Morning Coffee With Renae

II John 7-11 “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.”

In some ways, this passage may seem to contradict much of John’s earlier teaching. Does he really want us to turn people away, just because they disagree with us? Does he really want us to be rude? What happened to all the talk of loving one another? We must understand that John is not telling us to be rude to unbelievers. To the contrary, he wants us to love them with a perfect love, with God’s love.

Here, however, John is referring to people who have wickedly rejected Christ as God’s Son, and who are trying to convince others to do the same. He is talking about teachers who have no respect for the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross, and who deny that salvation comes through Christ alone.

These people are being used by Satan to pull people away from God, and we certainly don’t need to help them along! Of course we should be as polite as possible. And we should pray for them. But we must not give them any impression that we agree with them, or that we condone their teaching. By inviting them to speak in our churches, by providing food and lodging for them while they spread heresy, we are helping them spread lies. And in so doing, we will forfeit the reward that God has in store for those who are faithful to Him and to His truth.

Father, There are many people in the world who deny Your Son, and who try to keep others from believing in You. Please give me wisdom as I deal with these people. Help me to be loving, yet firm, as I take a stand against their beliefs.
Amen

II John 5-6 “And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”

John sat with Jesus at the last supper and listened to his Lord talk about love. “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you,” Jesus told his disciples. And dear, sweet John, the disciple of love, took those words to heart perhaps more than any of the other disciples. For it was John who became known as the apostle of love. It was John who carried that love as the centerpoint of his teaching and his life.

As a matter of fact, John referred to himself as “the disciple who Jesus loved.” Many think that was boastful of John, but I don’t think so. I don’t think he was reflecting his pride as much as his gratitude. Jesus loved me. John. Unbelievable.

In 1 John 4:19, John wrote, “We love because He first loved us.” Not, we loved God because He first loved us, but, “We love . . .” God’s love for us gives us the ability to love other people. Unbelievable. Now, we can walk in love, because His love made it possible.

How do we walk in love? We do so by obeying God. And we can only obey Him by living in Him, by making Him the most important part of our lives each day, each hour, each minute. When we live in God, when we obey Him, then He equips us to love with His love.

Dear Father, Please help me to obey You, and to walk in Your love. Thank you for loving me, so that I can love.

Amen

II John 4 “It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in truth, just as the Father commanded us.”

Have you ever attended a Christian camp or retreat? Those events are often mountain-top experiences, with everyone in attendance determined to live their lives for God. At least, while they are there. On the mountaintop. But when everyone returns to their normal routines, some of us forget our determination. Before we know it, we have slipped away from the path God has laid out for us.

John must have felt bittersweet as he penned these words. His heart rejoiced that some were walking in truth. But what about the others? Why weren’t they all walking in truth? No matter how well grounded in God’s truth we think we are, we are all capable of straying. We are all capable of being gullible and falling for the world’s lies. We are all capable of outright rebellion.

The only safeguard we have against straying from God’s truth is to stay close to Him, to daily spend time in prayer, in meditation, in His Word. We must daily examine our own hearts to make sure what we find there is pleasing to God. We must recognize that the enemy sees our destruction as his goal, and he will forever try new and clever ways to draw us away from God’s truth. We must step carefully, and make sure that with each step, we are walking in truth.

And if we do stray, all is not lost, for our Shepherd will always come looking for us. As a matter of fact, He always close by. All we have to do is say, “I’m sorry. I took the wrong path,” and He will lead us right back to where we ought to be.

Dear Father, I want my life to be a source of joy for You. I want to always walk in Your truth.

Amen

II John 3 “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.”

My daughter loves getting presents that are wrapped in real wrapping paper. Though gift bags are nice, she likes the feel of the paper tearing in her hands. She takes her time, and relishes the unwrapping of a gift as much as she enjoys the gift itself. The gift, when she finally discovers it, is even more special because she enjoyed the discovery process so much!

Grace . . . mercy . . . peace . . . what wonderful gifts God has given to us! And they are all wrapped up in His love, just waiting to be discovered by us. Grace is good things given to those who don’t really deserve them. Mercy is punishment withheld from those who deserve it. Peace is that wonderful feeling of being loved, of being satisfied, of being at rest. These beautiful gifts are given to us from God, and from His Son, Jesus Christ.

