John 3

In many ways I am like my Father. My Dad likes science and math. He was a science teacher. I like science and math. I became an engineer. My Dad likes sports. He was and still is a coach. I like sports. I became a fan. People say our voices sound alike. We are about the same height. We both look darn good in gray hair.

When I became a Christian I gained a heavenly Father. John 3:1 reminds us that we are children of God. Have I picked up any qualities from my heavenly Father?

Jesus was like that. He told Thomas, "If you have seen me you have seen the Father". Jesus was the perfect earthly example of our heavenly Father. When people saw Jesus they saw His Father.

When people see you do they see your Father in you? Do they see evidence of your Father's heart. Do they hear your Father's voice? Do they feel your Father's touch?

John is really challenging us to "purify ourselves". Show the family resemblence. Stay away from sin, don't get sucked into things of the world and love one another. These are the things that Jesus did that showed the world what His Father was like.

It is great blessing to have a good earthly father for a role model. It is a great challenge to have a perfect heavenly Father and a big brother who never did anything wrong.

Are you becoming more like Jesus? Do you want to?

1 John 2B

This week we are in 1 John 2:15-29. John talks about remaining in Christ but first he talks about two things that are outside of Christ: the world and the spirit of antichrist. There is a big difference between being in Christ and outside of Christ.

In Christ we have the truth. In Christ we are in the light. In Christ we have fellowship with the Father through the Son. In Christ we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In Christ we have eternal life.

Outside of Christ is the world. Outside of Christ is the spirit of antichrist. Outside of Christ is darkness. Outside of Christ are things that can draw us away from Christ. Outside of Christ are things that will pass away.

John calls us to remain in Jesus. Jesus said the same thing, “Remain in me”.

How do we “Remain in Him”?

2 John

Light and Darkness. A new command and an old one. Obeying His commands.

God is light in HIm is no darkness at all. This is how Jesus lived. He walked in the light without sin and had perfect fellowship with God. This is our goal but we are not perfect and we sin. But when we sin we have Jesus on our side. He is our advocate to speak for us. But He is also the complete sacrifice for our sins. But we need to face our sins, confess, repent and be forgiven and purified. John makes is clear he is saying: "Do not sin", but when you do there is a remedy. Jesus will help you fix it.

When we focus on obeying Gods commands we need to be careful not to make the mistake of the Pharisees and fall into legalism. In John 13:34 Jesus said he was giving his disciples a new command. "As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." This is not a new command to love one another. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself. What is new is this part: "As I have loved you". When God walked in a human body this is how he loved. Jesus has given us the example and He has given us the Holy Spirit.

What does it mean to walk in the light? Do not sin. When you do sin confess your sins to God and be assured of your forgiveness thanks to the blood of Jesus. But this is only the beginning. To love others as Jesus loved is far greater than just avoiding sin. The commands of Jesus are active they tell us what we should do much more often than they tell us what to avoid.

1 John

"If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth."
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
"If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

As I read 1 John 1 and 2 this week, his logic arguments are very simple, and yet if taken at their word, very broad reaching.

In 1 John 2:22 he says, "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-he denies the Father and the Son." This is a very black and white approach to explaining the antichrist. John has an approach that is sort of just an if-then, black-white approach to writing. Seems like the world we live in has become more gray. A believer can have a small faith, developing faith. The "come and see", then the "follow me", "be with me", "remain in me". So do we have degrees of faith? If its a process of maturity, does this book work with that approach to faith? Or is it simply, believe, you are saved, don't believe and your the antichrist?

1 John 1

I love this letter. John starts out with a very important fact. He actually saw Jesus. He heard Him and he touched Him. John wasn't just repeating what he had heard about Jesus. He was there. He's not making this stuff up.

Today the people with the most powerful testimonies are the ones who are actually walking with Him. They are not just repeating what they learned about Jesus in church. They are telling the story of what Jesus is doing in their lives. He may not touch us physically like he touched John but he still touches lives. And lives touched by Jesus have an impact on the world.

Ruth 3-4

Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. I see a lesson in each one.

Ruth: She goes to Boaz and lays at his feet. This reminded me of the story of Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, sitting at the feet of Jesus. She cleaned herself up and dressed nice to go into the presence of her redeemer. What a message for us. We should take time to come into God's presence, to sit at the feet of Jesus. But when we do we shouldn't do it casually. Clean ourselves up, confess our sins, give Him our full attention, set aside our valuable time and just be with Him.

Naomi: The empty bitter Naomi now sees the hand of God at work and she becomes Ruth's counselor. She advises her and Ruth faithfully obeys. Ruth showed kindness to Naomi and now Naomi returns the kindness with her wise counsel. A new Christian or a seeker may need someone to show them the way to Jesus. On the other side we can all benefit at times from wise counsel even when it comes unexpectedly from the one you thought you were blessing.

Boaz: Boaz is the redeemer. When he spreads his garment over Ruth he takes her under his care and changes her life forever. When he goes to the next of kin and offers to pay the price for the land and accept Ruth along with it he became her kinsman-redeemer. Without a redeemer Ruth and Naomi would have lived a life of poor widows. Because of her redeemer Ruth will become a mother of kings. Having a redeemer changes everything. Jesus is our redeemer. Having Jesus redeem us changes everything.

The name Ruth means Mercy. This is the story of a merciful God.

May the Lord bless you as you study his word and live it out.

Your fellow student.

Dave Morris

Ruth Chapters 1 & 2

This week we will study the first 2 chapters of Ruth.

I love the book of Ruth. Several things stand out for me in this story:

- Ruth was not a Jew. She was a Moabite, but when she committed herself to accept the God of Israel as her God, God blessed her.

- Ruth was totally devoted to her mother-in-law even though it would appear she had nothing to gain from this relationship.

- Boaz was a redeemer who became an ancestor of David the deliverer of Israel and Jesus the redeemer of the world.

The message for us is

- God will accept anyone from any background who accepts Jesus as their Savior.

- A life devoted to others is noticed by God.

- We all need a redeemer. Jesus is our redeemer.

May God richly bless you this week.

Dave Morris