I John

Eternal or Temporal

December 14, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

Every day it becomes more urgent to devote our lives to God and to prove our love for Him by the way we live. We don’t work to prove our love to God, but we live in obedience to His commands as proof of our love for God (John 14:15). If we love Him, our lives will reflect that fact and will not look like the lives of those who oppose God.

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Everything we experience in life will have either an eternal or temporal value. Jesus teaches we should focus on the eternal things that do not rust, rot, or decay (Matthew 6:19-21). Meanwhile, we live our lives seeking and consuming the temporal things that never last and leave us feeling emptier than we felt before indulging in them.

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We Must Obey

December 11, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

As we continue to examine if we truly love God (see “Do We Love Him” and “We Must Keep His Commands”), let’s first lay a little theological groundwork. We know all scripture is God-breathed and inspired by His Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). This means every word, and therefore every instruction, in the Bible, is a command of Christ. He is the Word of God in the flesh (John 1:1-3).

we must obey,commitment,discipleship,love,salvation

Every time the scripture instructs us, we must obey. That is what it means to love Christ (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-4). The book of James teaches us those who would live lives acceptable to God will keep themselves unstained by the world (James 1:27). Therefore, if we love Jesus, we will keep ourselves away from the temptations and habits of our culture. Let’s look at some practical implications this has for the way we live.

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Do We Love Him?

December 4, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

I am continually being brought back to the book of 1 John, primarily the second chapter. There is so much there that I’m beginning to think a single lifetime is not long enough to mine all the treasure it contains. One of the great things about this letter is the clarity of the message the Holy Spirit inspired John to write. There are numerous black-and-white statements. There is no nuance, no vagueness, and no wiggle room.

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This book leaves no room for you to hedge your bets. If you believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God that it is, then 1 John is the unequivocal handbook of how we are to live this Christian life. We say we love Jesus, but does our love pass the test? When push comes to shove, do we love Him? Let’s see what John wrote about this.

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Big Prayers

November 30, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

Our faith is so small. It’s as if we are children of a multi-billionaire but never ask for anything more than a pack of gum from our father. God has so much He desires to share with us, but we are too weak-minded to understand and too immature to grasp all that our position in life affords us. We are co-heirs with Jesus to all God has (Romans 8:16-17).

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And yet, most of our prayers are for tiny trinkets and selfish comforts. Why don’t we pray big prayers? Are we afraid God won’t answer in the way we desire, so we shy away? I submit we don’t pray big prayers because our faith is far too small. The more we trust Christ, the bigger our prayers will become.

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An Obsession with Jesus

November 16, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

I want to live having an obsession with Jesus. Every time I have a spare moment, I want to fill it with prayer, studying His Word, memorizing scripture, or telling someone about the love, mercy, and grace of Christ. We all live with an obsession for something, so why not have an obsession with Jesus? Deep down, we all have those activities and desires that are constantly calling to us.

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After a long day at work, what is that thing you want to do when you can unplug from your responsibilities and commitments? That thing is probably your obsession, what you would devote your time to if only you could. For most of us, that thing is not Jesus, and for those of us who declare Him Lord, that fact should shame us.