Tag: truth

Love, Obedience, Truth

Sunday, July 16

2john1-6

2 and 3 John, Jude

Congratulations, you were born at a time when society rejects the notion of absolute truth!  The world of the late 20th and early 21st century is characterized by a movement known as Post-modernism.  It’s the age of skepticism, of subjectivity.  It’s the age when society has been systematically doing away with notions of absolute, objective truth.  The Post-modern notion is that reality is socially constructed.  A good example of this is the idea of gender.  Back in the olden days, before Post-modernism, you were either a male or a female.  The way that you knew this was fairly simple and it was based on your physical anatomy.  You were objectively a male or a female depending on how your body was equipped.  But we were so unenlightened back in those days.  Now we know that gender has nothing to do with the objective reality of your biological make up or even your  D.N.A.  It is determined by how you feel… it’s subjective and it’s fluid.

Along with the death of absolute truth in favor of subjectivity has come a change in notions of what is right and wrong.  It used to be that right and wrong were measured against a set of standards given by authority.  That authority was either God, or the laws of society.  So things like murder or stealing, or adultery were wrong.  Now, it seems,  the far greater wrong is to tell people that they are not free to do as they please.  It’s wrong to tell a man that he’s not free to marry another man or to tell a woman that she is not free to marry another woman.  It’s wrong to use the masculine pronoun “He” to refer to God… or to even say that there is a God who makes rules about what is right and what is wrong.

These changes in our worldview are troubling to older people like me, and they should be troubling to younger people, too.  However, this should not come as a surprise to any of us.  For the Bible predicted, nearly 2000 years ago, that such things would happen.  In fact, it was beginning to happen in some places even then.

In the back of your Bible are some letters that are so small they are almost invisible.  The letters of 2 and 3 John and Jude are extremely brief.  Sandwiched between the longer letter of I John and the book of Revelation, 2 and 3 John and Jude are short, but don’t dismiss them as being unimportant.  Each of them has some important things to say about the need for objective truth and the need for Christians to stay faithful to the truth and to fight for the truth.

“I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.” II Jn 5-6.

Love is a great thing and it is at the heart of Christianity.  Jesus said that the most important command is to love God and to love others.  It’s important to understand that love is a term that is often subject to people’s arbitrary definitions.  Love has become highly subjectivized.  Love is whatever I say it is.  John here offers a corrective to this subjective, Post-modern view of love.  Love, as John defines it, is to “walk in obedience to his commands.”  Love is more than just feeling good inside about God or your neighbor.  There is objective content to love.  It’s in a different part of the Bible, but go back sometime and check out I Corinthians 13 vs. 4-7.  It gives a good, practical description of what love is… and it has very little to do with your feelings and everything to do with right actions.  Love of God and neighbor is all about doing the things that God has commanded us to do.

3” It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” – III John 3-4.  Here, John holds up the standard of truth for Christians to follow and live by.  We are to “walk in the truth.”  This has to do with obedience to an objective standard or truth.  God has things that he expects us to obey.  There is a way that God expects us to live.  Truth has objective content that we need to understand and obey.  Post-modernism has tried to jettison this idea of objective truth and replace it with our own definition.  Again, this is nothing new.  In the Old Testament book of Judges it describes a time in Israel before there were kings that’s described as follows: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25.  Just as Judges points to a time in our past history when people followed their own subjective desires rather than submitting to the objective truth of God as revealed by His word and by Jesus Christ, Jude warns of a time that was still to come when this would again be the case:  18…“In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.” Jude 18-19

As followers of Jesus, who is our true and ultimate king, we must reject this.  We must follow the teaching of our king, we must receive his instructions to us as absolute truth and we must follow him by walking in that truth.  It is sad when the people of the world abandon truth and follow their own desires.  It is absolutely  tragic when Christians abandon the absolute truth of God and fall for the subjective lies of this broken world.  And yet, many Christians have done exactly this.  Jude gives a strong admonition to all believers:3 “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”  Jude3-4

Jude wants desperately for us to not allow ourselves to be lied to by any who would distort and twist the clear objective truth of God’s word and the absolute teachings of Jesus, in order to justify their own perversions.  Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that there’s no absolute truth, no black and white or right and wrong.  There is and always will be truth, and that truth, as Jude contends, is worth fighting for.  As you go to school or university or talk at work or with your friends, or even at Church, wherever you go where some would seek to undermine the objective truth of God’s word and substitute the subjectivity of this world with its anything goes faulty belief system, stand firm, don’t give up!!

