All we are should be HIS

1Jn 5:12  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1Jn 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Those who believe and those who don't believe- two categories exist. The believers and unbelievers.
Among the unbelievers are those who are not TRUE believers.  I make that distinction because a lot of people will make the claim that they believe and yet our Savior will tell them He never knew them.

Remember these verses-

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

They are saying to our Savior- didn't they do many things in HIS name?  And the 'they' are MANY. How does our Lord respond? By saying-

I NEVER knew you.
Depart from me- you who work iniquity.

Yet these people BELIEVE that they are believing. Obviously they believe their actions of belief, their show of being God's is what should be recognized as their belief.

We have NO right to EVER say to our LORD, look what we've done, NO RIGHT! All we can do is fall at HIS feet and beg for forgiveness for all we've neglected to do.

We have to be TRUE believers, not DECEIVED believers.

If we have the SON we have LIFE.

Having the Son as we've learned means believing, it means having faith, it means living with God in us as we KNOW God. And we know Him by loving Him and others and keeping His words of pure LOVE- His commandments.  By this we KNOW we have the Son.  We fool ourselves if we do NOT love others, if we do NOT love the words, the commandments of God, if we do not LIVE our LOVE for God. We are honestly deceiving ourselves, allowing ourselves to be deceived when we claim to love and yet live as if we don't even know God or what He desires of us. We must trust fully in our God, fully. We have to believe in the UNDESERVED righteousness that our Savior IS for us!

1Jn 5:12  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1Jn 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

These things are written unto us who believe on the name of the Son of God- and we may KNOW that we have eternal life, and that we might believe on the name of the Son of God.

Know-believe- all in the Son of God, all in our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord!

Believe solely in HIM, not in ourselves at all.  Seriously. If we place our belief of salvation in ourselves we'll join the ranks of those who are not true believers in our ONE and ONLY SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. We MUST believe fully in our God, our Savior. We must know that we have to surrender to HIM all we are!

Some might believe that to surrender all of themselves is to give up who they are, but in truth we have NOTHING to offer towards our salvation and the mistake we make so foolishly is to believe we do. And what do we live for if not for salvation in our Savior? If we are living for any other reason again we are living to self. In all we are and all that is ours, all that we possess, all that we make our lives our Savior MUST be first in ALL of that, not just part of it, not just the bits and pieces we choose to believe that  should be Christ's. All we are should be HIS.

BY HIS GRACE!
BY HIS LOVE!

Eternal life in the Son

1Jn 5:9  If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
1Jn 5:10  He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
1Jn 5:11  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.


God has given to us ETERNAL LIFE…and this life is in His SON.

Eternal life.

Read this--

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Rev 21:9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Rev 21:12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
Rev 21:13  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev 21:15  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Rev 21:16  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Rev 21:18  And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
Rev 21:19  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
Rev 21:20  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Rev 21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Rev 21:24  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Rev 21:25  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 22:6  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

ETERNAL LIFE!

Amazing!

No curse.
No tears.
No pain.
No death.

All things that have made our lives miserable.

No one has lived (except those very, very few translated to heaven) - without experiencing pain, tears, death. NO one has live without living under the curse of sin.

Life without pain, tears, death, is just barely imaginable and only imaginable  through our Savior.

We must think of Eternal Life, it's something we can't stop thinking of and look for.

Our Savior came to earth to BRING the message of the gospel of the KINGDOM.

That's HOW important it is… SALVATION… a life with CHRIST forever! A real life! A life that is so hard for us to imagine, truly imagine.

This life offered to us is in the Son of God!

Only through the Son do we live and NO other way, none!

All by HIS GRACE!

His LOVE!

Jesus - Son of God

1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jn 5:6  This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1Jn 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1Jn 5:8  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.


Three bear record in heaven-

The Father
The Word
The Holy Ghost

And they AGREE in one.

Three that bear witness in earth-

The Spirit
The Water
And the Blood

And they AGREE in one.

