Truth and Love

We live in a country and in a time where the truth is being trampled every day. Whether it is about elections and purported fraudulent activity or about vaccines and misleading claims that are causing people not to protect themselves and others. The truth is… lies compromise people’s lives. But Jesus said of His disciples "you will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). Truth is an attribute of God, and so is Love. And not only are we adrift in a sea of untruths in America, we are lacking in love. That lack of love causes us not to seek the best for one another, not to have compassion for one another and to only want to have our way (even at the expense of others). We lift up "American" principles and ideas (I am free to do whatever I want to do), but I believe that we would have a better country if we lived by Godly principles (Love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself). In 1 John (4: 2-3,13-17, 5:4-5) John warned Christians that we must know and believe the truth about Jesus, then we must confess that truth. Otherwise, we are playing into the lie that Satan wants to perpetrate on the world. We must also be confident that God loves us with an unconditional love that sent His Son to sacrifice and save us and sent His Holy Spirit to abide in us. And when we live in love, we demonstrate that God is in us and that we are striving to be more like Jesus. My prayer is that each of us would help more people to know the truth about Jesus and show them how deeply God the Father loves us and wants us to have a better life...eternally.

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. (1 John 4:2-3) False teaching was a threat to the early church, and it is still a threat today. God's Spirit must be distinguished from every other spirit. It was and is important for Christians not to be misled and to know the truth. The test that John offers is what is acknowledged about Christ. Some still argue that Jesus was "just a man" and not God. Others argue that He is God but only appeared on the earth in spirit, not in flesh. The bible presents the true view of Jesus as one who is fully God and fully man. Jesus hungered and thirsted and grew tired, just as we do. And out of His great love for us, He hung on a cross, bled and died for us. Furthermore, As God, He healed and forgave us, He taught us. He fulfilled the prophecies regarding the Messiah...and He saved us. We need to know and stand on the truth about Jesus. The bible gives us that truth. He was sent by the Father, born of a woman, died to save us, was raised from the grave and given all power by the Father.

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. (1 John 4:13-17) As Christians we must live in God and He in us. The evidence of that is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. When we believe and confess Jesus as the Son of God, we receive the Holy Spirit and God lives in us. God is love. We can rely on God's love of us and therefore we can be confident "on the day of judgement". The daily lived demonstration that God lives in us, is that we show the love of Christ. And John says that God's love is made complete in us when we live our lives like Jesus. When we conduct our lives in love, we are operating in a way that shows that God lives in us.

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1John 5:4-5) Jesus overcame the world. Those who have faith and believe that Jesus is the Son of God who was sent by the Father as our Savior, are born of God and have overcome the world. Overcoming the world, we are not condemned by our sin and do not succumb to the sins of this world. We are saved! This is the victory we have in Jesus. You want to see a change your life? Start living your life like an overcomer... Like you know that you already have the victory!

Truth and Love. They are both important to Christian fellowship with God. Knowing the truth about Jesus keeps us from being misled and falling out of fellowship with God as a result of believing the lies of the deceiver. Being confident of God's love for us keeps us connected in fellowship with Him. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and God abides in us. And through the leading of the Holy Spirit we become more loving, and more like Christ. In short, knowing the Truth and demonstrating the love of God keeps us in fellowship with one another and fellowship with God. And that is exactly where we want to be...both now and for eternity!

Blessings,

Rev. Glenn