So many of us spend our lives trying to find good things, trying to find peace, trying to avoid punishment. But isn’t it a silly waste of time to pursue those things which God gives so freely? All we need to do is stay close to God, and He will give us the things that our souls and spirits so long for.

Dear Father, Thank you for your grace, mercy and peace. Please help me to experience these gifts by staying close to You.

Amen

II John 1-2 “The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth – and not I only, but also all who know the truth – because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever.”

Oooh. This introduction brings a bit of a lift to my eyebrows. Just who was this chosen lady? Was she pretty? Rich? Matronly? She must have been someone very special to John.

There are different theories about the chosen lady. Was John referring to the church? Was he writing to a specific lady? The truth is, it doesn’t really matter, for regardless of John’s intent, the Holy Spirit’s intent was for us to read it here, now, today. We can think of the chosen lady as the church, and we are her children. This letter is a personal letter of love to you and to me, inspired by God and written by John himself!

John writes to all who know the truth. That’s us! He says that truth will be with us forever, and we are living proof of that claim, for here we are, learning about that same truth. Centuries after John has been dead and his remains have turned to dust, God’s truth is alive and well. And centuries from now, when we are nothing but ashes, God’s truth will remain. It is our job today to pass the torch, to do all in our power to teach our children and grandchildren about that truth, so that future generations can know Him as we know Him.

Dear Father, Thank You for being timeless in Your wisdom and truth. Please help me to do my part in keeping Your truth alive.

Amen

I John 5:21 “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”

When I was a teenager, I begged my parents for a Gucci purse. A real one. Some of my friends had them, and I wanted one. I remember shopping with my mom, and spying what looked to me like a wonderful imitation, at a much lower price! I looked at Mom with hopeful eyes as she examined the purse. She showed me that the imitation was not well-made, and would probably not be worth even the low cost, for it would surely not last.

I was disappointed, for I just KNEW I would never get the real thing. But that Christmas, guess what was under the tree? You got it! A REAL Gucci purse. A small one, at the lower end of their pricing, but still. It was a Gucci. I enjoyed that purse for nearly twenty years, and even then, the purse was still intact.

In John’s time, idol worship was common. But an idol doesn’t have to be a statue. An idol can be anything that tries to imitate God, anything that tries to steal God’s rightful place on the throne of our hearts. In the previous verse, John told us that we belong to the true God. There are many imitations out there, with promises of “the good life.” But the imitations will not deliver what they promise. They will not last. As God’s children, we must be aware of the imitations which surround us, and keep ourselves from them. We must remain faithful to the one true God.

Dear Father, Thank You for blessing me with the real thing . . . You! Please help me to push aside anything that tries to steal Your rightful place as Lord of my life.
Amen

I John 5:20 “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true – even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

One of my favorite movies is (don’t laugh, please) The Incredibles. This animated film about former superheroes trying to lead ordinary lives just cracks me up. I think it would be kind of cool to be a superhero, to be able to fly and leap buildings and have super-radar-vision. It would be especially cool to have those abilities when I’m faced with difficult, confusing circumstances. Sometimes, as a mere human, I’m caught not knowing what to do or what to believe.

As he ends his letter, John reminds us of one of his main reasons for writing in the first place. Many false teachers had shown up in the church, and John wanted to protect his “dear children” from these liars, these wolves in sheeps’ clothing. Here, John reminds his readers that Jesus is God’s Son, and that He has given us understanding. He has given us the ability to distinguish the truth from lies.

God is truth. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we might know the truth. We, as God’s children, need not be tossed about by whatever lies are being proclaimed as today’s “truth.” We need not question whether or not something is true. We have Jesus, who has given us understanding. To those of us who seek His truth, He gives a sort of super-radar vision, a wisdom of the things of God. God is truth, and anything contrary to God’s Word is a lie. If we are unsure, we need only ask our eternal God, and compare our questions with His Word, and He will make the truth clear to us.

Dear Father, Thank You for making the truth clear to me. When I am confused, help me to keep seeking Your truth until I find it. I love You.