-Jeff Fletcher

(Photo Credit: https://dailybiblememe.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/2-john-16/)

 

Rest

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Hebrews 1-4

One of my favorite things to do on a dark stormy day is to curl up with a good book, relax, and ultimately take a nap.  It’s one of the best times for me to forget all the things to do that swirl around my mind and just rest. After that period of rest, I feel refreshed, renewed, and better able to work through what needs to be done.  Rest is not just something we enjoy but we are actually commanded to rest in both the Old and New Testament but since today’s reading is Hebrews 1-4 that is what we will stick with.

Hebrews 4:11 says, “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” We NEED to rest.  It doesn’t say rest if you have the time or only rest when you are tired but instead it says to be “diligent.”  I am diligent to eat dinner every night and I am diligent to read my Bible each day but am I diligent to rest every day?

We are reminded in 4:13 that nothing that we do is hidden from our creator.  We might be able to hide our lack of rest from our friends and family but we cannot hide the truth from God. One day we will enter God’s rest in God’s Kingdom but until then let us rest from the turmoil of each day and focus on the one who promises us peace.

If you haven’t tried it already for the remainder of the time that you are reading through the Bible, before you jump into reading take a few minutes to rest.  Turn off your phone, go to a quiet place, breathe deep, and be still.  When you feel as though your mind is no longer racing then spend time in prayer and begin your study.

-Lacey Dunn

Requirements

Titus & Philemon

Did you panic a little bit when you found you had to read two entire books of the Bible today? As you have hopefully found now both Titus and Philemon are pretty short books. In fact, Philemon checks in as the third shortest book of the Bible (only 2 John and 3 John are shorter).

First, let’s talk about Titus.  If you owned a business and were looking to hire managers to oversee the company what would you require?  Would your job posting read that the applicant needed silky hair, mad four-square skills, and a deep love of chicken nuggets?  If so your company would probably not be in business for long because there would be no purpose behind the requirements you wanted. Hopefully, your requirements might be along the lines of:  must be self-controlled, honest and just.  If so you and God have those requirements in common except these are the requirements that God asks of the elders of the church which is a person who “manages God’s household” (Titus 1:7).

He also has requirements for those who aren’t elders.  In chapters 2 and 3, Paul outlines what God expects from everyone who claims to be a follower of Christ. It says in chapter 3 verse 1- 2 that we are, “to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign (which means to harm) no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”

Paul carries over the idea of being peaceable and gentle in the book of Philemon.  Paul writes to Philemon, who is a brother in Christ, concerning a slave named Onesimus.  It seems that Onesimus was full of passion for spreading God’s word so he ran away from his master Philemon to join Paul.  Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon and requested that Philemon would, “accept him as you would me” (vs.17).  Paul treats both parties with grace and love to resolve the issue at hand and so once again practices what he preaches showing that he is a fully committed follower of God just as we are to be.

-Lacey Dunn

Preach!

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2 Timothy 1-4

When you live in the Midwest it is possible that you can encounter just about every form of weather imaginable in a weeks’ time.  Monday could be a blizzard, Tuesday could be the perfect day to fly a kite and by Thursday you may find yourself baking in the sun at the beach. I realize it usually isn’t that extreme but you get the idea. The point is that you have to be prepared for anything.

Chapter 4 verse 2 reminds us that we must be ready to spread God’s word in any and every season. When life seems easy and things are going your way, preach the word!  When you are being made fun of for what you believe, preach the word!  When TV and everyone on social media preaches against God, preach the word!

It seems that we live in a time such as described in chapter 4 verse 3. The message being preached from the world is “tolerance” and “happiness” on the surface.  But deep down the world has been developing a war against God’s laws and His people.  They have no desire to “endure sound doctrine” but instead will only listen to those who tell them what they want to hear.

My prayer for you is that you would not turn from the truth but rather share the truth with others. Study the word and spend time with your Creator so that you will be able to teach God’s word with confidence.

