Free From Control Of Sin And Satan! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 5:18-19,

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

John points out something that almost everyone senses or feels: there is something wrong with the world. He tells us it is under the control of the evil one! It is not only that people in general are rebellious, sinful, separated and estranged from God, they are under the control of God’s enemy, Satan.

Years ago Bob Dylan wrote a Christian song called “Gotta Serve Somebody”. In the chorus is the refrain, “you’re gonna have to serve somebody”. The truth of this is born out by John here in this passage. We are either a child of God or under the control of Satan, “the evil one”.

John tells us that, as children of God, we are released from the control of Satan. We do not “continue to sin”. Paul puts it this way in Romans 6:17-18, “thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”

“You’re gonna have to serve somebody.” How wonderful that we have been released from the realm and the power of control of Satan. John says God keeps us safe! In the remaining verses of Romans 6 Paul goes on to say, “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:20-23.

“You’re gonna have to serve somebody.” How wonderful God provides us an opportunity through the gospel to be freed from the tyranny of Satan and sin to enjoy the freedom to serve our wonderful loving, kind and compassionate God!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Jesus Christ: Without Sin! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 3:5,

“You know that he [Jesus Christ] appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.”

There is something different about this One! In Jesus Christ there is no sin! Can that be said about you or me? Can that be said about any of the heroes of the faith? What about our model of faith, Abraham? Scripture recounts his lying. What about Moses? We read of him dishonoring God by striking the rock that produced water for the Israelites in the desert. What about David? We read of his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband, Uriah. There is something different about Jesus Christ. Like us, all others have shortcomings, all others have faults, all others have sinned – but not this One.

Paul pulls several passages of Scripture together in Romans 3:9b-18. He says, “We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.' 'Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.' 'The poison of vipers is on their lips.' 'Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.' 'Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.' 'There is no fear of God before their eyes.' But not all: all save this One. This One is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God! Paul had mankind in mind as he quoted these Scriptures, not our sinless, holy and righteous Savior! This One is different!

Peter tells us “You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” 1 Peter 1:18-19. This One has impeccable character! This One has no hidden motives, no wrinkle of duplicity! He is faithful, he is consistently honest, trustworthy and entirely without sin! “In him is no sin.”

I can’t think of a better proof that this man, Jesus Christ, is the Son of God. He is without sin!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Our God Answers Prayer! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 5:14-15,

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Our God answers prayer! John throws a caveat in here, that it is the request that is “according to his will” that is answered. But not just that, he says “whatever we ask” that is according to his will we will have from God. Imagine that! We can approach the Creator of the Cosmos and he listens to us!

Jesus says in John 14:13-14, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Also in John 16:23-24, “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

As we read the book of Acts, we learn that following the resurrection of our Lord, he told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. Following the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Lord raised up certain ones to complete a collection of inspired writings to provide us with a fuller revelation of the things of God. Of sacred writings, Peter says, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

As such we learn additional things the Lord wants us to know as we read and study our New Testaments together with what we refer to as the “Old Testament”. Contained within its passages, our Lord has additional things to say about prayer. Through John here, he lets us know that it is the prayer “according to his will” that gets heard.

The Lord, through James, also has some insight into prayer. In James 4:2c-3 we read, “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” So, how do we know what we should ask for? How can we know what would be according to his will? How will we know if we are asking with the wrong motives?

We know we should be praying, and quite often. “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18.

We are promised by the Lord himself that he will answer prayer. We learn it is not just any prayer that he answers but prayer that is according to his will. As we study the Scriptures we become better at ascertaining just what that is.

But the amazing thing I am captured by this morning is that, as believers, we have God’s ear. He will listen to us! Our God answers prayer!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.