May 2nd, Saturday: 3 John - Jude

3 John

John wrote this letter to his friend, Gaius, to encourage him in a difficult situation in his local church.

Again, he concentrated on making God's truth a vital part of life.

Walking in truth.

People could see the truth in Gaius because he loved it and walked in obedience to it, and that brought great joy to John.

Every Christian parent can echo this verse and can even make it a prayer.

Working for truth.

When you assist and encourage God's servants, you become a fellow worker with them in spreading the truth.

Christian hospitality was important in those days and ought to be revived today.

Welcoming the truth.

Can you imagine Diotrephes rejecting a message from the apostle John?

He was so separated that he did not even receive John's friends.

When we welcome God's people, we welcome God's truth.

Witnessing for the truth.

Not all church members are like Diotrephes.

There are like people like Demetrius who love the truth and live it.

They're the ones who make the local church healthy.

Jude

Jude, like James, was a half-brother of the Lord Jesus.

His letter focuses on false teachers, and echoes Peter's warnings in 2 Peter 2.

Who they are.

Jude wanted to write about salvation, but the Lord directed him to write about invasion instead.

False teachers were creeping into the church, and going undetected.

These are unsaved people, ungodly people and unprincipled people, who used grace as an excuse for sin.

What they do.

Like the Jews in the wilderness, the fallen angels and the evil cities of the plain, they reject the authority of God.

Their words are defiant and defiling.

Like Cain, they have no saving faith.

But they do have religion like Balaam.

They use religion as a way to make money.

And like Korah, they defied the word of God and the authority of God's chosen servants.

What they are.

False teachers promised much, but produce little.

Like rainless clouds and fruitless trees, Enoch had the best word for them: ungodly!

What we must do.

Remember the Word and build yourself up in your Christian faith.

True believers are preserved in Jesus Christ.

And they prove this by keeping themselves in God's love.

Therefore God can keep them from fallings.

May 1st, Friday: 1 John 5 - 2 John

1 John 5

When you're born of God – you are born to love.

You'll love the Father who gave you life, and the Son who gave His life for you.

You will also love His children for we all belong to the same family.

When you're born of God, you're born to win.

Your first birth made you a sinner and a loser.

But your second birth makes you a conqueror.

The world wants to entice you and the devil wants to seduce you.

But Christ will give you the victory you need if you trust Him.

When you're born of God, you're born to assurance, and you can know you have eternal life.

You're also born to talk to your Father in prayer and receive from Him what you need.

When you're born of God, you're born secure, and the evil one cannot harm you.

You do not keep yourself saved, for the Father does that, but you keep yourself from the clutches of the evil one.

As you abide in Christ, you experience His love and care.

2 John

John wrote this letter to an anonymous Christian woman, whose home was open to God's people to meet for fellowship and worship.

The emphasis is on truth and love.

And John points out 3 dangers believers must avoid.

i. Knowing the truth but not practising it.

We must walk in truth and walk according to His commandments.

The Word of God is mean for doing and not just knowing.

If we say but do not obey, well we're hypocrites!

ii. Practicing truth but not defending it.

See, the enemy is busy and we must oppose him.

Love must be balanced by truth, or you'll start supporting lies in the name of love.

It is easy to lose what you have gained by making friends with the wrong people.

iii. Going beyond the truth.

The word 'transgress' means to go beyond.

When you go beyond God's Word, you're going too far.

It is not progress but regress.

Beware anybody who has something to add to your Bible.

Phillips Brooks wrote, 'Truth is always strong no matter how weak it looks, and falsehood is always weak no matter how strong it looks.'

April 30th, Thursday: 1 John 3 - 4

1 John 3

Deliberate sin is a serious thing.

When you deliberately sin, you grieve the heart of the Father, who loves you and has a wonderful future plan for you.

You grieve the Saviour, who died for you and delivered you from the power of Satan.

Deliberate sin grieves the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and gave you a new birth – you have a new nature and a new Father.

Therefore you should live a new life.

Well to John, the lack of love is the same as hatred.

And hatred is the moral equivalent of murder, according to Matthew chapter 5.

Deliberate sin also grieves God's people, because we cannot minister to them as we should if we're not walking in love and in the light.

So strive to have a heart that's right before God and men.

Ask God to use you to become an encouragement and help to others.

Love is more than a matter of words.

1 John 4

Love is evidence of salvation.

If you're born of God through faith in Jesus Christ, you have His nature within.

Since God is love, His children who have His nature should also manifest His love.

The children, in other words, should be like the Father.

Our love for others makes God's love real and visible to them.

So we can better witness to them about Christ.

Now it also makes God real and personal to us.

Merely reading in the Bible about God's love is not enough, is it?

Seek to experience that love in your heart by sharing it with others.

That's like priming the pump.

That's how we get the love out.

Just as truth is victorious over lies, love is victorious over fear.

As you mature in your love for God, you realise that you have nothing to fear.

Your Father has everything under control.

You trust those you love, right?

And faith and love will give victory over fear!