Amen

I John 5:19 “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”

My family lives near an army base. I have, on occasion, visited that army base. While there, I’ve seen soldiers salute their ranking officers, and I’ve seen them scamper to do the bidding of those who are in authority over them. But I, as a civilian, don’t have to salute. Though I respect those in the military, I don’t have to obey an officer’s order to do push-ups or run this errand or that, because I’m not under that officer’s authority. I’m a civilian – not under military control.

John reassures us time and again that we can know we are children of God. As God’s children, we are not a part of this world, and we are not under Satan’s control. Satan is the ruler of this world, and those without Christ have no choice but to submit to his influence. But we do have a choice. We are God’s children, and we have the freedom to obey God.

In 1 Peter 1:1, Peter called us strangers in this world. We are strangers because we do not belong here. We are not under the authority of this world’s ruler. We are citizens of a different kingdom – the kingdom of heaven – which is a much greater kingdom. The prince of this world has limited power; our King is all-powerful! We can know that we are children of God, because membership in God’s family will bring about important changes in our lives and in our actions. We now have a choice! We do not have to sin, and keep on sinning, because we are no longer under Satan’s control.

Dear Father, Thank You for making me Your child, and for giving me the freedom to obey You. Please help me to share Your love with others, so that they, too, can have that freedom.
Amen

I John 5:18 “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.”

Boy. At first glance, this verse could really make me doubt my status as God’s child. I know I mess up. Often. But John didn’t say that God’s children never sin. He said we don’t continue to sin.

We all sin, don’t we? Yet, those of us who are God’s children do not keep on and on in rebellion against God. In other words, when we, as children of God, mess up – and we all mess up, – we feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. That conviction is really His loving arm, drawing us back, drawing us close to Him, drawing us to safety. For sin is destructive, and God doesn’t want to see us head down a destructive path. When we feel that conviction, John tells us that if we are truly God’s children, we will see our mistake and return to the safety of God’s umbrella.

Satan wants to claim rulership in this world, and indeed, God has allowed him to have limited control. But when we stay close to God, He will keep us safe from Satan’s destructive plans. Oh, we may get banged and bruised every now and then, for we live in this world, which is Satan’s domain. But rest assured, my friend, Satan cannot lay a finger on us without God’s permission. And God will keep us safe. We are his children. He loves us, and He will not see us destroyed.

Dear Father, Thank You for keeping me safe. When I mess up, please help me to quickly realize my mistake and return to You.
Amen

I John 5:16-17 “If anyone sees a brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.”

Have you ever found yourself doing something you ought not be doing, and before you know it, you just want to make it right? Perhaps you were on the brink of making some disastrous mistakes, and you felt pulled back to your senses, pulled back to what is right.

Well, we know that was the Holy Spirit, working on our behalves, wooing us back to Himself. But what we often fail to recognize is the fact that perhaps somebody, somewhere has prayed for us. Perhaps it was our parents or our friends. Or perhaps, when we were still knee-high to grasshoppers, our grandparents prayed for us.

In his previous verses, John told us that we should pray for ourselves, and assured us that when we pray in God’s will, our prayers will be heard. Here, John reminds us that we should not only pray for ourselves; we need to stand in the gap for those who have strayed, who are not praying for themselves. When we see a Christian brother or sister heading down the wrong path, we need to pray that God’s Holy Spirit will lead him back. We need to beg God to pursue that straying soul, to do whatever it takes to bring him home! And we also need to pray that, should we ever be the ones to stray, our Christian brothers and sisters will stand in the gap for us!

John makes reference to a sin that leads to death. Scholars have long debated the meaning of this, but apparently John’s early readers were clear on his meaning, for John did not really explain himself. He may have been talking about people who have rebelliously denied Christ and turned their backs on the Holy Spirit. He may have been talking about people whose sin is leading them into some premature death. Whatever the case, John does not forbid praying for these people, and he does not encourage it. Perhaps he is just saying he isn’t really sure what to do in such cases. But one thing is certain, we need to pray for each other.

All too often, we stand in judgment over our brothers and sisters. We shake our heads and whisper to one another. We like to share our “concerns” with one another, but let’s be honest! That is really just plain old gossip. Instead of discussing our concerns with other people, who are powerless to save anyone, we need to take our concerns to God, who is all-powerful and wants to save everyone!

Dear Father, Please be with _________________________. Please bring him/her back into Your perfect will.
Amen