Tag Archives: God

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 34

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; jsin islawlessness. 5 You know that khe appeared in order to ltake away sins, and minhim there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; nno one whokeeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, olet no onedeceive you. pWhoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.8 qWhoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has beensinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was rto destroythe works of the devil. 9 sNo one born of God makes a practice of sinning, forGod’s2 seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has beenborn of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are thechildren of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, tnoris the one who udoes not love his brother. 1 JOHN 3:4-10

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT: No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning willfully; a transformed life is the evidence of new birth.

MY THOUGHTS: I think this verse often brings a mistaken understanding of what it means to abide in Christ. It can inspire the mistaken thinking that the one who abides will never struggle with evil or sin. It can also make us think that becoming free from sin, is something we are creating rather than being something Christ has already accomplished for us.

The truth is that if we have put our faith in Christ freedom from sin is assured and secured. The freedom is a byproduct of belonging to Christ and by becoming one with Him, but the freedom while established is progressive in its manifestation and that manifestation is enhanced or impeded by the time we spend in the presence of the Savior.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 33

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

See ywhat kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be calledzchildren of God; and so we are. The reason why athe world does not knowus is that bit did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are zGod’s children cnow, and whatwe will be dhas not yet appeared; but we know that ewhen he appears1 fwe shallbe like him, because gwe shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who hthus hopesin him ipurifies himself as he is pure. 1 JOHN 3:1-3

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies themselves, just as He is pure.

MY THOUGHTS: Purity is the quality of being clean, unmixed, or untainted, free from physical pollutants, foreign elements, or moral guilt

Purity is that idea of having an undivided heart, a heart that doesn’t equivocate with itself because it has come to oneness of purpose. It is our hope that causes us to do the hard work of purification. Our hope is in being co heirs with Christ for all eternity. That reward causes us to continually turn our attention on Jesus who alone can give us the strength to purify ourselves from every thought and mindset that does not line up with his purpose.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 32

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

See ywhat kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be calledzchildren of God; and so we are. The reason why athe world does not knowus is that bit did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are zGod’s children cnow, and whatwe will be dhas not yet appeared; but we know that ewhen he appears1 fwe shallbe like him, because gwe shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who hthus hopesin him ipurifies himself as he is pure. 1 JOHN 3:1-3

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHTS:You are already a child of God, and what you will be has not yet been revealed.

MY THOUGHTS: Through our faith in Christ Jesus we are already children of God…but we are not yet all that we shall be! I often think about what it will be like when I enter into that fullness. I get stuck usually somewhere around the idea of innocence and how far removed from that state I am…the world is…I am pretty sure we don’t even have a good working definition of the thing. The best definition we can come up with is something akin to “inexperienced “or “naivete”. Honestly, the power of real innocence goes so far beyond that, that it was the inviolable defense shield against the power of sin coming into the world. In order to do away with innocence the serpent had to first deactivate innocence by introducing hubris…pride. What will it be like when that enemy is dealt with and actual innocence can be reactivated. That’s just one thing in the list of hugs that will change in me on that day!

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 31

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 JOHN 3:1-3

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.

MY THOUGHTS: It is such an amazing thought to me that God’s initial reaction towards us is love… For God so loved the world that He gave… While were were yet sinners Christ died for us…No greater love has a man than this that he would lay down his life for his friends… And on and on it goes. God loves us and there is nothing we can do about that!

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 30

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

God’s Children and Sin

28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. 1 John 2:26-29

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him and reflects His character.

MY THOUGHTS: So I often I have fallen into the trap of thinking that doing righteous things will make me more likable to God. I focus on the works rather than the relationship. The problem with that is that it is inverse thinking. Works don’t deepen my relationship with God, rather as I deepen my relationship with God my works will become more righteous. Good works are a by product of an intimate relationship and connection. to God.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 29

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

God’s Children and Sin

28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. 1 John 2:26-29

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:. Abide in Him so that you may have confidence and not be ashamed at His coming.

MY THOUGHTS: Our confidence in life needs to begin to flow from the spirit man within us. If it does not, if we continue to rely on confidence established by our success in this world we will very soon be struggling with shame and insecurity, because this world is about to quake with confidence shaking power. Only those remaining on the SOLID ROCK OF JESUS will remain confident.

This confidence comes from abiding in Christ. Abiding requires being in the prayer place consistently and constantly. It requires a deep connection to His Word that comes from practice. It requires knowing Him and His presence not just knowing about Him or about His presence. It requires us to have a personal testimony of our interaction with Him not just the testimonies of other people.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 28

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

God’s Children and Sin

28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. 1 John 2:26-29

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:The anointing you received from Him (the Holy Spirit) teaches you all things and is real.

MY THOUGHTS: It is stunning to realize that we have access to the God of all knowledge. Not just access…He lives inside of those who believe in Jesus Christ. We are the temples of he Holy Spirit.

It is also stunning to realize, He wants to share information with us, as we pray. Now we don;t have he capacity to handle all his knowledge, but we do have the capacity to handle all the knowledge we need.We just have to spend time seeking Him and allowing Him to direct us to the answers He wants us to discover.