1 John 2:25-29

"And this is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him." 1 John 2:25-29 NIV


This passage of scripture starts out with a most wonderful promise. The promise God has made to us of eternal life.

Usually when I think of eternal life I think about the life I will have in heaven once my earthly body dies. However, in reality, our eternal life begins from the moment we profess our faith. The moment we accept God into our lives. If this is the case, doesn't it make sense that we would want to begin living that eternal life that very same moment? That we would want immediately to begin living out our eternal life with God by diving into His Word? By building daily our relationship with God?

I know of many benefits that come with fully living day to day with God -- benefits that come with ABIDING in God. However, there are several to which John speaks specifically in these scriptures.

The first being that we will be taught the truth.

"And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie..."

If we abide in God and receive his anointing (anointing being the presence of God's spirit with us), we will see the truth. God's spirit will show us the truth. It guides us towards the truth.

Another reason to always abide in God? So that we will not be ashamed when He returns.

"..so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming..."

I don't want to shrink away from God or be embarassed when I stand face to face with Him one day. I want to be ready for his coming at ANY time. No matter the day or night. Unfortunately, I think I have too many days where I would shrink away in His presence. I do, however, seek for this to be different and pray that one day I will be at a point in my relationship with God that I would be fully ready for His coming. That I would have confidence when I am face to face with Him.

In the last verse of this passage John speaks of being born of God. While studying these passages in the online commentary that I use, I found an analogy of this that really gave me a great picture of what it means to be born in Christ.

As children of our earthly parents we each have physical features that tie us to them or other family members. In my children they each have blue eyes like I do, my son has thick dark hair that is just like mine, my daughter's hair is just like her daddy's, both of them have a little dimple on their chin that is exactly like their daddy's, and, just like both my husband and myself, neither of them will ever be very tall.

It is the same when we are abiding in God. When we have a strong relationship with God our lives will show similarities to God. We will love others unconditionally, we will have a heart for giving, we will seek out ways to further the kingdom of God, and so on. Others will be able to see God in our lives.

That is what I seek. I seek to abide so closely with God that others would very clearly see Him in my life each and everyday. It's a daily thing... I must work on it and spend time with God each and everyday.

Truthfully, do I succeed at this everyday? Not at this point in my life. However, I spend more time with God and in His Word that I did even 6 months ago. I think that as long as I strive for that "everyday with God" time and it is a true and heartfelt desire, then one day I will obtain it. God will honor the fact that I am seeking to grow our relationship and He will help that desire to build in me more and more.

As Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." God will take these things on which we honestly and purely seek and He will honor them. He will help us to obtain these desires of our heart.

Thankful Thursday - May 22, 2008

This week I have struggled with my post for Thankful Thursday. Each week I try to be thoughtful and prayerful about my post of thanksgivings. I try to look for those things that might not be the most easily recognized or the ones that I can't always easily rattle off at the drop of a hat. I try to listen for the specific blessing that God has placed on my heart to share for that particular week.

Today as I mentally reviewed the past few days, God placed on my heart the blessing He has given me in my work. Now, for those of you that have read any of my posts over the past month or so, you know that work has been difficult as of late and there have been many struggles there for me over the past couple of years. So, when I first felt led to post on all I have to be thankful for at work, I said, "No... not that." and attempted to go on about my merry little way. Except, my way wasn't very merry (it rarely is when we say 'No' to God, is it?). A very short time later it came up in my thoughts again... post about all there is to be thankful for at work. I sighed and said "OK". However, as I began thinking of all my blessings at work, my focus shifted more towards the difficulties and, once again, I didn't want this to be my post.

However, you know God... He just kept letting me know I needed to change my focus. My focus needs to be on the good, for this is where He has placed me for this time and why would He place me here if it was all bad? Even in the most unpleasant of situations there is a reason we are in that particular situation. Whether it be the people we meet, the experiences we encounter... whatever it may be, that is the good in any situation. I TRULY do have so much to be thankful for at work. In spite of all the difficulty there is SO MUCH that is good.

So, after much thought and prayer...

This week I am thankful for my job and the workplace where I am able to perform those tasks that make up my job.

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the many friends You have given to me thru my job over the last 9 years. I have made special friendships that will be lifelong friendships regardless of whether or not we continue to work together in the years to come.

Thank You for the experiences You have given me thru this job. I have grown as a professional, as a person, and as a Christian. I have gained professional experiences that will go with me into whatever may lie ahead of me in the future... whether it be here or somewhere else. I have learned to deal with stress better and to work more productively.

Thank You for a manager that truly understands how to work with people. Thank You for a manager that is a Christian. We have shared praises and thanksgivings together and prayed for each other over the last 9 years and what a blessing that has been! Thank You for a manager that is my friend. She has been with me as I've grown on this job and as so much has changed in my personal life. She has supported me thru it all and tried to make work as easy as it could be as my life changed so very much with the birth of each of my children. I will miss her when she leaves the company the end of June, but I will be forever changed by knowing her and she will always be my friend.

