Live through HIM

1Jn 4:9  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
1Jn 4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1Jn 4:11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

That we might LIVE THROUGH HIM.

Our Savior - sinless- undeserving of death- took on death the penalty for sin- all for us who deserve death- us who are filled with sin.  We are filled with UNLOVING acts time and time again.

Whether the unloving is towards God or towards our fellowman- we time and time again stop loving one or the other- or both.

Our God has NEVER stopped loving us and this is why He could die for us sinless.

Our God loves us who are completely UNDESERVING. There isn't a single thing we do that can make us deserving, it's totally UNDESERVED love we are given.

NO one has to deserve our love in order for us to give it to them-this is love- the love of God- the love GOD would have us give to one another.

No one need be good enough to get our love.
No one need be Godly enough to get our love.
No one need be nice enough to get our love.
No one need be decent, giving, kind, friendly, sweet, endearing, tolerant, in order to get our love.

It is TRULY the love of God when it is given without it being deserved.

How easy it is for us to give hate for hate, to revile when we are reviled, to despise when we are despised, to be mean when we are being abused. Our natural inclination is to strike out when we are struck.

God's love tells us to love all the more when we are hated, to forgive even more those that despise us, to accept the horrors of abuse heaped upon us without giving into the temptation to return the same hated behavior to those giving it to us.

How incredibly easy it is to be defensive, to stand up for ourselves and tell ourselves that it's good and right to not allow ourselves to be mistreated- verbally, physically, emotionally, mentally.

1Jn 4:11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

This is the love we are to give to each other, always. Every person no matter how ungodly seeming is NOT beyond our ability to love with GOD'S love. If we choose NOT to love another because of our perception of them (even if it is a correct assessment and admitted by them personally) then we are possibly being ungodly to one that God is in the process of converting.  Paul is an example. Would Peter, John, James or any of the Apostles have looked at Paul when he was in the throes of actively persecuting those who believed on Christ, and thought for a moment he would be a great instrument in God's hands? Would Stephen who died as Paul stood by holding the coats of those throwing their deadly stones at him, murdering him, have thought there is one God is molding and shaping for His work? Paul was a hater, a terrible, terrible hater of Christ followers. Paul wanted to hunt down these Christ followers and destroy them all.  Would we look at those who seem as far from Christ as you can get and believe they could be God's chosen? We tend to condemn, not love. Christ died for ALL, each person has the opportunity to choose to believe in Christ Jesus their Savior. When we do NOT love even the worst of the worst- we are condemning them as unworthy and yet Christ Jesus died for them too! It is the devil's influence filling even the most vile of people, and we need to pray for those we least want to pray for, those least deserving in our thoughts, in our beliefs.

As God loved us we MUST love each other!

I don't know about you, but I know I'm very, very undeserving of the sacrifice my Savior made for me.

We must love and to love we must know God, we must understand as far as we are able the sacrifice our Savior made for us- this is the love of God.

Please Lord, please, help us to LOVE.

Love is of God

1Jn 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1Jn 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love

LOVE one another.
For LOVE is of GOD.
Everyone that LOVETH- is born of GOD and knows GOD.
He that LOVES not - does not know GOD.
GOD is LOVE.

Love - God.
God - Love.

LOVE-

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE* thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

G25 LOVE*
- Transliteration: Agapao
- Phonetic: ag-ap-ah'-o
- Definition:
1. of persons
a. to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly

To welcome- not to turn away, not to refuse.
To entertain- to engage pleasantly.
To be fond of- to feel kindness towards.
To love dearly- to care for exceedingly.

People don't love not really love, not anymore.

There is a guardedness, a barrier erected and that barrier is made up of SELF.

To love is to give of self- selflessly- without reservation- without making sure that one you are attempting to love is deserving of that love. If we pause to consider whether or not another is deserving of our love- that isn't love at all.

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

1Jn 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1Jn 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love


Our love cannot be self-centered, our love must be God's love- unconditional- loving when not loved- not just loving when we feel loved, or feel like loving.

Please LORD please, take our selfishness, our selfish hearts away from us and fill us with YOUR love, YOUR SPIRIT, YOU.

Help us to KNOW YOU GOD, so that we may love, truly love.

Spirit of truth and spirit of error

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Greater is HE that is in US than he that is in the world.

Always God will be greater than Satan. 