-Lacey Dunn

Spark of Hope

1 Timothy 1—6

No matter how geeky it may sound I will forever love a quote from Hunger Games. President Snow (bad guy) tells the game-maker Seneca Crane about his view of hope.  He says, “It is the only thing stronger than fear.  A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine as long as it’s contained.”  Evil operates with this thought process.  Satan will condemn you for every past mistake yet God offers hope, mercy, and grace. Paul recounts in chapter 1 that he was once a “blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man” (vs. 13) but he then goes on to say, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus (1:14 NIV Before he was Paul he was called Saul and was a murderer of the church. Had he listened to evil he wouldn’t have believed in the hope of the grace that God gives and we wouldn’t have much of the New Testament that we have today. Yet because he didn’t believe in containing the spark of hope that God gave him he went on to spread God’s word and do wonderful things in His name.

Don’t let what has been done in the past prevent you from reaching your full potential as a child of God.  God desires to give you hope, mercy, and love.  He is preparing a Kingdom for you even now!

-Lacey Dunn

Perseverance in Suffering

2 Thessalonians 1-3

What does it mean to suffer? By Webster’s definition, it is, “To submit to or be forced to endure.”  In chapter 1 verse 5 we find that Paul speaking about how the Thessalonians are suffering.  They don’t appear to be suffering from hunger, thirst or illness but instead, Paul says they are suffering for The Kingdom of God. They are suffering persecution for their faith and because they have chosen to commit themselves to endure suffering they are commended for their great faith and perseverance.

Sadly until God’s Kingdom is established we, as Christians, will suffer persecution.  Chapter 2 even discusses that the Kingdom will not come until after a period of suffering where a “man of lawlessness” will “display himself as being God” (vs.4). This will be a dark time for all Christians and whether or not we witness this event we must always encourage each other.  If we spread love and encouragement to one another in our current sufferings it will continue to ripple through to generations in times to come.

Remember that no matter what comes, you were created and loved by the God who created the entire universe.  It is He who can give you the peace, wisdom, and strength you need to endure the suffering you are faced with every day.  The suffering is only temporary, the outcome is the eternal gift of God’s Kingdom where there will be no suffering ever again.

-Lacey Dunn

We Will Rise

1 Thess. 4-6

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I am by no means an art expert but I love walking around an art museum and observing all the different colors and variations an artist can use to awaken our senses and bring ordinary things to life. Some artists tell stories about the past or present with their works and yet others imagine the future. The future is the image that Paul details as he paints a picture of what the return of Christ will look like.
Imagine suddenly seeing the sky open up and watching as the Son of God comes down with the trumpet of God. He shouts and calls to your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who have died to rise. You feel the earth tremble and see the dead rise from their graves and return to life. You watch them wake to see their hopes come to fruition and meet their Savior in the air. After all the dead have risen you stand in awe because you are finally seeing your Savior when you feel yourself begin to rise into the clouds. Here is the most beautiful piece of this image, it says in the last part of 1 Thess 4:17 that “we shall always be with the Lord.”
For us to be a part of this magnificent image we must encourage each other to stand firm in God’s word and to be alert to the difficult trials that we may face. The last half of chapter 5 gives us some ways we can do that. We are to “live in peace” with each other and to “be patient with everyone.” We are to “rejoice always” and “pray without ceasing.” Take time to consider how you can be an encouragement to others as we together await the day we meet our Savior face to face.

 

– Lacey Dunn

Say No to Cheap Imitation

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1 Thess. 1-3
When I think of the word “imitation” my mind links the word to things that aren’t so great. Think “imitation cheese product” instead of cheese carved off the block or “pleather” compared to the feel and smell of real leather. We would do well to remember that imitation isn’t reserved only for things that aren’t so great but rather that imitation can be powerful and amazing. The imitation that is spoken of in this passage isn’t of the “imitation crab” variety but instead it paints a picture of faithful and unwavering believers spreading the good news of the Kingdom of God like wildfire.
In 1 Thessalonians 1-3 we are told of how the Thessalonians were being imitators of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy and yet ultimately imitators of God. 1 Thess 2:13 NASB says, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy were not spreading their own words but God’s words. Had Paul decided to be a cheap imitation of God and not spread God’s truth the message would not have spread with such conviction yet because Paul poured his heart and life into being a true imitation of God the message did spread with that same conviction which allowed both Jews and Gentiles to hear the good news.
We live in a world where cheap imitations are the norm. If you can’t afford some designer luxury item a cheap imitation is usually available to replace it. It makes it appear like you have the real thing but you really don’t. Please understand I’m not saying go throw away your processed cheese and pleather shoes, those are just material things. What I’m asking you to do is to truly and passionately accept the love and grace given to you by your heavenly Father and to live in such a way that others can see His light in you. Don’t say you are a Christian yet live the same way everyone else does. Stand out! Be unique! Be that true imitation of God like Paul and the Thessalonians and let your light shine into the darkness all around you!

