1 John 1:4: Joy
| | Posted On Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at 11:03 PM
"1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-
2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-
3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete."
Fact: Our joy is made complete when we share the gospel and our fellowship with the Jesus and God, who were there in the beginning and have demonstrated eternal life. Jesus was there in the beginning and will be there in the end and into eternity. Will you be with Him?
We were challenged to consider our personal fellowships with Jesus and with God. what does your relationship look like? Is it valued? Does that relationship genuinely make an impact on your life and your decisions, and how you act, behave, speak, decide? Could a lawyer prove without a shadow of doubt that your relationship is legit and existent and healthy and growing? Jesus desires not to improve your life, but to transform your life (a new creation).
2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-
3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete."
Fact: Our joy is made complete when we share the gospel and our fellowship with the Jesus and God, who were there in the beginning and have demonstrated eternal life. Jesus was there in the beginning and will be there in the end and into eternity. Will you be with Him?
We were challenged to consider our personal fellowships with Jesus and with God. what does your relationship look like? Is it valued? Does that relationship genuinely make an impact on your life and your decisions, and how you act, behave, speak, decide? Could a lawyer prove without a shadow of doubt that your relationship is legit and existent and healthy and growing? Jesus desires not to improve your life, but to transform your life (a new creation).
When we say that you have fellowship with Jesus, what does that relationship look like? Jesus is the Christ, the King. He is our King. Does your relationship with Jesus look like the relationship of a loving, wise King and his people? Jesus holds up his end. He is faithful and patient and most of all loving. Are you faithful to him? Do you hold his commands above your own needs? Do you seek to serve him in all things? If someone audited my life, I would be found severely wanting on my side of the relationship. But God is so merciful and graceful to me that he will forgive my transgressions and will cleanse my sin. I must respond by seeking out His will and living to serve my king, Jesus.
I currently do not have an answer for the questions posted, but I would like to share something related to our last study.
With all my time on planes this weekend, I began to reread the beginning a book I recently received as a gift, Basic Christianity by John Stott.
On the back of the book, it quotes from the preface, "If Jesus was not God in human flesh, Christianity is exploded. We are left with just another religion with some beautiful ideas and noble ethics; its unique distinction has gone."
In the first chapter, the first two paragraphs starts with "In the beginning God. The first four words of the Bible are more than an introduction to the creation story or to the book of Genesis. They supply the key which opens our understanding to the Bible as a whole. They tell us that the religion of the Bible is a religion of initiative of God.
You can never take God by surprise. You can never anticipate him. He always makes the first move. He is always there 'in the beginning.' Before man existed. God acted. Before man stirs himself to seek God. God has sought man. In the Bible we do not see man groping after God; we see God reaching after man."
They later quote John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1.
I recently picked up reading Christian books I had acquired in the recent years. Lately, a good deal of what I have read has come up again soon after.
This time, it was the other way around. I had read this all a week prior, but forgot all about it by the time we had our study. To read this all again the day after our study, it as though God is telling me "this is important so we will go over it till you get it." The more I am spending time in the word, it all becomes much more clear to me.
Jess, I'm looking forward to hearing how your relationship with Jesus is strengthened by your reading and your musings. It's good to remember that it's really all about God and how easy it can be to forget that when we get caught up in life.