We live in a world that Satan rules. You look around and it doesn't take very long at all for a person to realize that our God of love has allowed man's choice to sin, man's choice to listen to Satan, to rule this world. Only our God's mercy has preserved us, us who will love the LORD with all our hearts, believing in Him over all.  We are preserved by God. Our eternal life is preserved by our Savior. Everything that happens to us does so for a reason. When we read the book of Job and realize the extent of the horrors He endured, we know that all we endure is likewise for reasons beyond our ability to comprehend.

God is greater in us, greater than Satan will ever be.

Hearing God, listening to His truths, this is something we MUST do.

There is a spirit of truth and a spirit of error.

Truth and error.

God and the world possessed by Satan.

There is so much falsehood in the world, so much. We have to cling to the truth. We have to cling to Christ. We have to keep our God alive in us through faith, and not be OF the world. Not seek to be OF the world, but OF GOD. Actively seeking God not encouraging the worldly ways above Him which is so easy to do!

We are of GOD.
We overcome the world because of God in us.
God is GREATER than all.

Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.


We must confess that our Savior came in the flesh just like we come in the flesh with the ability to sin.

Our Savior was born of a woman who sinned. No where in the word of God are we told that Mary was sinless. She was blessed but so were others in the Bible.

Gen 17:19  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Gen 17:20  And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

Ishmael was blessed by God.

Gen 24:1  And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Abraham was blessed.

This is what was said to Mary-

Luk 1:28  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

She was HIGHLY FAVORED.
The LORD was with HER.
She was BLESSED among women.

No where are we told she is sinless, no where at all. 

Abraham wasn't without sin and God blessed him.
Ishmael wasn't without sin and he was blessed.

You can be blessed and have sinned.

The reason our Savior was taking on OUR FLESH was to feel our infirmities.

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

He could FEEL the same struggles of the flesh as we feel!  Yet HE did NOT sin!  He conquered where we fell. He won where we lost. He did what we could not do. He could HAVE SINNED, but He didn't! He had to PROVE that man in flesh could serve God and their fellowman in love, and He did. This is what He came to do. He FOUGHT the spiritual battle, and it was a fight! A real fight! To think otherwise is to belittle our Savior's achievement. To think otherwise would mean that He didn't have to do things that way, He could have just stayed in Heaven, not begotten as God's Son in human flesh- but God with God- and saved us that way by simply saying the words. It couldn't be that way, to do it that way would have stripped our freedom of choice from us. In making us with that freedom of choice the amazing gift made us in God's likeness. The ability to choose.  And our Savior came to earth, God taking on flesh, begotten of the Father as His Son- and He PROVED that the flesh could conquer death, could conquer sin, He did for us what we could NOT do, and HE DID IT FOR US! He proved it to us that it could be done and IN HIM we are now able to do it-through HIS achievement. When we are CONNECTED fully with HIM by faith, trusting in HIM and HIS righteousness, asking for and receiving forgiveness, repenting of our sinful selves, we are then living in the SPIRIT- connected fully.

If we do NOT confess that our Savior came in the flesh that could sin, then we are not God's, and SO incredibly many people do just that, they do NOT confess that our Savior truly came in flesh. They've changed the flesh He came in, they've altered and made it so that it would have been impossible for Him to sin. They've even claimed that His human mother was sinless that's how far some have taken the humanity of Jesus and changed it to suit their ideas and NOT God's.

The spirit of the antichrist - those who would put their own beliefs in place of God's, taking away the fact our Savior truly came in human flesh and all that means.

Please LORD, please help us NEVER to have the spirit of antichrist in  us! Please, save us from ourselves!

Bless us Lord, keep us Lord, forgive us Lord, save us Lord, help us Lord, heal us Lord!

All through YOU! All in YOUR LOVE!

The Flesh of our Savior

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Let's take a look at the verses containing the word 'flesh' for a bit--

Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for FLESH and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no FLESH be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Mat 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the FLESH is weak.

Luk 3:6  And all FLESH shall see the salvation of God.

Luk 24:39  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not FLESH and bones, as ye see me have.

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the FLESH, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Joh 1:14  And the Word was made  FLESH, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the FLESH is FLESH; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Rom 1:3  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the FLESH

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the FLESH, but after the Spirit.

Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the FLESH, God sending his own Son IN THE LIKENESS OF SINFUL FLESH, and for sin, condemned sin in the FLESH:
Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the FLESH, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:5  For they that are after the FLESH do mind the things of the FLESH; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the FLESH cannot please God.
Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the FLESH, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the FLESH, to live after the FLESH.
Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the FLESH, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

*******

 Flesh.

