Author: Scott Heitshusen (Page 21 of 96)

Scripture tells us to “test the spirits,” but how do we do that? The answer is as simple as we learned in Sunday school: “Jesus!”

Acknowledging Jesus Christ as God come in the flesh, who died and rose is doing so on the basis of the Holy Spirit making that known to us. Denial of that Truth is not from God, but from evil spirits and the world.

But testing should not stop there. Everything we know and believe should be done on the basis of what’s in the Word of God and to make the determinations as to what is godly and what is not, we have to actually know what God’s Word says. We have to be in the Word! We have to learn the Word! We have to believe the Word! We have to live and breathe the Word!

When God’s Word becomes such a part of us and His Spirit dwells in us, it is a much simpler matter to discern right and wrong; good and evil. It becomes clear when evil spirits, the world, and sin try to lead us astray.

“We are from God.” and the Spirit who is in us “is greater than he who is in the world,” so rejoice, and revel in the tests, because we have the Answer – Jesus!

Scriptures

• 1 John 4:1-6

Faith in Jesus is to show itself through actions. Continually. Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection were one-time events, but our response to the salvation won for us through them is to show itself throgh daily living.

We often don’t live like that. We confess a Faith in the Life, but live in seemingly faithless living. Yes, His commandment is “that we believe in the name of [God’s] son, Jesus Christ and love one another” (1 John 3:23), but that love is to be done “in deed and in truth,” not just “word or talk” (1 John 3:18).

God’s love, forgiveness, and faithfulness are constant. Our response should be the same! Is this true for you? What have you done lately to respond to God?

Do it! Now. Consistently. Lovingly. Responsively. Let all know about your belief in Jesus and your love for others in deeds and truth – today! Every day! In gracious thanksgiving.

Scriptures

• 1 John 3:18-24

Anyone who restores classic cars (or other items, I’m sure) knows that they take extra love and work. You need to take time to nurture them and keep them going. They also have less amenities, they often don’t perform as well as modern vehicles, and they are less safe.

But classic cars are awesome! They are simpler, bring back memories of forgotten times and, frankly, they look so much better than the vast majority of modern vehicles on the road!

We can be like some of those classic cars. Through our stubbornness and arrogance we take a lot of love, nurture, and work for the Holy Spirit to do in the process of a holy “restoration.” We are simplistic by the standards of many in the world and, in our case, I don’t think we look any better.

Yet God desires us. Us! He delights in putting in the love, time, and effort to continually restore us and keep us in Him. He grinds away our old, sinful heart and purifies us from the cancerous rust and decay of our sins into beautifully restored children living for Him. He takes the old, decrepit, sin-filled junk that we were and restores us daily through our baptism, through forgiveness, and the the death and resurrection of Jesus. He transforms us from trash to His treasured children! He purifies us from refuse through His righteousness.

Now, let us live and glem in His glory, transformed and restored to what He desires us to be – His holy children and examples to the world!

“Continually restore us, O Lord!”

Scriptures

• 1 John 3:1-7
• Psalm 4

When we are in the dark our eyes adjust. We may not see everything as vibrantly or clearly, but we manage. And we get used to it. So much so that, when in the dark, we dread turning on the lights or going into a brightly lit place.

Coming into the light from darkness can hurt! So many stay in the dark.

But being in the light means we see things clearly! In the dark we see only dark shades of grey. In the light, we see the vibrancy of everything! And when we go from light to dark, it also hurts. We bump into things. We miss crucial things that might be right in front of us!

This is the way of sin.

When we live in sin we live in darkness. We stumble around. We hit things. We get hurt. We can’t see the full picture of what’s going on around us.

And worst of all, we get used to it and like it!

But this is not the way it should be.

“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” If we say we are Christians but keep walking in darkness (sin) instead of in Him, we are lying. Those two things are incompatible!

If we are Christians, we must live in the Light. Live in Him. We must not keep going back into the darkness of sin and hiding and shame.

But we must remember that, through faith in Jesus, when we stumble back into sin and darkness, “we have have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” who will forgive us, and bring us back to the bright living that is Him!

Thanks be to God!

Scriptures

• 1 John 1:1-2:2