Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living - The Global of the Nazarene's Foundry Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States for Sunday, 24 June 2018 "It's Not Worth Sinning" by Caleb Reynolds - 1 John 2:7-27.

Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living - The Global of the Nazarene's Foundry Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States for Sunday, 24 June 2018 "It's Not Worth Sinning" by Caleb Reynolds - 1 John 2:7-27.
1 John 2:7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command. On the contrary, it is an old command, which you have had from the beginning; the old command is the message which you have heard before. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command, and its reality is seen both in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Anyone who claims to be in this light while hating his brother is still in the dark. 10 The person who keeps loving his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him that could make him trip. 11 But the person who hates his brother is in the dark — yes, he is walking in the dark, and he doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 You children, I am writing you
because your sins have been forgiven for his sake.
13 You fathers, I am writing you
because you have known him who has existed from the beginning.
You young people, I am writing you
because you have overcome the Evil One.
14 You children, I have written you
because you have known the Father.
You fathers, I have written you
because you have known him who has existed from the beginning.
You young people, I have written you
because you are strong —
the Word of God remains in you,
and you have overcome the Evil One.
15 Do not love the world or the things of the world. If someone loves the world, then love for the Father is not in him; 16 because all the things of the world — the desires of the old nature, the desires of the eyes, and the pretensions of life — are not from the Father but from the world. 17 And the world is passing away, along with its desires. But whoever does God’s will remains forever.
18 Children, this is the Last Hour. You have heard that an Anti-Messiah is coming; and in fact, many anti-Messiahs have arisen now — which is how we know that this is the Last Hour. 19 They went out from us, but they weren’t part of us; for had they been part of us, they would have remained with us.
20 But you have received the Messiah’s anointing from HaKadosh, and you know all this. 21 It is not because you don’t know the truth that I have written to you, but because you do know it, and because no lie has its origin in the truth. 22 Who is a liar at all, if not the person who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? Such a person is an anti-Messiah — he is denying the Father and the Son. 23 Everyone who denies the Son is also without the Father, but the person who acknowledges the Son has the Father as well. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you will also remain in union with both the Son and the Father. 25 And this is what he has promised us: eternal life.
26 I have written you these things about the people who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the Messianic anointing you received from the Father remains in you, so that you have no need for anyone to teach you. On the contrary, as his Messianic anointing continues to teach you about all things, and is true, not a counterfeit, so, just as he taught you, remain united with him. (Complete Jewish Bible).
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Our Russian tour guide took us through a city square in Moscow. The temperature was typical for January. For one of the winter holidays, artists had made ice sculptures that were on display. They were intricate carvings of animals, historical figures from Russia’s history, and a few were in the likeness of contemporary world leaders. The artists spent hours carefully crafting their displays.
On the bus back to our hotel, I realized that the pictures I had taken would long outlast sculptures themselves. In several weeks, all the beauty we had seen would melt away without a trace. What a waste!
Sin deceives us with a lie of permanence. It promises us lasting, eternal pleasure. It promises a quick and permanent fix to the problems. It sells us an easy solution with no consequences. It all seems very attractive, until the lie is unmasked.
The promises of sin fade away much like those ice sculptures in the square. Too soon, the lie is exposed, and the consequences unavoidable.
Lord, in your mercy, give us grace to see through the lie of sin. Keep us safe, guiding us in the way of Jesus, in His name we pray.***
Hymn for Today: "Satisfied" by Charles Wesley.
1. All my life I had a longing
For a drink from some clear spring,
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within.
Refrain: Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
Through His blood I now am saved.
2. Feeding on the husks around me,
Till my strength was almost gone,
Longed my soul for something better,
Only still to hunger on.Refrain: Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
Through His blood I now am saved.
3. Poor I was, and sought for riches,
Something that would satisfy,
But the dust I gathered round me
Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.Refrain: Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
Through His blood I now am saved.
4. Well of water, ever springing,
Bread of life so rich and free,
Untold wealth that never faileth,
My Redeemer is to me.
Refrain: Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
Through His blood I now am saved.

Thought for Today: Be still before Adonai;
wait patiently till he comes.
Don’t be upset by those whose way
succeeds because of their wicked plans. (Psalm 37:7a) (Complete Jewish Bible)).

Please pray: That many people in Gabon will come to know Yeshua as their Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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