Thank You for the stresses and demands that have been placed on me by my job over the last two years. Thru them I have been forced to make a decision between work or my family. My family won out (as they should) but I think it was good for me to have to stand my ground on that and make a stronger resolution than ever before that nothing on this earth will come between me and my family.

For more "Thankful Thursday" posts visit Iris at Sting My Heart.

Word-Filled Wednesday - May 21, 2008

For more "Word-Filled Wednesday" posts visit The 160 Acre Woods.

Picture courtesy of www.christianphotos.net

1 John 2:18-24

"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father".
1 John 2:18-24 NIV


I know that for me whenever I read of the the antichrist, I always think of THE Antichrist. One person that will appear to be good, but is truly evil. A person that will attempt to set himself up as god and attempt to take control of the world.

However, in this passage of scripture that isn't the antichrist of which John is warning. In looking at the words John writes, he tells us that the antichrist is coming (that one person that will seek to control the world), but that many antichrists HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED.

Other antichrists besides THE ONE that we all have heard about and read about in Revelations? I had never thought of this term in any other way but that one. I'm a little slow on the uptake some days, so it took me a bit longer to fully understand what John is saying here. But, the lightbulb did eventually go off and I realized John is referring to people and things in this world today. He is telling us that there are already things in this world that seek to turn us away from the one true God.

How about money? How many people do we know that think the only way to be happy is to be wealthy. Or, the perfect job. Maybe if we had the perfect job and made lots of money doing that perfect job. How many times do we hear that will make us happy? Or, maybe it's to be a part of the "in" crowd and be well-known by all in our community. Surely, that would make us happy?

Sadly, that is the message that is sent out to each and everyone of us each and everyday. That is simply not the case. And, no matter the place of significance we put these things in our lives (even to the point of putting them above God) we will not know true happiness, true peace, true joy until we put God in that top place of significance in our lives. Only when we make God THE GOD in our lives will we know the truth.

However, we can't stop here. We must do more than just believe God to the true God. We must do more than say he is the #1 priority in our lives. We must seek to KNOW God. We must spend time in his Word, we must spend time in prayer, we must abide in Him. As the last part of the scripture states, "As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father."

Then Sings My Soul Saturday - May 16, 2008

For more "Then Sings My Soul Saturday" posts visit Amy at Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

For a person that loves words and loves speaking words -- according to my family too many words on some days :) -- this song speaks to me. While it is so very true the our Lord is awesome and mighty and magnificent and we have a huge vocabulary of words from which to choose when describing Him, sometimes we need to stop trying to find the words and just be quiet and express our love. We need to just say, "Jesus, I am so in love with You."

Let My Words Be Few
sung by Phillips, Craig & Dean

You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with You

And I'll stand in awe of You, Jesus
Yes, I'll stand in awe of You
And I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with You

The simplest of all love songs
I want to bring to You
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with You

Thankful Thursday - May 15, 2008

This last weekend was a wonderful celebration of several occasions in our household. On Saturday we celebrated my husband's birthday. On Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day and our 12th Wedding Anniversay.

These special occasions were great reminders of 3 very special blessings in my life. For these, I am so very thankful.

My husband, Jeff... he loves me unconditionally, he supports me unconditionally, and he is one terrific daddy. Jeff has a kind, giving heart and never hesitates to help someone in need. He gives of his time and money to our church and teaches these things to our children. He works hard to support us all and does everything in his power to show us his love and to keep us safe and well. Jeff has a great sense of humor and can quickly turn our frowns to smiles.

My son, Josh... he is 6 yrs and is my always smiling and loving firstborn child. Yes, Josh rarely has anything but a smile on his face. He loves life and lives it to its fullest. He can put a smile on my face simply by grinning at me.... regardless of how poorly I may be feeling. He is free and generous with hugs and kisses. He loves his little sister and loves to play with her and help her when she can't get something done herself. He is so much like his daddy, too, in that he loves to help others. His teachers tell me he offers to help his classmates often and he loves to go with his daddy when helping someone else in need or volunteering to help at church, etc.

My daughter, Abby... she is 3 yrs and is my "sweet girl". Abby is carefree and independent. She wants to do everything her self and no task is too big for her to at least try to accomplish. Abby loves pretend and make believe and will play for hours with her baby dolls, stuffed animals and toy kitchen. She is full of energy and loves the outdoors. And she knows exactly how to melt this Mama's heart. She has an absolutely precious way of coming up to me as close as she can get to my ear. She will then cup her little hands around my ear and whisper, oh, so sweetly, "Mama, I love you." Yes, she too, can make me smile instantly.

Thank you Lord, for my precious family!

For more "Thankful Thursday" posts visit Iris at Sting My Heart.

Word-Filled Wednesday - May 14, 2008

"O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1 NIV

This is how I desire to seek God... earnestly and with a thirsting for Him that is strong. As strong as my physical need for water. Unfortunately, way too many times I let our busy schedule get in the way of this need and desire for seeking God. I'm really striving to place my desire for the Lord in a front spot in my life.. and in the life of my family. That is my prayer today on this Word-Filled Wednesday.

For more "Word-Filled Wednesday" posts visit The 160 Acre Woods.

Picture courtesy of www.christianphotos.net