– Lacey Dunn

Greetings from Michigan! My name is Lacey Dunn and I am part of the Garden Park Church of God family in Grand Rapids, Michigan but I am originally from Missouri. I have an amazing husband, three adorable (most of the time) kiddos, an unofficially adopted 21 year old and a lazy dog. In my spare time I love to read, chill at the beach, and have dance parties with my kids.

No Scamming Here

Romans 8-10

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Thursday, June 15

There are so many powerful verses in the three chapters for today but the section that really stuck out to me was this:

 

Romans 10:8-13

 

8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

 

 

“Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  It doesn’t matter who you are, how you look, what race you are, or how much money you have…we can all be saved!  You believe with your heart, which results in righteous or “right” living, which means you are obedient.  Then, with your mouth, you confess, you speak out loud that Jesus is your Lord.  Calling Jesus your Lord means that you obey him.  He has authority over you and your life is not your own, it is his.  Doing these things, results in salvation!

 

Bonus!!! Our God is abounding in riches for all who call on Him.  It almost seems too good!  Usually when something seems too good to be true, it isn’t true.  It is a scam.  Like when someone calls my phone from a faraway place and tells me I entered a contest and won…and they just need some vital information to process my winnings!  Thousands of dollars could be mine if I will give them my name, social security number, and birthdate.  Humph!  I don’t think so!

 

Scammers market things to you that appear like they will improve your life in some way but truly it is to rob you.  With God, the truth is that He wants you!!  Not only does He want you but He wants to give you the things that money can’t buy like peace, joy, love, and purpose.  Don’t be scammed by the world.  Too many times we have seen people in our small group get the job they have always wanted, promotion, or a boy/girlfriend, only for it to take them away from church and the family of God.  The most precious thing we have is our faith and our hope.  Make a solid confession and live righteously. If you have slipped in some area and are not giving your whole life to your master Jesus Christ, recommit yourself to him and surround yourself with strong believers.

 

God wants you more than anything and those verses above contain the necessary information for you to be with Him forever!

 

1 Timothy 2:4

“who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

 

-Ruth Finnegan

(Photo Credit: http://insta.bible/romans-109-niv/)

 

A Chosen Instrument

Acts 9-12

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Thursday, June 8

Saul fought Christ in every way possible throughout his life up until this point.  He was the most unlikely Jesus follower.  He loved God and served God and thought he was doing His will.  But he thought that Jesus had been a false teacher and liar and that everyone who followed and spread Jesus’ teachings needed to be stopped.  There are people today who think they are doing God’s will but instead are ignorant of the truth, possibly because, like Saul, they don’t understand who Jesus is.

 

And then came the light!  Following the spectacular flash of light and the great voice of Jesus, Saul was led to Damascus where he was blind and did not eat or drink for three days.   I imagine this was a time of tremendous wrestling and questioning and perhaps doubting everything that he thought he had known about his whole life’s work and about Jesus.

 

Enter Ananias.  In a vision, Ananias, a follower of Jesus, is given specific directions to find Saul and place his hands on him to heal him.  Ananias answers, telling the Lord what a bad guy Saul is and how dangerous this could be.  Has the Lord ever tried to send you in one direction and instead you had your list of reasons why it didn’t make sense?  God’s work and His will doesn’t always make sense to us, and it doesn’t ‘have’ to make sense.  Our list of excuses and reasoning is worth nothing in comparison to God’s plan and desire for us.  So the patient Lord once again told Ananias, “This man (Saul) is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”  (Acts 9:15).  How might you also be the Lord’s chosen instrument?  To whom has he prepared and designed you to carry His name?  Perhaps not to kings, but maybe to your neighbor and facebook friends and co-workers?

 

So, with no more excuses left, Ananias went to Saul and placed his hands on him to give him sight.  Ananias told Saul he would be filled with the Holy Spirit.  With the Lord’s powerful light, three days spent questioning what he had thought he had known, and Ananias’ faithful intervention, Saul realized the mistake he had made in his life and he was healed and baptized.  Just like Saul, anyone can change their life and follow Jesus.  God can set anyone straight.  Keep praying for those fighting against Christ and consider how He wants you to carry His name to others?

-Jason Railton