2 sections

2 sections, 

LOTS of stuff to absorb.



1 John 2

1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin.

 But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. 

He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins;

and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.



  3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.

4 If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, 

that person is a liar 

and is not living in the truth.

5 But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. 

That is how we know we are living in him.

6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.


7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; 

rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. 

This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.

8 Yet it is also new. 

Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, 

and you also are living it. 

For the darkness is disappearing, 

and the true light is already shining.



15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, 

for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.

16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, 

a craving for everything we see, 

and pride in our achievements and possessions. 

These are not from the Father, 

but are from this world.

17 And this world is fading away, 

along with everything that people crave. 

But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

1J1

1 John 1

1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, 

whom we have heard and seen. 

We saw him with our own eyes 

and touched him with our own hands. 

He is the Word of life.

2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, 

and we have seen him. 

And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. 

He was with the Father, 

and then he was revealed to us.

3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. 

And our fellowship is with the Father 

and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.


5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: 

God is light, 

and in him is no darkness at all.

6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; 

we are not practicing the truth.

7 But if we are living in the light, 

as God is in the light, 

then we have fellowship with each other, 

and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.


  8 If we claim we have no sin, 

we are only fooling ourselves 

and not living in the truth.

9 But if we confess our sins to him, 

he is faithful 

and just to forgive us our sins 

and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

10 If we claim we have not sinned, 

we are calling God a liar 

and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

come

Come

to Me,

all you who are weary

& carry heavy burdens,

& I will give you

rest.

Matthew 11:28



Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, spoke these words.

I believe the most astounding word is this verse is the 4 letter word, "come".

The God of the universes says to nano-specks in the universes like you & me an utterly mind blowing word...

"Come..."

He says He wants us to come to Him.


"Come" to Someone who is so blindingly holy...

"Come" to the very essence of love...

"Come" to the all knowing One...

"Come" to the infinitely all powerful, omnipotent One...


Why don't we hear more preachers talk about this, instead of the tripe we hear a lot of the time?

Why don't the lives of people who claim to follow Him show they know this truth & have experienced it, instead of the judgemental crap that pooches out so much of the time?


Maybe there's someone reading this who needs someone they can go to.

Maybe you're in an impossible place.

Maybe you're at the end of your rope.

Maybe you need some answers.

Maybe you need come comfort.

Or healing.

Or hope.


Whatever it is you need today, remember the eternal God of the universes has a word for you today...


"Come..."


"Come to me..."


I don't know what the results of that coming could be for you...

All I know is what Jesus said.

And He said, "Come to me..."


What have you got to lose?

incredible passage

Psalm 139

1 O LORD, you have examined my heart
  and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
  You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.
3 You see me when I travel
  and when I rest at home.
  You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
  even before I say it, LORD.
5 You go before me and follow me.
  You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
  too great for me to understand!


7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
  I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
  if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
  if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
  and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
  and the light around me to become night—
12   but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
  Darkness and light are the same to you.


13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
  and knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
  as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
  before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
  They cannot be numbered!
18 I can't even count them;
  they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
  you are still with me!

19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
  Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
  your enemies misuse your name.
21 O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you?
  Shouldn't I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
  for your enemies are my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
  test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
  and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

XIX

There's so many parts of this psalm that I've either sung myself, or heard sung.

Read it slowly, & more than once.

Good stuff here forlks...



Psalm 19

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.


  The skies display his craftsmanship.


2 Day after day they continue to speak;


  night after night they make him known.


3 They speak without a sound or word;


  their voice is never heard.


4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,


  and their words to all the world.


God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.


5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.


  It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.


6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens


  and follows its course to the other end.


  Nothing can hide from its heat.


7 The instructions of the LORD are perfect,


  reviving the soul.


The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy,


  making wise the simple.


8 The commandments of the LORD are right,


  bringing joy to the heart.


The commands of the LORD are clear,


  giving insight for living.


9 Reverence for the LORD is pure,


  lasting forever.


The laws of the LORD are true;


  each one is fair.


10 They are more desirable than gold,


  even the finest gold.


They are sweeter than honey,


  even honey dripping from the comb.


11 They are a warning to your servant,


  a great reward for those who obey them.


12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?


  Cleanse me from these hidden faults.


13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!


  Don't let them control me.


Then I will be free of guilt


  and innocent of great sin.


14 May the words of my mouth


  and the meditation of my heart


be pleasing to you,


  O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

John 15

This is an amazing chapter, crammed full of all kids of stuff.

And remember - Jesus shared this with his disciples a few hours before He was arrested & killed.

I hardly think He was mincing words at that time.



John 15

1 "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.

2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, 

and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.

4 Remain in me, 

and I will remain in you. 

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, 

and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.



  5 "Yes, I am the vine; 

you are the branches. 

Those who remain in me, 

and I in them, 

will produce much fruit. 

For apart from me you can do nothing.

6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. 

Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.

7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, 

you may ask for anything you want, 

and it will be granted!

8 When you produce much fruit, 

you are my true disciples. 

This brings great glory to my Father.



  9 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. 

Remain in my love.

10 When you obey my commandments, 

you remain in my love, 

just as I obey my Father's commandments 

and remain in his love.

11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. 

Yes, your joy will overflow!

12 This is my commandment: 

Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

15 I no longer call you slaves, 

because a master doesn't confide in his slaves. 

Now you are my friends, 

since I have told you everything the Father told me.

16 You didn't choose me. 

I chose you. 

I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, 

so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, 

using my name.

17 This is my command: Love each other.


18 "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.

19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, 

but you are no longer part of the world. 

I chose you to come out of the world, 

so it hates you.

20 Do you remember what I told you? 

'A slave is not greater than the master.' 

Since they persecuted me, 

naturally they will persecute you. 

And if they had listened to me, 

they would listen to you.

21 They will do all this to you because of me, 

for they have rejected the one who sent me.

22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. 

But now they have no excuse for their sin.

23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.

24 If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. 

But as it is, they have seen everything I did, 

yet they still hate me and my Father.

25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: 

'They hated me without cause.'



  26 "But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. 

He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.

27 And you must also testify about me 

because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

and so...

On the first day of the week,

while it was still dark,

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb

& found the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

John 20:1