Monday February 2, 2009 BY OUR LOVE
Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you. Whoever does what God approves of has God's approval as Christ has God's approval. The person who lives a sinful life belongs to the devil, because the devil has been committing sin since the beginning. The reason that the Son of God appeared was to destroy what the devil does. Those who have been born from God don't live sinful lives. What God has said lives in them, and they can't live sinful lives. They have been born from God. This is the way God's children are distinguished from the devil's children. Everyone who doesn't do what is right or love other believers isn't God's child. I John 3:7-10 This is one of those passages that is hard for us to swallow when it stands alone. How many of you have been sin free for one day? Not me. I fall short every day in some way. In the writing for Daily Bread today, the writer said, "The standards we have for ourselves are rarely as strict as those we hold for others. They allow us to denounce a drug addict while we remain gossips. In reality, without Christ no one is good enough to go to heaven." As it turns out, what John addressed before and after today's passage is the subject of love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. In 1 John 3:18 he states, "Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words." The group Newsong recorded a song several years ago, and a phrase from that song says, "Haven't you heard, love is a verb, not just a word?" I really believe that is the message John is trying to get across in his entire letter to the church - the body of Christ. Our love for each other should be the kind of love that will not allow one part of the body to suffer while another prospers. The Jewish religious right of Jesus' day believed prosperity was a sign of a righteous person. Jesus lived His life without prosperity. Luke recorded these words in Luke 9:58, "Jesus told him, 'Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep.'" In my opinion, based on the Word of God, true righteousness is doing the right thing, loving as Jesus loved, with His power. We should show the hurting and the outcast the loving mercy of God's grace. The old song we sing says, "They'll know we are Christians by our love" - not our holiness! ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [email protected] or [email protected] window live messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
