"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness.
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations."
Look at the commands in this psalm:
Make a joyful noise.
Serve.
Come.
Know.
Enter.
Be thankful.
All these commands reflect a relationship. Spend time with God. Praise Him. Serve Him. Know Him.
Isn't that amazing that the God of the universe wants to know us on a personal basis?
He wants to commune with us.
He wants our fellowship.
Look at how the psalmist describes God:
He is our Creator.
He is our Shepherd.
He is good.
He is eternally merciful.
His truth is eternal.
He is far beyond what we could ever be.
Ye He wants us in His presence!
Showing posts with label fellowship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fellowship. Show all posts
Monday, July 8, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
You don't have to sin!
"My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin" (1 John 1:1a).
Wow! John is pretty bold to write that he has the secret to a life without sin.
I'm guessing that most of us would like to read what that secret is.
Then we just have to study what John has written, so we'll back up to the beginning of 1 John.
John begins by writing about the Word of life, Jesus Christ. He has eternally been with the Father, but was revealed to man. He came to earth and revealed the Father to us (1:1-2).
Christ was revealed so that we can have fellowship with the Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with other believers (v 3).
And when we enjoy this type of fellowship, our joy can be full (v 4).
So Christ came that we can have relationships and joy.
How do we maintain fellowship with the Father, the Son and other believers, gaining the by-product of joy?
By having a biblical view of God and sin.
God is light. Sin is darkness. Light and darkness can't exist in the same place at the same time.
If we want to have fellowship, we have to choose not to sin (v 5-7) and admit our sinfulness and sins (v 8-10).
We can choose not to sin, but if we fail and choose sinfully, there's still hope.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (v 7). Because He is faithful and just, He will forgive us and cleanse us (v 10). He is the advocate with the Father on our behalf (2:1) and He has satisfied God with His sacrifice (2:2).
Put it all together and we have no reason to sin.
We can choose to have fellowship with God, Jesus and other believers, filled with joy.
Or we can choose to live a secret life of sinfulness, filled with fear of discovery.
What's your choice?
Wow! John is pretty bold to write that he has the secret to a life without sin.
I'm guessing that most of us would like to read what that secret is.
Then we just have to study what John has written, so we'll back up to the beginning of 1 John.
John begins by writing about the Word of life, Jesus Christ. He has eternally been with the Father, but was revealed to man. He came to earth and revealed the Father to us (1:1-2).
Christ was revealed so that we can have fellowship with the Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with other believers (v 3).
And when we enjoy this type of fellowship, our joy can be full (v 4).
So Christ came that we can have relationships and joy.
How do we maintain fellowship with the Father, the Son and other believers, gaining the by-product of joy?
By having a biblical view of God and sin.
God is light. Sin is darkness. Light and darkness can't exist in the same place at the same time.
If we want to have fellowship, we have to choose not to sin (v 5-7) and admit our sinfulness and sins (v 8-10).
We can choose not to sin, but if we fail and choose sinfully, there's still hope.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (v 7). Because He is faithful and just, He will forgive us and cleanse us (v 10). He is the advocate with the Father on our behalf (2:1) and He has satisfied God with His sacrifice (2:2).
Put it all together and we have no reason to sin.
We can choose to have fellowship with God, Jesus and other believers, filled with joy.
Or we can choose to live a secret life of sinfulness, filled with fear of discovery.
What's your choice?
Thursday, May 23, 2013
You can have it, too!
I've been struggling to memorize 1 John 1 this past week.
Yes, struggling. Not because it's 10 verses, but because the first three verses are repetitive.
John is writing about life that is eternal, seen, looked upon, handled, manifested, declared and with the Father.
He's talking about Jesus and his personal experience with the Savior.
John says, "We saw Him. We watched Him. We touched Him. We heard Him. He is eternal. He had been with God the Father. And we had fellowship with Him."
He repeats himself to make it clear. It really did happen!
And then he starts the purpose of his letter, "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full" (v 4).
The joy that he and the other disciples had could be had by the recipients.
The following verses explain how to have that joy found in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Walk in the light, not in the darkness of sin.
Confess sin, and be cleansed by His blood.
Think of that!
The same fellowship that John and the other disciples had with Jesus while He was on earth can be yours, too. You can have joy like they did when they heard Him preach. You can have joy like they did when they picked up the 12 baskets of leftovers. You can have joy in fellowship with the Creator of the universe.
Yes, struggling. Not because it's 10 verses, but because the first three verses are repetitive.
John is writing about life that is eternal, seen, looked upon, handled, manifested, declared and with the Father.
He's talking about Jesus and his personal experience with the Savior.
John says, "We saw Him. We watched Him. We touched Him. We heard Him. He is eternal. He had been with God the Father. And we had fellowship with Him."
He repeats himself to make it clear. It really did happen!
And then he starts the purpose of his letter, "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full" (v 4).
The joy that he and the other disciples had could be had by the recipients.
The following verses explain how to have that joy found in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Walk in the light, not in the darkness of sin.
Confess sin, and be cleansed by His blood.
Think of that!
The same fellowship that John and the other disciples had with Jesus while He was on earth can be yours, too. You can have joy like they did when they heard Him preach. You can have joy like they did when they picked up the 12 baskets of leftovers. You can have joy in fellowship with the Creator of the universe.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Treasuring Sin - Loving Father
"If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the LORD would not have listened.
But truly God has listened; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God, because He has not rejected my prayer.
Or removed His steadfast love from me!" (Psalm 66:18-20)
Cherishing iniquity. Loving sin. Holding onto sin.
That just doesn't fit with a holy life, does it?
It doesn't. And one of the consequences of cherishing sin is unanswered prayer.
Sin breaks the fellowship with God. It separates us from Him.
Holding onto sin keeps us from holding on to the throne of grace.
But there is hope. Not because of what we can do, but because God doesn't change.
You see, God doesn't abandon us when we sin. His love is steadfast. His grace is greater than our sin.
He doesn't just drift away from us when we sin. We drift from Him. He's there like the father of the prodigal son, waiting for our return.
And when we confess our sins, agreeing with God that what we have done is opposing His holiness, He is ready to listen.
He will not reject our prayers.
He will not remove His steadfast love from us.
Fellowship can be restored. Communication can be resumed. Joy can be found.
Blessed be God for He has heard my prayers!
But truly God has listened; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God, because He has not rejected my prayer.
Or removed His steadfast love from me!" (Psalm 66:18-20)
Cherishing iniquity. Loving sin. Holding onto sin.
That just doesn't fit with a holy life, does it?
It doesn't. And one of the consequences of cherishing sin is unanswered prayer.
Sin breaks the fellowship with God. It separates us from Him.
Holding onto sin keeps us from holding on to the throne of grace.
But there is hope. Not because of what we can do, but because God doesn't change.
You see, God doesn't abandon us when we sin. His love is steadfast. His grace is greater than our sin.
He doesn't just drift away from us when we sin. We drift from Him. He's there like the father of the prodigal son, waiting for our return.
And when we confess our sins, agreeing with God that what we have done is opposing His holiness, He is ready to listen.
He will not reject our prayers.
He will not remove His steadfast love from us.
Fellowship can be restored. Communication can be resumed. Joy can be found.
Blessed be God for He has heard my prayers!
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