knows it; yet when faith has laid hold on the promises, it sets reason to work. This Spirit of God works a change; in all true Christians it changes from the power of Satan to the power of God. Consider, believer, how it changes thy heart. Dost not thou long for peace with God? Wouldst thou not forego all the world for it? No profit, pleasure, or preferment shall hinder thee from following Christ. This salvation is built upon Divine testimony, even the Spirit of God. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

2 John 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.

Acts 8:18–25

The gift of Holy Spirit can never be purchased. 

God’s mercy and grace, this gift that cost so much to the the Father, was given to mankind, in the person of Jesus Christ. This gift of salvation is freely given to all who will, by faith, accept Jesus Christ. He did not leave us alone but we are sealed by Holy Spirit. He will reside in us and guide us in His will for our life. All for God’s glory.

God sees our faith in the salvation of Jesus when He sees us. In His grace our sins, though many, are forgiven.

1 Corinthians 1:2 (ESV) "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours."

This from Nadia Bolz-Weber, “I thought of this all week when reading this story about Jesus appearing to his disciples. Because what I realized is I find it comforting that that his resurrection did not erase the marks of having lived his life or even having endured his death.

I find it comforting that when Jesus rose from the dead he was recognizable by his scars.

Jesus came and stood among his disciples and said peace be with you, then he didn’t try and hide the mark from the spear on his side. He didn’t wear gloves to conceal his scars.  Jesus came and stood among his disciples and said peace be with you then he showed them his hands and his side. He knew that he would be known by his wounds...

Our scars and our sorrow will always be part of our story but they will never be the conclusion of our story. Which means that even when you feel trapped in your pain, trapped in your past, trapped in your own story like it is itself a tomb, know this — that there is no stone that God cannot roll away.”Sabbath Moments

Mark it down. You will never go where God is not. You may be transferred, enlisted, commissioned, reassigned, hospitalized, but brand this truth on your heart: you can never go where God is not. “I am with you always,” Jesus promised (Matthew 28:20 NKJV). Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident. Meet your fears with faith. Max Lucado

Acts 8:18–25

18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” 24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” The New King James Version

Simon grossly misunderstands the Spirit’s power, the apostles’ ministry, and the character of Jesus and His kingdom. Simon shows he has not genuinely understood or submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ. He is interested in possessing the apostles’ power rather than embracing their message.

The gift of God of is the Holy Spirit. 

Peter excludes Simon from the Church and its ministry. Peter discerns Simon’s true motives through Simon’s actions. Even as Peter condemns Simon, he still holds out hope to him if he will genuinely turn from his sin and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Simon understands the gravity of Peter’s words, but Luke does not report whether Simon ever truly repented. Simon’s statement could be understood as him seeking to avoid the Holy Spirit being against him, not necessarily him seeking Christ. Faithlife Study Bible

Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given. 

Give me this power indicates that Simon was a believer. However, he confused the work of God with his previous magical practices. Because others had paid him for the secrets of his magic, he may have simply thought that this was the best way to approach Peter. He soon learned the error of his ways. The NKJV Study Bible

The Holy Ghost was as yet fallen upon none of these coverts, in the extraordinary powers conveyed by the descent of the Spirit upon the day of Pentecost. We may take encouragement from this example, in praying to God to give the renewing graces of the Holy Ghost to all for whose spiritual welfare we are concerned; for that includes all blessings. 

No man can give the Holy Spirit by the laying on of his hands; but we should use our best endeavours to instruct those for whom we pray. 

Simon Magus was ambitious to have the honour of an apostle, but cared not at all to have the spirit and disposition of a Christian. He was more desirous to gain honour to himself, than to do good to others. Peter shows him his crime. He esteemed the wealth of this world, as if it would answer for things relating to the other life, and would purchase the pardon of sin, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and eternal life. This was such a condemning error as could by no means consist with a state of grace. 

Our hearts are what they are in the sight of God, who cannot be deceived. And if they are not right in his sight, our religion is vain, and will stand us in no stead. A proud and covetous heart cannot be right with God. It is possible for a man to continue under the power of sin, yet to put on a form of godliness. When tempted with money to do evil, see what a perishing thing money is, and scorn it. 

Think not that Christianity is a trade to live by in this world. There is much wickedness in the thought of the heart, its false notions, and corrupt affections, and wicked projects, which must be repented of, or we are undone. But it shall be forgiven, upon our repentance. The doubt here is of the sincerity of Simon’s repentance, not of his pardon, if his repentance was sincere. 

