Tag Archives: Scripture

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 7

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.

SCRIPTURE:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
1 JOHN 1:8-10

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

Denying your sin only deceives yourself; honesty is the path to spiritual health.

MY THOUGHTS:

I have always wondered why at certain moments I try to hide my sin from God. I mean, He already knows everything anyway so what is the point in trying to keep something from Him. Maybe it is not so much God I am trying to hide from in refusing to confess my sins, but it is me trying to hide from myself because my own psyche is so wounded I cannot face my own truth. I come to it then that I need not only forgiveness but inner healing.

I think it is also I have not totally resolved the doubt that God will never leave me nor forsake me, the sense that a real rejection could be right around the corner.

Here’s the thing I have learned. This battle is not a one and done type of battle. I am not today the same insecure man I was 45 years ago when I came to Christ. I don’t hide from God like I did when I first became a Christian. I am more secure in His promises now. That said I find there is still work to do. So I press on toward the mark of the high calling in Christ.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 6

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.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son 1 JOHN 1:5-7

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

The blood of Jesus continuously cleanses you as you walk in the light, restoring fellowship with God and others.

MY THOUGHTS:

I am captured by the thought of the blood of Jesus continuously cleansing me as I walk in the light. It is not a one and done application of the blood. It is not that I was once cleansed. It is that I am continually being cleansed by the stream of Christ’s blood that flows into and through my life.

In our morning prayer session one of our staff pastors was relating how she had been meditating on the scripture that declares “The Lord fights our battles” ( Ex 14:14). Our job is to position ourselves be silent and watch what He does. This relates to our Scripture this morning because we get the continuous cleansing only when we position ourselves in the light of God through prayer, worship and the Word of God.

I am struck by the fact that the continuous cleansing is not just forgiveness of my sins; It is also deliverance from my sins.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 5

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.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son 1 JOHN 1:5-7

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

Walking in the light means living in agreement with God’s nature, not hiding sin.

MY THOUGHTS:

Living in agreement with God’s nature. That is a tall order! What does it mean? What does it look like in real time. Well it means living in 1 Corinthians 13 love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails

I have written whole series on that. Each of the points in 1 Corinthians 13 is a meditation unto itself.

Living in agreement with God’s nature is also a Galatians 5 walk in the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

Again each of the fruits of the Spirit is a devotional thought unto itself. I guess the long and the short of it is that we cannot live in the light by our pwn merit or power. WE NEED GOD’S HELP DAILY…MORE PRECISELY MOMENTARILY.

I KNOW WHAT I AM ASKING HELP FOR? WHAT ARE YOU TRUSTING GOD TO HELP YOU WITH THIS DAY?

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 4

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.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son 1 JOHN 1:5-7

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

God is pure holiness and light; there is no darkness in Him.

MY THOUGHTS:

I am overwhelmed when I think about God being pure and holy and light. That is so…other… than the things I know. I don’t live in a world of pure anything. In fact most of this world can’t exist in pure anything. We need a mix of things to keep us alive and the world wobbles on the precipice of that balanced mixture, so thinking of One who is PURE is sort of unknown to my experience,

The idea of holiness speaks to a dedication to otherness as well. God is holy means He is separated from all the plans this world has for conquest supremacy and its kingdom domination and His goal is something other than that…His kingdom come is something different than anything we have every seen in the kingdoms of this Earth.

The idea of PURE LIGHT… Well we don’t even understand light without its contrasting darkness…..so yeah there is that.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 2

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.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete. 1 JOHN 1:1-4

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

Genuine fellowship is shared among believers and with the Father and the Son, a deep intimate relationship

MY THOUGHTS:

I struggle most in my relationships with others when my relationship with God is not as strong as it should be. I find, particularly in those relationships I find challenging (and we all have them), if I am too long absent from prayer or the Word of God, then I find it hard to maintain my joy and peace.

WHAT MUST YOU DO TODAY TO STRENGTHEN YOUR CONNECTION WITH GOD AND OTHERS?