Written ~ 11-25-2023
1 John 3:23-24
23 “And this is His commandment: We must believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with Him, and He with them. And we know He lives in us because the Spirit He gave us lives in us.”
One would think that the two commandments God gives us in verse 3:23 would be easy enough to follow:
- Believe in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ
- Love One Another
But those two commands seem to be the ones that get blurred the most. It seems society has placed anything and everything other than Jesus to believe in. Love has become very temperamental and conditional. So how do we believe in the Son of God? How do we learn to love one another?
Believing in anything is putting faith in something that cannot be seen with our physical eyes. Belief is having full trust and confidence in whatever you are putting your faith in. Belief and faith go hand in hand. So when we read that one of God’s commandments is that we believe in His Son, Jesus Christ… what does that mean to you?
First off, I feel it’s important to get to know who Jesus is by reading the Word of God. But what if someone doesn’t have the resources available to them, they don’t have the Bible to read, what then? Or they just don’t have the desire to look for Christ? Well… That’s where the Holy Spirit steps in. He will guide even a closed off heart to the Truth, there is an inherent need for Christ hidden within every single person. That’s how God made us, to yearn for His presence in our lives. A lot of people have just gotten really good at pushing God and everything about Salvation down so deep that it’s hardly reachable anymore. But that’s what the Holy Spirit will do, He will dig through all the hurt, all the disappointment, all the anger and every issue behind the feeling of abandonment, He will find that glimmering spot of hope deep within the hardened heart and bring it to the surface. That’s how the belief of Jesus Christ can reach even the most stubborn of hearts.
So what then? You believe! You have come to the point in your life that enough is enough… Maybe you have realized that God does have a purpose for you and it has everything to do with your belief in Jesus. By your acceptance of Him in your life, it makes all the difference in the world how you decide to live your life from that moment forward. I know it can feel a little unnerving to think you may have to change the way you think, or change a well-rehearsed behavior, but when Jesus enters your heart, mind and soul, it will opens up a way of life that you had no idea existed! Is it all rainbows and unicorns, heavens no! But there will be a peace within you that surpasses all negative emotion which may have kept you from believing and… once you have experienced that peace ~ it is remarkable.
In our Bible Study from 11-24-2023, we were reading from 1 John 3:18-22 and in verse 22 it says,
“…we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we OBEY Him and do the things that PLEASE Him.”
Becoming a believer and follower of Jesus Christ does not give us this imaginary “Golden Ticket” that allows all of our wishes and dreams to come true. Unfortunately, that’s not the way the gift of Salvation works. We have our part to do before God can answer our requests and move in our lives. Verse 3:22 says we must obey and please God. That’s why we study the Word of God, to understand the commandments given to us by the Lord. We learn from the words in the Bible as we would from any instruction manual, the difference, this instruction manual leads us to Salvation and Eternal Life and teaches us right from wrong.
When your heart has been given over to Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will be given the Holy Spirit to reside within your heart and His primary “job” is to guide you, teach you and to comfort you. He’s the one who will open your heart to understand the things you learn from Scripture. One of those things we need to learn is found in our verses for today. The other commandment from God is that we love one another. Some people are easy to love – they may be kind, gentle spirited and easy to get along with. But what about that person that rubs you the wrong way, someone who gets on your every last nerve? Does God have a loophole in His command that excludes those kind of people? Sorry, but no. We must be willing to love one another as Christ loves. And that way of loving is without judgement or condition. You may be thinking, “That’s impossible!” Well, yes, without the Lord’s help and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it would be impossible. Jesus says in Matthew 19:26,
26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
When we can overlook what we perceive as distasteful, wrong and downright sinful, and LOVE that person anyway, that’s how we demonstrate the love of Jesus. That means to love them through and through, not just love them with words like what 1 John 3:18 talks about… Our love will come from a place that has been touched by God, the Holy Spirit has taken your imperfect love and turned it into a love that you didn’t think you were capable of. This isn’t just a suggestion! This is a commandment from the Almighty God! So if we can’t bring ourselves to love without judgment and condition, then how is God going to give us the requests we are bringing to Him? Look at verse 3:24,
24 “Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with Him, and He with them. And we know He lives in us because the Spirit He gave us lives in us.”
Every believer wants to remain in fellowship with God. Once we have given our hearts to Jesus, we should want nothing more than to please our Father in Heaven. But we can’t pick and choose which commandments we want to follow, after we have put our full belief and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, loving one another will come easier as we learn more about Him. We will obey those commandments because we are remaining in fellowship with the Lord, plus we must allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, because goodness knows we need the help!
Have you ever felt distant from the Lord? Like no matter how much you pray, you feel like your words seem to hit the ceiling and don’t go any further? Well… Think about it… What is the state of your love towards others looking like? Are you keeping in fellowship with the Lord in everything you do? You may feel distant, because you have created a ginormous chasm between you and the Lord… and guess what, it’s not the Lord who left or created the gap.
Let’s zero in on the word fellowship for a moment… that’s a good “church” word, isn’t it? But what does that word mean to you?
The dictionary defines fellowship as companionship, company, association, partnership, solidarity, togetherness, harmony and unity.
Verse 3:24 tells us to “…remain in fellowship with the Lord…” and by remaining in fellowship or partnership or harmony with Him means we are obeying God’s commandments. As soon as we lose sight of what the Lord’s commands are, the fellowship or unity we have will feel distanced or isolated and that’s not a good place to be. When this obscurity happens, it’s time to get on your knees and repent of those things, whether it’s an attitude or action, that have kept you from deep fellowship with the Lord. He will respond immediately to your heartfelt prayer of sincere repentance and your fellowship with Him will be restored.
The Holy Spirit will prompt us when it’s time to check ourselves. Hopefully He won’t have to knock you upside the head! But if He does prompt you… that’s when it’s time to either reach out to someone who can pray with you (if you’re not sure what to pray), or get into your quiet place and pour out your entire heart to the Father.
- Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
- Love One Another
- Remain in fellowship with the Lord
Doing those three things, even if you do nothing else, will bring you eternal life, peace and joy. But! As we continue to dive into the Scriptures and learn more and more, there is a vast ocean of knowledge to obtain and it’s awesome! As we continue our Bible Study journey each day, God will continue to teach us who He is and point us to Jesus. Salvation is near and it’s for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:13,
13 “…Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…”
~AMEN~
- If you are tired of being angry or disappointed, and you feel it’s time to make a change in your life. My guess is that the Holy Spirit is prompting your heart, He is digging out that glimmer of hope you have pushed far into the caverns of your heart. It’s time to believe in the Son of God. It’s time to give your heart to Him.
Praying this simple prayer will bring you into a fellowship with God that you never thought possible…
Dear Jesus, You know my heart, all the things I have done and said. Please forgive me for my unbelief. Please forgive me for all of my sins. I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth to die on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose from the dead to give me freedom from sin and death. By faith through believing in Who You Are, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life, cleanse this heart of mine, white as snow. Help me not to doubt any longer and breathe life into me, fill me with Your light. Thank You Jesus! Amen.
If you solemnly prayed this prayer, tell at least one person, so they can share in your joy!! I rejoice with you! All the angels in Heaven rejoice with you! Now it’s up to you to remain in fellowship with your Savior!
It is very important to me that those who might be reading these journal pages of mine and don’t yet know the Lord Jesus Christ, that you make that decision. Today. Your heart and mind may not understand everything you have been reading, but if you open your heart to the truth of who Jesus is, you will be saved from sin and death. By the Power of the Holy Spirit you will be amazed at how quickly after giving your heart to the Lord your eyes and ears will be opened to the truth.