Posts Tagged ‘ a simple man of God ’
whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 2:6, ESV
How did Jesus walk?
He loved the lost, rebuked the religious haughty, and served all to the point of death.
Go and do likewise.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age
Titus 2:11-12, ESV
In a world that tells us to “just do what feels good,” God simply says to do what is good. And He helps us with the Holy Spirit.
Once again, this series is a re-post from five years earlier, with some additions by me.
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It is now the second week of Advent! (See last week’s devotional thought here and here.)
Again, Advent is a time to remember our Lord’s first coming as we look forward to His imminent return.
So, let us prepare hearts for encountering the Lord!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-14, ESV
It is important for us to remember that God’s people, the Israelites, those who painstakingly preserved the written Word of God and pursued righteousness, failed to recognize Him when he came to them quite literally in the flesh.
Jesus said just three chapters later, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23). Our culture today is largely spiritually dull, even in many churches.
Ask yourself, “Would I recognize God if He approached me today?” Seek His face in prayer, Bible reading, and the fellowship of believers. Ask God to reveal Himself to you. Too many missed Him the first time around. Seek the living Lord! Have faith that He is returning soon!
“For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 16:7b, ESV
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8, ESV
When we believe in Jesus Christ and His atoning work of His crucifixion, death, and resurrection, we are given His purity.
Believe in Jesus, and we will see God face to face one Glorious Day.
My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Isaiah 26:9, ESV
When God ordains calamity and strife, the wise see His reproof and grow closer to Him. It is easy to grow complacent amidst blessing.
Seek God continuously.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing
Matthew 6:3, ESV
We help others for love’s sake, to glorify God, not to get attention or rewarded.
Love God by loving others.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV
All it takes is faith, believing God came in the flesh, lived a sinless life, died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins, and rose again bodily from the dead.
Believe in Jesus, and be saved.
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:3-5, ESV
The prophets of old promised the coming Messiah, who has come and will come again.
Prepare the way of the Lord!
I preached again! I liked it. Like, wept some, got goosebumps some, enjoyed preaching it … a lot.
Please enjoy listening (click here if it does not work just below), and see my rough notes for all scripture references and basic thoughts. I am reading from the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible.
Read 3:10-11
1:1, 2:7: Nothing new, known from the beginning
Read 3:12
Genesis 4:3-5: Why did Cain murder Abel? His sacrifice was not accepted.
Why?
2 theories: 1) He could have asked Abel for an animal sacrifice. Could have, yes, but …
2) He offered “an offering of the fruit” versus Abel’s “firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.” Abel offered the first and best, but Cain went for the bare minimum.
Genesis 4:6-7: Bare minimum can lead, at best, to complacency, and at worst to proof of not being saved.
Genesis 4:8-9: Our selfishness leads us to hatred, as John reminds us …
Read 3:13-15
Testimony: Know I am saved, because I have loved the Church.
-Jim Harper – Pastor on the Titanic
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer – Pastor in Nazi Germany
Read 3:16-20
Two things to remember:
Read 3:21-24
What does this all mean for us?
So, then, what are the commands we are to obey?
a simple man of God 