1 John 2:20-27
But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I haven't been writing this to tell you something you don't know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn't breed lies.
So who is lying here? It's the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that's who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son. No one who denies the Son has any part with the Father, but affirming the Son is an embrace of the Father as well.
Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life!
I've written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you. But they're no match for what is embedded deeply within you—Christ's anointing, no less! You don't need any of their so-called teaching. Christ's anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.
Joshua 1:8
And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
When I was a young girl learning to sew, I was taught to do a lot of hand-basting with needle and thread before sewing seams and top-stitches on the machine. This made for neater edges, more uniform “gathers,” and a nicer garment overall. It also took a lot longer. Over the years, I became convinced by articles I read and friends who sewed that a lot of this was not necessary. A steady hand with the steam iron would press open seams. Good pinning could eliminate the need for hand-basting and speed up the process.
After ripping out several seams that were not quite straight or even… and getting a less than stellar result several times, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to stay with what I was taught from the beginning… the original message.
In so many areas of life, the “shortcuts” are actually paths to a bad end. A lot of us want to cut corners… to have the blessings of God without doing the work… to pick and choose which of His commandments we follow… to follow the “in crowd” but also belong to the body of Christ – even if the two are completely divided. In other words, we buy into the world’s insistence that God will overlook our irregular stitches and wrinkled seams… and “good enough” is, indeed, good enough.
The truth is that God gave His very best – Jesus Christ – to pay for our sins… and He wants our very best in return. We don’t have to look far to find the truth… the Bible – the “Book of the Revelation” – tells us everything we need to know about how to live as Disciples of Christ. The trouble comes when we want to cut corners… to have things our way… to follow those who would try to convince us otherwise… and still count on God to bless and anoint us with all He stands ready to give.
Inviting Jesus to be LORD of your life and asking the Holy Spirit to dwell within your heart is vital… but living deeply in both Son and Father is critical. So many people take the first step, then rest on the promise of Eternal Life. They fail to truly live deeply in the Son and Father… to serve completely and humbly as God’s servants and to minister to others in His name. And often, the results are like many of the garments I’ve sewn… less than stellar. Don’t let this happen to you. Really study the Word of God. Dig deeply and live in what you were taught. Ponder and meditate on what you have learned… and communicate with God continually to be sure you always stay on the right track.
©2012 Debbie Robus
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