Grant us, Lord, another sort of faith than that which made Simon wonder only, and did not sanctify his heart. May we abhor all thoughts of making religion serve the purposes of pride or ambition. And keep us from that subtle poison of spiritual pride, which seeks glory to itself even from humility. May we seek only the honour which cometh from God. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:19-23

In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead. In Him, through God’s salvation gift, we live.

John 3:17 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Romans 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Grace, blessed, grace the eternal gift that cannot be purchased by our works but only through the birth, death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is up to us individually to accept this gift!

Recently I was listening to a popular Christian radio broadcast, and a caller phoned in and said that their biggest struggle to faith was believing they were worthy of God’s salvation. The radio DJ agreed with this plight and encouraged the caller they were worthy of it. I turned down the radio and told my daughter’s that’s not how the Gospel works, and there are many well-meaning Christians who struggle for failing to recognize this truth - None of us are worthy of God’s love and salvation, that’s what makes it “amazing grace.” 

God loves us simply because we are His. God is love, and so He loves us first. Only Jesus lived the perfect life that is worthy of God’s salvation. We receive this life through faith in Christ because of God’s grace. Jesus died in our place, receiving the punishment due for our sins, and Jesus rose from the dead, defeating the death our sins deserved. We now receive spiritual life through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone. 

We celebrated Easter yesterday, but Easter is paramount to our Christian faith because it is the catalyst that brings people created in God’s image back to abundant life, every single day of the year. All glory be to God for raising unworthy sinners back to life, an abundant life, through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Just a Navy Wife@first5

“Well, nobody else can live the life you live,” Mr. Rogers reminds us. “And even though no human being is perfect, we always have the chance to bring what's unique about us to live in a redeeming way.” SabbathMoments 

Colossians 1:19-23

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. The New King James Version

All the fullness to dwell in Him refers to God being fully present in Christ.

Consequently, Christ is sufficient for the Colossians’ salvation. This phrase echoes the glory of God filling of the tabernacle 

In the ancient world, people believed that deities lived on high places such as mountains. For example, when the Israelites entered the wilderness, God met them on a mountain in Exodus. But God did not stay on the mountain; He instructed the Israelites to build a tabernacle—a dwelling place for Him to live among His people. God came down and filled the tabernacle with His glory as a sign of His presence among them. 

The prophet Isaiah interpreted this cloud of glory as the Holy Spirit. This gracious act was God’s extension of friendship to the Israelites. The Gospel of John describes Christ as the tabernacle or the dwelling of God—an allusion that demonstrates the continuity between God’s presence among the Israelites and His presence in the person of Christ. 

The Greek word used here, apokatallassō, refers to the act of restoring a relationship to harmony. The purpose of Christ’s death on the cross was to bring all things created by Christ and for Christ  into harmonious relationship.

Christ was not an angel or a nonphysical being; He had a body, and He endured suffering and death in His body. By emphasizing Christ’s physical body, Paul may be combatting early gnostic-like influences that could have been at work in Colossae. Gnostics emphasized spiritual, nonmaterial reality over the material world, prompting some people to deny that Christ had a physical body. Gnostics wrongly considered material reality to be evil and sought to escape it through abstaining from worldly comforts and pleasures. While fully developed Gnosticism postdates the new testament, the beliefs Paul seems to be addressing here resemble later gnostic thought. 

Holy describes belonging to or being set apart for God. The Colossians cannot claim responsibility for their status before God; no human tradition or rule made them holy. Rather, Christ’s work of reconciliation brought them into relationship with God, making them holy. 

Since believers belong to God, they bear His image, which enables them to live out God’s command to holiness. Paul seems to be acknowledging that the Colossians are at a crossroads. He charges them to continue trusting in Christ and living out the gospel message. However, they must refuse to observe the rules and traditions of false teachings, which threaten to lead them in a different direction. They must remember that faith in Christ is not simply a way of entering God’s kingdom—it is the way of life within the kingdom. Faith Refers to living in union with Christ and sharing in Christ’s resurrection. Faithlife Study Bible

The opponents of Paul, and later the Greek Gnostics, seem to have used this word fullness as a technical term for the sphere between heaven and earth where a hierarchy of angels lived. The Gnostics viewed Christ as one of many spirits existing in this hierarchy between God and all people. 

