Obadiah 1:1

As we begin a short series on the minor prophet Obadiah, the theme of blood appears in several ways.  In the past, Yahweh made his covenant in blood first with Abraham, and continuing with his people through circumcision.  In the current setting of this book, blood in the present represents the natural, familial connection between Israel in exile and the people of Edom who ought to have come to Israel’s aid, but did not.  All of this points forward the future blood of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to provide salvation for his covenant people.  If we are in Christ, we are assured that we share in Yahweh’s covenant, we are adopted into the family of God and we look forward with great hope to salvation that is ours through the cross.

3 John 1:1-14

Last week we considered the call to reject false teachers from our fellowship.  In contrast, today we look at receiving true teachers with hospitality.  True Christian friendships are built upon the foundation of shared belief in the gospel, and holistically address the heart, mind, body and soul of the friend.  In any community of sinners, conflict and confrontation are sometimes inevitable.  But faithful are the wounds of a friend (Prov 27:6), and we understand that true shalom does not come at the expense of truth.  May we increasingly grow in our ability to love in deed and in truth.

2 John 1:1-13

We are all theologians, that is we all study and have ideas about who God is.  The question is, what kind of theologian will we be?  We are called to watch ourselves, that our faith is built upon the truth that Christ came in the flesh and he calls us to walk in his love.  At the same time we must be discerning about what we allow into our lives.  There are many false voices that would seek to deceive us and drag us off the path that leads to the risen Christ, in whom heaven and earth meet and are redeemed.

1 Samuel 8:1-18

Similar to much of current public sentiment in America, today’s text shows us the nation of Israel being dissatisfied with the status quo, believing that “the system” was the problem and not recognizing that sinful man was responsible for the corruption.  They sought an earthly king to rule over them, on their terms.  With echoes of their bondage in Egypt, God through Samuel declared to them the self-serving kind of king they would have.  In stark contrast to such an earthly king, our Father sent us his Son to reign over us a servant-king, in defiance of human expectations.  As we seek to follow Jesus, we also are called to live lives of service, in our homes, our vocations and wherever we have the opportunity.

1 John 5:13-21

At the end of his first letter, the Apostle John reminds us of the basic ingredients of the Christian life, providing corroborating evidence of the things we know to be true.  The Church has never been without an enduring Apostolic witness, providing reassurance of eternal life.  In prayer, we draw near to God, not to get things from him, but rather to get God himself.  He saves into a family of faith and grants us both the opportunity and obligation to go to the Lord on behalf of our brothers and sisters.  We are brought into union, not with dead idols (ps 115), but with the living God, and that provides ultimate assurance of our life in him.

1 John 5:1-12

1 John 4:7-21

Today’s text deals with the very important question of who are we going to love, and how are we to be shaped in love?  Our triune God is love, beginning within the godhead, then made manifest to us in the incarnation of Jesus.  Since God is love, he — not us, not the culture — gets to define what love is.  Furthermore, everything he does is loving.  In response to his atoning love, we respond by bearing witness to who he is and what he has done for us in Christ.  We must progressively grow in love for one another even in, especially in, our differences.  As Francis Schaeffer reminds us, “Love is the final apologetic.”

1 John 4:1-6

Spiritual forces in this world are not neutral.  Indeed, the forces of the enemy are likened to a roaring lion seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8).  We are continually being catechized, being formed, by the voices we listen to.  As a result, we must test those voices to discern which are of God, not by worldly metrics, but by this simple test: what does this spirit say about Jesus?  In his goodness to us, God condescended through his Son to speak to us in a way we can comprehend, so we can listen to the Spirit of truth and avoid the spirit of error.

1 John 3:11-24

As the Spirit regenerates the hearts of believers, we are saved into a family of faith.  With God as our heavenly Father, we have the Church as our spiritual mother, where life is nurtured.  Christ is the perfect illustration of what God’s love looks like, as it flows from him into us, before then flowing outward from us as we live in that love.  Whenever our hearts seek to condemn us, the love of God working through us provides assurance that we are indeed his children.

1 John 2:28-3:10

We are often tempted to look in all the wrong places for love and acceptance when instead we ought to look to Christ.  He sets a radical standard of holiness and perfection that we can never attain in this life.  Nonetheless, as followers of Jesus who have been regenerated, we must not be indifferent to sin.  If we are in Christ, our confidence comes from his perfect obedience, even as we expect to see progress in our journey of sanctification.