Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...
When we walk as Jesus walked we will conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to God. We will be able to overcome the evil one due to Jesus's victory over death, sin and Satan. We will have strength for overcoming because of the word of God that lives in us. There is much in this world to overcome.
Idols, the love of them, will attempt to crowd out our love for our Heavenly Father. They will jockey for position on our hearts and minds so says John in 1 John 2:15-17. Idols will have many different shapes, sizes and forms. This is not referring to those made of wood, gold, silver or bronze, per se but does include them, definitely. I'm referring more to the love of the world and anything in the world, such as the "cravings of sinful man; the lust of the eyes, the boasting of what a person has or does".
When we fix our eyes on those things wanting to "fit in" to society and with our peer groups, to feel accepted or for one hundred other reasons; that becomes our god. It is necessary to remember that the "world and its desires pass away". What will be left in it's place for you?
There's nothing wrong with achieving certain goals in life but when they become our 'be all and end all' without regard to God, the love of the Father is not in that person. It is displaced by that object and becomes an idol to that person. But praise the Lord, the man "who does the will of God lives forever"; he is an over comer. He has made God his god; or rather, his God; capital 'G'. Put Him first in your lives.
"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness..."
Matthew 6:33
"Those who honor God, God will honor."
1 Samuel 2:30
1 John 2:18-19 are very similar in thought to 2 Peter 2:19-22. Some of the people who gathered together with the believers, know about the truth but they really hadn't accepted it personally, for themselves. That is why verse 19 of 1 John 2 asserts, "...they did not really belong to us" therefore, "they went out from us."
The 2nd Peter verses use the terms "dog" and "pig". In the Old Testament Jewish laws (Leviticus 11:2, 7, 26 and Deuteronomy 14:8), these two animals are listed among the unclean animals which they were not to eat. Emphasis here in 2 Peter is on the idea of their 'uncleanness'. This indicates that these people were not genuine children of God. They 'knew their stuff' so they could act like one on the surface and even be good at the acting. However, when the rubber hit the road, their true colors became evident; they are actually "anti-Christs" (1 John 2:18). False teachers. False preachers. People posing as children of God. They do not belong among God's people.
God graciously allows John to warn us all to beware of such people. Ask your Heavenly Father for wisdom and discernment to ferret these people out. Be on your guard.
Those of us who are children of God "have an anointing from the Holy One". (Read 1 John 2:20-27). This Holy One can help us remain true to God, and to the gospel as we first heard it. He also teaches us to discern the true and the false. We therefore have a responsibility towards God our Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ, to remain in Him, to follow the Way, the Truth and the Life; life that is eternal.
A way to detect who the "liar...and antichrist" is, is, according to verse 22, the one "who denies the Father and the Son". Those who are true acknowledge the "Son and therefore have the Father also". Let us remain "in Him" and not be turned aside to the "counterfeit".Having gotten that straightened out in our minds and hearts, take a look at the next two verses (1 John 2:28-29) where John encourages his readers to "continue in Him." To continue all the way until Jesus's coming. When Jesus comes we will not be "ashamed to meet Him". We will meet Him boldly, confidently. We will not have to hide, not that you really could, as Adam and Eve and Jonah of the Old Testament times attempted to do to no avail.
A big part of this "continuing in Him" is to do what is right. As followers of Jesus Christ the righteous, we too need that characterization. Remove idols from our lives, be overcomers, and remain in Him. Let us continue in Him. Let us do what is right according to Jesus's righteousness and so be found faithful to God's truth all the days of our life. Jesus is coming soon. Press on.
~ERC 2016~
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