However, Paul used the term fullness to refer to the complete embodiment of God. Christ is the only Intercessor for human beings and fully embodies all of God’s nature. No other intermediary, whether person or group, is able to stand in our place before the Father. Only Jesus can do this. 

He has reconciled: this phrase shows the significance of Christ’s work on the Cross. It does not mean that all people will be saved, since many passages clearly say that unbelievers will suffer eternal separation from God. The work of Christ will overthrow the damage effected by the Fall and change all of creation from a position of enmity to a relationship of peace and friendship.

The false teachers at Colosse were telling the believers that redemption could only be accomplished through a spiritual being. They rejected Christ’s incarnation. According to them, Jesus could not have had a physical body. Thus Paul uses two terms, body and flesh, to clearly state that Christ became man and experienced a physical death. 

We who were once enemies of God and alienated by our own wicked works will one day be presented as above reproach on account of Christ’s death for us.

 

The perseverance of the Colossians was proof of the reconciling work of Christ on their behalf The apostles are said to have turned the world upside down, even though their ministry up to that point had been limited to a small portion of the eastern Mediterranean region. The NKJV Study Bible

John 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,

Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

Ephesians 2:16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Good Friday

No greater love exists. God’s gift of salvation in Jesus was already in place in the Garden Of Eden. He knew that Adam and Eve would be deceived and that only His mercy and grace could save us from ourselves. 

Jesus did what only He could…all God and all Man He chose to be obedient even to death on a cross.

Note the contrast between Peter and Jesus. By fighting the guard, Simon Peter vehemently exercised his own self-will; Jesus in contrast voluntarily submitted to the will of God. One swung the sword of self-will; the other drank from the cup of God’s will.

God with us” became “God for us” by giving up His life to rescue us so that we could know Him personally. That’s what makes Good Friday “good.

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Oneness is the way of the kingdom of God in the world. Gospel-centered, kingdom-oriented unity has always been a unity within diversity. Unity does not occur when we become the same. True, robust, healthy and vibrant unity happens within our unique and diverse expressions. The church is best expressed as a bouquet of unique flowers rather than twelve red roses. We are better together. 

Jesus prayed we would be one. Let’s do all we can to honor Him as followers of Jesus seeking oneness, unity, harmony, wholeness, flourishing, and delight. I pray our oneness and unity will give the world an ancient taste of Eden and a future taste of the new heaven and new earth fully realized. Lifeway

John 17:20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be[a] in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.

Matthew 26:47-56

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” 49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. 51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. 52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” 55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. 56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

Mark 14:43-52

43 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely.” 45 As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 46 Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him. 47 And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. 48 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? 49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then they all forsook Him and fled. 51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, 52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

Luke 22:47-53

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

John 18:2-12

2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” 9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.” 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” 12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. 13 And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. 14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

The New King James Version 

A detachment was a cohort of about six hundred men, or one-tenth of a legion. However, sometimes this Greek word was used for one-third of a cohort, or two hundred men. These soldiers were probably the experienced Roman troops stationed at the Antonia, a fortress near the temple. The officers who came with the detachment were members of the temple police under the command of the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin. 

Knowing He was about to be arrested, Jesus could have escaped, but He did not. He submitted Himself voluntarily to the ordeal that was ordained by God. 

For a moment, Christ unveiled His majesty. His statement of deity, I am, manifested such glory that it literally threw the soldiers to the ground. 

For the third time in this passage, Jesus claimed to be I am, echoing God’s self-revelation in Exodus 3:14. 

As He was being arrested, Jesus demonstrated His love for the apostles.

Jesus mercifully restored the ear that Peter cut off. He often does the same in our lives when we act rashly. His purposes are fulfilled in spite of us. The NKJV Study Bible

Matthew 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”They said to Him, “We are able.”

John 18:7 Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

John 18:12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.

Acts 19:11-12

We serve a miracle working God. He hears the prayers of those who believe in Him. He can do what we cannot but His ways are above our ways. They are sometimes hard to understand. Why are some prayers answered and some not? God is sovereign and always has the final say. One day we will know the reason. Jesus prayed in the garden for His Father to take away the crucifixion that was awaiting Him...but He also prayed that the Father's will be done, not His.

God uses even the faith of a mustard seed, one of the smallest of the seeds, to accomplish His will in our lives.

Jesus wasn’t in the boat with his disciples because he had gone to the hills to pray. Jesus prayed – that’s remarkable. It’s even more remarkable that Jesus did not stop praying when his disciples were struggling. Why? Well two possible answers. Either he didn’t care, or he believed in prayer. I think you know the correct choice.

