Living By The Truth

John 3:21 (NIV)

21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Living here implies an immersion in the life of Christ.  Coming into the light is instant and, at the same time, progressive.  We begin taking on His qualities, “putting on Christ”.  It is to the glory of God and by the glory of God that it is done.

Believing And Seeing

Believing is seeing, and seeing is believing.

Sleeping In The Devil's Arms

Awake, Thou That Sleepest

By John Wesley

Sermon 3

(text from the 1872 edition - Thomas Jackson, editor)

Preached on Sunday April 4, 1742, before the University of Oxford,
by the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A. Student of Christ-Church.

8. Art thou a "partaker of the divine nature"? Knowest thou not, that "Christ is in thee, except thou be reprobate"? Knowest thou, that God "dwelleth in thee, and thou in God, by his Spirit, which he hath given thee"? Knowest thou not that "thy body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, which thou hast of God"? Hast thou the witness in thyself? the earnest of thine inheritance? Hast thou "received the Holy Ghost"? Or dost thou start at the question, not knowing "whether there be any Holy Ghost"?

9. If it offends thee, be thou assured, that thou neither art a Christian, nor desirest to be one. Nay, thy very prayer is turned into sin; and thou hast solemnly mocked God this very day, by praying for the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, when thou didst not believe there was any such thing to be received.

10. Yet, on the authority of God's Word, and our own Church, I must repeat the question, "Hast thou received the Holy Ghost?" If thou hast not, thou art not yet a Christian. For a Christian is a man that is "anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power." Thou art not yet made a partaker of pure religion and undefiled. Dost thou know what religion is? --that it is a participation of the divine nature; the life of God in the soul of man; Christ formed in the heart; "Christ in thee, the hope of glory;" happiness and holiness; heaven begun upon earth; "a kingdom of God within thee; not meat and drink," no outward thing; "but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;" an everlasting kingdom brought into thy soul; a "peace of God that passeth all understanding;" a "joy unspeakable, and full of glory"?

An excerpt of a sermon from the founder of the Methodist church.  Elsewhere in the sermon he refers to those that sleep as sleeping in the Devil's arms.  Those that slumber are too deep in their dreamworld to hear the call to awake.

Right And True Christian Faith

From Wesley's sermon:

The Almost Christian

By John Wesley

Sermon 2

5. "The right and true Christian faith is" (to go on the words of our own Church), "not only to believe that Holy Scripture and the Articles of our Faith are true, but also to have a sure trust and confidence to be saved from everlasting damnation by Christ. It is a sure trust and confidence which a man hath in God, that, by the merits of Christ, his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to the favour of God; whereof doth follow a loving heart, to obey his commandments."

Love Response

From a devotional of Ray Stedman:

"Love requires a response."


Based on- READ: 2 Corinthians 6:11-13
Love wide and openly. We respond to God's love by loving, Him first, then each other.  How is this done?  It's in the Word.

If We Value Life

Luke 16:14-15 (NIV)

14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.

Justifying one’s self before men is only making excuses, words blowing in the breeze.  It is God that justifies and He does so through His Son.  The heart is hidden from men, but not from God.

We are to find what God values if we value life.

Dead Wrong

Luke 16:31 (NIV)

31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Jesus said one sign would be given, the sign of Jonah.  That was not enough then for some them, and it is true today.  Jesus rose from the dead.  Those who believe will also be raised to life.  Those that don’t will be dead wrong.