Our Savior was FLESH and BLOOD. He gave us the example of His FLESH and BLOOD so we could NOT doubt the reality of what He was composed of. Not that He wanted us to really physically eat His skin and drink His real blood- it is symbolic and the symbol is the REALITY of what our SAVIOR came to earth as- FLESH, like our flesh.

Flesh such as the seed of David inherited, flesh that felt the FULL pull of temptation.

Our Savior inherited that same FLESH. He COULD have sinned! Think about it, make it REAL to you.

Our Savior COULD HAVE SINNED!

It sounds almost wrong to say it, to think it, to believe that it could have happened.

If we believe that it wasn't possible we take away the FLESH of our Savior and give Him only the status of God. We take away the fact that He COULD be tempted. Why would Satan try to tempt Him if it were IMPOSSIBLE for our Savior to sin? He wouldn't have, there would have been NO point at all whatsoever. To conquer you have to have had the ability to fail, not succeed or it is not conquering. And our Savior conquered death- the ultimate result of sin eternal non-existence, the second death.


More on this tomorrow, all by the grace of God, all through HIS LOVE!

Try the spirits

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

We've discussed this a little bit before- the word- 'antichrist'.

The modern word for anti- is against, but the word used to mean- in place of.

The word antichrist means 'in place of Christ'.

The spirit of antichrist- the spirit of that which tries to take the place of our true Savior.

When we think of our Savior coming in the flesh- people generally don't have too much objection to this fact. However people start to differ and become uncomfortable when they begin to discuss the flesh of our Savior.

Some believe that our Savior came in flesh but such flesh that it was essentially impossible for Him to sin. They believe His nature was different from ours. And in believing that- it's all but impossible for them to believe this--

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

For our Savior to be tempted in ALL points like WE are would mean that He had to have the same propensity, the same flesh as we have or else He could NEVER be tempted like WE are in our sinful flesh.

This is the flesh issue that will divide so many.

The flesh our Savior came in.

Some just think about skin, and yes, Jesus came in skin like we have. To those who are just thinking of flesh as skin there is no issue- and of course those who don't believe our Savior really existed are 'against' Christ. Do you see where semantics can play a HUGE part in things? There is TRUTH in words and there are lies. People fill the words with lies and misdirection and then expect truth to be found, but how can people find it when it's shrouded in darkness?

We cannot believe EVERY spirit.
We have to TRY the spirits.
Some will be of God, others of Satan.
Those spirits, those prophets that are of God must confess that Jesus is come in the flesh.

The flesh of our humanity.

More on this tomorrow by the grace of God!

God's will first, our will last, the very last.

1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

In keeping our Lord's commandments- dwelling in our Savior- and our Savior dwelling in us- loving one another-believing in Jesus Christ the Son of the Father- we KNOW HE abides in us- and we will receive whatever we ask.

People say that's crazy talk, God won't give us whatever we want no matter what. The TRUTH is, God WILL give us whatsoever we ask IF we are abiding in Him because whatever we ask for will be ONLY that which is good and right in HIS eyes. Abiding in Him truly, we will NOT ask for anything that God will not grant us. If we are asking for things and God is not giving them to us- we have to look at our lives, look at our abiding in Christ. Are we keeping His commandments? Are we doing the things that are pleasing in His sight? Are we believing on the name of God's Son- Jesus Christ? Are we LOVING one another?

Seriously, we NEED To examine our lives. We expect so much from God. We expect Him to do for us and us do nothing. Why? Because we cannot do ANYTHING to give us salvation, but that doesn't mean we have NOTHING to give, that nothing is expected of us in our lives. We are expected to have FAITH. We are expected to let that FAITH be REAL in our lives. That REAL faith will alter our life. We STOP living solely for self and desire to live for God. We desire to want to PLEASE God even knowing that nothing we do will give us salvation- that salvation is an unwarranted, amazing gift bestowed upon us by our loving FATHER and loving SON, through the HOLY SPIRIT.

Faith will have us love, love will give us faith, and through it all we will find out, we will discover the love of our God's commandments, the love of LOVING others, the LOVE of believing. We will ONLY- by the grace of God- desire and live for the things of God and God WILL give us whatsoever we ask of Him.

This isn't a get rich quick scheme, or an instantaneous healing act that we must have even if we desperately need money, or healing, or even both. There can be NO schemes, just truth, just love, just belief. You see we will first ask that God's will be done and it will. The will of God may include that we face some very, very difficult trials for reasons God alone will know. God's will first, our will last, the very last.

All in His love, all by His Spirit!