So while Jesus is praying and we are in the storm, what are we to do? Simple. We just do what the disciples did. 

He is too wise to forget you, too loving to hurt you. And when you can’t see him, trust him. He is praying a prayer that he himself will answer. Max Lucado

Acts 19:11-12

11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. The New King James Version

Because Ephesus is a key city for travel and business, it allowed Paul’s testimony of Jesus to spread throughout the Roman province of Asia (a region on the west coast of modern-day Turkey). People visiting Ephesus had the opportunity to hear Paul preach the gospel, and those who believed would have then spread the message to the various places they visited and lived.

This evokes the story of a woman being healed by merely touching Jesus, showing that the power of the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus in the life of Paul. Faithlife Study Bible

God confirmed Paul’s apostolic authority by performing miracles through him. The writer of the Book of Hebrews helps us understand why miracles were accomplished through the apostles. The miracles verified that the apostles represented God and that the gospel they preached was from heaven. God may have used such unusual means in order to show that His miraculous power was greater than the powers of darkness. The NKJV Study Bible

Mark 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

Acts 5:12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.

Acts 5:15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.

Acts 8:13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

Something to keep in our spirit  during this time in history.

On those hard days, we can trust God's faithfulness to us and pray boldly, knowing our God is able to do far more than we could ever hope or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). First5 

“God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them.” That’s a promise of Scripture (Luke 18:7 NCV) and what a promise to cherish.  Max Lucado

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 

12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” The New King James Version

Paul is not referring to the sexually immoral people of the world (his mission field), but to those who call themselves Christians and participate in sexual immorality. He views such people as dangerous to the overall health of the congregation since they may entice others to follow them in sin. 

In Paul’s time, sharing a meal communicated that the participants shared values. Paul does not want shared meals to implicitly express approval for the man’s immorality. 

Paul intends for the immoral believer to be expelled so that he may repent and then be restored back to the community. Faithlife Study Bible

My epistle refers to an earlier letter from Paul to the Corinthians that no longer survives. 

Christians are called to influence the world, not run away from it. They are agents of God to carry the light of Jesus Christ into a dark world.

Eating together is a key part of fellowship and closeness with others. The Corinthians were not to have fellowship with those who claimed to be Christians but whose lives were dominated by sin. The church’s responsibility is to discipline its members while trusting the Lord to judge the world. The NKJV Study Bible

Christians are to avoid familiar converse with all who disgrace the Christian name. Such are only fit companions for their brethren in sin, and to such company they should be left, whenever it is possible to do so. Alas, that there are many called Christians, whose conversation is more dangerous than that of heathens! Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

1 Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.

Mark 16:9-16

When Holy Spirit calls answer. In Jesus alone is the fullness of the Godhead and in His redeeming blood is everlasting life.

John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Jesus, whose name is above all names (Philippians 2:9-10), thought of us as He went to the cross to redeem us from our sins and secure for us an inheritance in heaven. "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Our salvation was both Jesus' unique responsibility and His priority. Because of His love for us, "though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). There is no greater love (John 15:12-13). First5 

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22 NKJV).

We’re only as strong as our obedience. Remember who you are: you are God’s child. You’ve been bought by the most precious commodity in the history of the universe, the blood of Christ. You are indwelled by the Spirit of the living God, and you are being equipped for an eternal assignment that will empower you to live in the very presence of God. You have been set apart for a holy calling; you are his.The devil has no jurisdiction over you. So decide right now what you will say when temptation presents itself. In advance, choose obedience. Max Lucado

Mark 16:9-16

9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. 12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. 14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. The New King James Version

Although the women had been commissioned to tell of Jesus’ resurrection, none had actually seen Jesus until He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. Jesus’ resurrection was evidently not expected by anyone in spite of His repeated predictions. The Resurrection itself resulted in faith, rather than the expectation thereof.

Jesus’ appearance in another form may indicate that He appeared differently to the two on the road than He had appeared to Jesus’ followers before. The identity of the two who walked is not entirely stated. However, one is identified as Cleopas, and it has been suggested that he was accompanied by his wife. 

After Judas’ demise the disciples were known for a while as the eleven. Jesus upbraided these disciples for not believing the accounts of eyewitnesses, but He pronounced a blessing on “those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). 

He who does not believe will be condemned. Those who believe in Christ will be saved. The NKJV Study Bible

Matthew 28:17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Luke 24:11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

Luke 24:41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?”