Do You Really Know?

"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning:  You should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.  This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his  presence whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command:  to believe in  the name of the his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  And this is his command:  to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us:  We know it by the Spirit he gave us. "  I John 3:11-24

 

Have you ever wondered if you were truly saved?  I guess we all struggle from time to time with feeling unsaved, condemned and apart from God. But it is so important as Christians that we walk in confidence before the Lord about our salvation.  If we do not, we fail to pray faith-filled prayers and we leave ourselves open to the enemy of our soul to fill us full of doubt.

Thank the Lord (!) his spirit dwells in us and testifies to us that we are God's children.  We need the witness of the Spirit and the witness of the Word in our lives.  We need to have a clear conscience before the Lord that we are carrying out his commands and obeying his decrees.  Doing as he instructs us to do, allows us to have assurance of our righteousness and confidence before a holy God. 

Our society is  really big on tolerance and not judging anyone.  In fact, that seems to be the main scripture that the world knows.  But the truth of the matter is, there are many things that we can judge.  If a person claims to be a Christian, they have to line up their lives and conduct with the Word of God.  Just as a person who wants to play baseball must play by the rule book to stay in the game, we have to live by the Bible to stay on the straight and narrow path.

Is there anything in your life that is a departure from what the Scripture teaches?  Let the Spirit talk with you about that today. 

Dear Lord, thank you for the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in my life.  Help me to live true to your Word.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri