Category: 1 John

  • God’s Character When He Seems Hidden in the Fog 

    With autumn having arrived, morning fog is common here. At times. It is a light mist, but other mornings it’s a heavy cloud that blankets everything and reduces visibility to a few feet. That can make the morning drive a challenge for many people. Fortunately, it doesn’t stick around very long.

    Sometimes, it seems that God is hiding in the fog. We know that He’s out there somewhere, but for the life of us we can’t see Him. Sometimes, if we’re honest, we wonder if He’s even working out there.

    Times can be hard. We can pray faithfully for what seems like forever, and God isn’t anywhere we can see. We still believe, but we get discouraged, and little doubts can creep in.

    When that happens, we need to remember God’s character as revealed in Scripture. God cannot violate His character.

    He is love.

    Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:7-12 ESV

    God is faithful.

    God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV

    He keeps his promises and never lies.

    God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Numbers 23:19 ESV

    I could carry the list on for a long time, but there is no doubt that even when we can’t see Him, He is hard at work to accomplish His purpose.

    Hold fast, my dear friends; His faithfulness is great and His mercies new every morning.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    When God seems hidden in the fog, we need to remember His character as revealed in Scripture. Even when we can’t see Him, He is hard at work to accomplish His purpose.

    TAKEAWAY

    When you’ve prayed faithfully for what seems like forever and can’t see God anywhere, you can still believe even while you’re discouraged and little doubts creep in.

    When that happens, remember God’s character as revealed in Scripture: He is love, He is faithful, and He keeps His promises and never lies. God cannot violate His character.

    Even when you can’t see Him, He is hard at work to accomplish His purpose. Hold fast, because His faithfulness is great and His mercies are new every morning.

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  • Hope for the walking wounded

    Hope for the wounded spirit

    I stood talking with a Christian acquaintance who said, “God gave me a wonderful opportunity to do something special, and I didn’t take it. Now I’m afraid He won’t ever use me anymore.” 

    I’ve sometimes heard variations on that theme, “I fell back into terrible sin, and I’m afraid God won’t ever forgive me again.” “I wandered away from my faith for a while, and now I’m sure He won’t take me back.”

    Sometimes they are nonbelievers who have never been inside a church. They believe the lie “I’m too wicked for even God to save me.”

    These are ordinary people in great pain. If you saw them, you probably wouldn’t know they feel like they’re dying on the inside

    They might be sitting next to you on a Sunday morning; they might be ministering in your church, or they might even be part of your family. They might be workmates or neighbors. Often, they slowly and quietly slip away from the church, or never come near it because of self-imposed shame.

    When we’re physically injured, we usually get some form of medical help to heal our bodies. When we’ve been injured spiritually, we often run from the source of healing. Satan lies to us and tells us we can’t ever be forgiven. We’ve been hurt in the past by sharing with someone in the church when we shared our pain. Maybe our church doesn’t condone sharing.

    Like a bad physical wound that doesn’t receive attention, a wound to the spirit that doesn’t receive tending just keeps on bleeding. Infection sets in and makes the wound even messier. The pain festers, our spirit weakens, and we fall further and further away from the one who can heal us.

    Our healing comes from the Lord.

    But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 ESV

    I’m going to go out on a limb here and probably offend some people because there are different interpretations for this verse. If you disagree with me, I’m sorry, but that’s life sometimes. This verse isn’t a promise that God will heal all our physical ailments in this lifetime. Yes, He can do that and often does, but it isn’t a guarantee.

    It means that for our sin He brings healing. He heals our wounded and battered spirit. That’s the mot important healing there is, to be made right again with God. That’s an eternal healing not simply a transitory physical healing.

    God heals, and God forgives.

    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV

    He makes us new again.

    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

    If you’re one of those people who is wounded in the spirit and wondering if you can ever go back, YES, YES, GOD LOVES YOU. HE’S WAITING WITH OPEN ARMS. RUN INTO THEM.

    Until next time, if you’re wounded in the spirit, run to our great healing God.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I’ve met people who believe they’ve messed up too badly for God to ever use or forgive them again. Scripture shows that no matter how deep that wound runs, God heals it, forgives us, and makes us new.

    TAKEAWAY

    If you’re carrying an old wound over something you didn’t do or a way you failed God, hiding it only lets that wound fester, the same way an untreated physical injury gets worse.

    Isaiah 53:5 promises that Christ’s wounds bring you spiritual healing first, restoring your standing with God, even though total physical healing isn’t guaranteed in this life.

    1 John 1:9 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 promise that when you confess, God forgives you completely and makes you a new creation, so there’s no version of your past that keeps His arms closed to you.

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