The same exact word saying - 'are one' and 'agree in one'  is used- 'are and agree'.

They AGREE in ONE- which is what makes the most sense, yes?

The Father, the Son (Word), and the Holy Ghost- agree in one they are NOT one entity. 
The Spirit, the Water, and the Blood- agree in one- they are NOT one entity.

Our Savior was baptized by WATER- a baptism that was pointless to some because the reason for baptism was to repent of your sins and He had NO sins. He did it in signifying HIS new life- His new ministry He was beginning. He did it and revealed the acceptance of the Father- that His life up to that point was deemed acceptable- uncorrupted- He was pleasing to God.

Mar 1:9  And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
Mar 1:10  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
Mar 1:11  And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Spirit descended upon Him.

The Blood He shed for us represented the life He gave, the death He suffered- all to redeem us to Him.

Agreeing in one- the agreement that is between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.  The agreement the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood - all testifying to worthiness of the sacrifice offered, living, and dying.

1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Jesus is the Son of God- this is TRUTH.

Overcoming this corrupted world only by the TRUTH, by JESUS - the Son of God.

If we hope only for eternal life so that we may continue to live the life we now have without end, we are not living for the Son, for the Father, but ourselves.

So many hope to live long and happy lives, so many hope that some miracle scientific cure will appear that will give life everlasting to people. People have had their heads frozen in hopes of one day science will figure out how to bring them back to life again so they can continue to live on in this corrupted world.  People live in hopes of making this world a better place- rather than believing in God's word which tells us that won't happen. People set their sights on the things of this world and if not making it better for themselves for their descendents. Yet right now the world we live in is so incredibly full of sin it's unbelievable, and this after thousands of years of people trying to make it better. Oh, sure you could name hundreds, possibly thousands of improvements- but you could also number hundreds and thousands of things that haven't been improved and how a lot of improvements bring with them new corruptions.  Rather than comprehending that our lives are to be lived towards eternal life- with the hope of a NEW life- a BRAND new life of the likes we can't fully comprehend- a SIN-FREE life, a life of PURE LOVE- we tend of focus on this life and how we can make it better, hoping beyond hope that maybe things will turn around and the world and it's occupants will miraculously begin to love one another. To have that hope is a fallacy, a lie, a false hope, the truth is FOUND in God's word and our only hope is the gospel of the kingdom, found in our Savior who died and returned to heaven to prepare us a place there.

Take a few moments to think, really think about your expectations for eternity.  Are you imagining life as we live today only without pain and corruption, without sin? Think about a lot of things you find enjoyment in right now- are they in anyway sinful? If they are, do you imagine being happy without them in your life at all? Take them - those things you think might have an element of sin in the- and imagine living totally without them.  Imagine it.   Eternity isn't going to be spent indulging our selfish, sinful desires.  Some imagine heaven as a place where you are suddenly allowed to do everything you've ever desired - the problem with that is a lot of what we desire is born of sinful elements because we live to the flesh.

We need to pray that God allows His Spirit to live within us - changing us, creating a CLEAN heart within us. His love is everything.  Living in HIS LOVE is everything. Imagining what it must be to live in His love fully for all eternity- this is truth, this is life eternal, this is hope, this is faith, this is the desire.  The horrors of this world are so vile, so overwhelmingly detestable and even the tiniest of sins is repulsive in the grand scheme of God's pure love. To live where there is NOTHING contrary to God's amazing love- this is life eternal in a Savior who lived that life among the atrocities of our world today, truly all powerful, all worthy of being Savior, of holding the power to redeem.

1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Overcoming the world- something we have NO hope of doing without believing whole heartedly in Jesus the Son of God, and believing in ALL He represents.

We can't imagine the things that await those who are His- we can only know that the glory of being with HIM is everything!

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

In HIS amazing love!
By His amazing grace!

Overcoming the world

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Overcoming the world.

We have to OVERCOME the world.

So many are caught up in being accepted by the world, being able to fit into the world, finding their place in the world, making a life for themselves in this world. By being caught up I mean that they believe their life in this world is what matters more than anything else. That life eternal is more of an after thought to their 'real' life here and now. Thinking about eternity is something they do upon occasion, something they really would rather think about when they are much older and perhaps closer to death. Making eternal life - the seeking of eternal life- their life here in the world isn't something practical to them, it's something only the weak do when they can't handle living in the 'real' world.

Overcoming the world. How many people do you know are intent upon overcoming the world?

So many people put eternal life into the trunk of life's car and take it out upon occasion, they don't let it ride up front with them every single day as part of their daily existence.

I've said it before and I'll most likely say it again- this life here and now is TEMPORARY to ETERNITY. But most people have it backwards, they believe this life here and now is not temporary but perhaps all there really is- because hey, you never know, right?

Every single problem- large and small, devastating and merely annoying- they are ALL temporary to eternity.

Every single joy- large and small, life altering, wonderful and merely amusing- they are ALL temporary to eternity.

When we try to hold fast to our problems dwelling on them and letting our life focus be wholly on them, when we try to hold fast to our joys dwelling on them and letting our life focus be wholly on them, we are missing the HUGE picture of what life really is- temporary to eternity. 

Overcoming the world- this is our goal- not being assimilated into the world.
Being apart from the world- in that the everlasting gospel of the kingdom of eternal life is your main focus. 

When our main focus is the gospel of the kingdom, when we our main focus is overcoming the world towards the end goal of being Christ's, then our main focus is love- perfecting LOVE. 

As we've learned perfecting the love in us is knowing God, and realizing in knowing God we are loved and must love in return- love God and love others.

We need to focus on overcoming the world and doing that through the love of our Savior.

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

If we are BORN of God- we OVERCOME the world.
This is the VICTORY that OVERCOMETH the world- EVEN OUR FAITH.
Who overcomes the world?
He that believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Our faith in God, and God is love!
Our faith in Jesus, God's son, sent to die in our place, and living resurrected to bring us life eternal.

Our faith in God enables us to OVERCOME the world.

All by HIS grace!!! His LOVE!

If we believe that Jesus is the Christ- we are born of God.

1Jn 5:1  Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

If we believe that Jesus is the Christ-  we are born of God.

If we believe that we love Him that begat- if we believe that we Love the FATHER who begat Jesus Christ- then we love Jesus Christ.

If we LOVE God the Father and we LOVE the Begotten - Jesus Christ- we LOVE all the children of God- we LOVE others.

We keep God's commandments.

This is the love of God- that we KEEP His commandments.

Commandments given to us out of His love!

And any commandments given out of LOVE are NOT grievous, they can't be.

Commandments that are made from love cannot be grievous, it's impossible.

So many people look at the commandments as restrictions and not as love. We have to look at them as love, if we don't then we can't really know God's love, can we? If we refuse to recognize God's love given to us in such detail, then we refuse to truly know Him at all.

If I say I love someone and refuse to know them, to read something they've given me that reveals that love, how can I truly believe I love them, how?

We must believe.

Without believing we are lost.

We must believe and in believing we must love with HIS love, and we keep His commandments out of love- always.

If we hate we cannot LOVE God.

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

If we hate others we cannot LOVE God, it's impossible.

The scriptures are telling us the truth here, telling us that we cannot lay claim to loving God if we hate someone, anyone, any other.

Hate runs rampant through our world.

When I was growing up I was taught by my parents that I shouldn't hate anyone, that hate was the most awful thing you could say to someone, the most awful thing you could feel towards another person. And I also remember using the word and I vividly remember one time when I wrote it in chalk on the ground after I'd been humiliated in front of my friends. I felt such an awful feeling as most people do when they are humiliated. Humiliation has led to many horrors in retaliation of that experience. Being humiliated, embarrassed, teased, bullied- we know that the results of that are destructive for either those being humiliated or those doing the humiliating.  It's never fun taking mental, emotional abuse, never and hating those that torture others that way seems like a natural response. Yet, we are NOT to hate others, not for any reason.  Jesus spent precious time preaching about how we should treat others.

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

Do GOOD to them that hate you.
LOVE your enemies.
BLESS them that curse you.
Pray for them which DESPITEFULLY use you and persecute you.

Being humiliated is being persecuted despitefully, yes?

When I was a child and felt that humiliation I know now that it wasn't an intentional act on the part of my parent to make me feel that way, but as a child I was feeling hatred, and it wasn't a good thing at all. God forgive me that hatred and all the subsequent hatred I've felt towards others at various times throughout my life.

Hatred is the complete opposite of God's love towards us.  If we hate others we do NOT know God, we cannot LOVE God- why? Because He cannot hate us, He is love. Some will argue that God has allowed, arranged, or otherwise facilitated the horrors that could only come from hate, but what God hates is sin, all that is not love. When sin fills people they either choose to allow it to thrive within them or they fall on their knees and ask God to forgive them, they repent, they despise the sin inside themselves. 

There isn't a SINGLE person who will not be saved that has the love of God in them, NOT ONE.

Everyone who LOVES GOD- truly loves God from time beginning until time ending- will be saved, they will be HIS.  Because out of that LOVE for God they will love as He would have them love, with His love.  They will love others, they will love His commandments, they will love in His love.

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

If we say we love God and we hate others - we DO NOT LOVE GOD! We can pretend all we want, we can fool even ourselves if we allow it, but ANY hatred for others destroys the love we have for God.

Is it any wonder our Savior came and spent three years preaching the love of God? He did it because the LOVE of God truly is the all in all.  He LIVED the love of God, teaching US to live as He lived, the love of God through HIM. Hating was NOT something He encouraged. HE never encouraged us to hate others, never and He never ever would.

We love him, because he first loved us.

1Jn 4:19  We love him, because he first loved us.

He first loved us.

People don't always feel loved by God, in fact they'll blame Him for their troubles, their misfortunes, their heartaches, their pain. They'll cry, heart wrenching cries of emotional agony and if you ask them if they feel the love of God they are hard pressed to answer yes. And yet, God loved us FIRST.

In all things God has loved us first- allowing us to love Him, giving us the opportunity to LOVE Him. 

As our Creator we were fashioned from His love.  We were not created with indifference. We were not created as an afterthought. We were created out of love, meant to love God and each other.  He loved us first before all things. He loved us enough to allow flesh to enfold His Spirit and He tasted DEATH for us. He tasted separation from God-the FATHER after the two had been together since time everlasting- without beginning and without end.  Why did He endure the agony of that separation? Because He loved us. He didn't want us to endure the separation we'd created for ourselves by sinning, by breaking the bond between us that was forged at creation.  TO repair the break He gave HIMSELF for us and that is something we can hardly begin to comprehend- that is LOVE- the LOVE He first had for us. The love that enables us to LOVE HIM.

We love HIM because HE FIRST loved us.

Such love is something we don't deserve, can't deserve, but it's something we must have - our life, our eternal life is only possible through that love and NO other way.

People who believe there is a way to work themselves into heaven by being good enough are so totally lost, so off track it's tragic. There is NO way to work for salvation. Love is the only way to salvation.

We love Him because He FIRST loved us.

His first LOVING us makes our loving Him possible.  Except He first loves us we don't have a clue what love is, not a clue.

God is love.

Without God there is NO such thing as love. It's true.

We were created with the capacity to love, to return love to God, to give love to others, and to receive love from God and receive love from others.

We have the capacity- the ability to do so and yet so many shun God and HE is the love we can love with- the ONLY love we can truly love with.

All other love we try to manufacture outside of God and His love is an empty self-serving love.

We love Him because He first loved us.

Praise God He loved us first! Praise God that we were created out of His love for us, and redeemed out of His love for us!

All glory to God!