Tonight's blog for April 4, 2013

How can we find freedom? Freedom from fear, freedom from doubt, freedom from aloneness? Not just a sense

of freedom, but real freedom from the burdens that have been weighing us down in our walk with and for CHRIST. Will we accept the challenge to read the Bible again with fresh eyes? One of the best books to read is 1 John. Because this book is short, only 5 chapters, you can read it in a short time, even choosing to read it daily for a while. We reminded you that the author is the HOLY SPIRIT, WHO empowered John, the son of Zebedee, to write. 1 John is one of the N.T. books with the simplest vocabulary! It can be understood and read by even pre-teens or by parents to their children or grandparents to grandchildren.  

Since the words are simple, and the themes are complex, we might expect a conflict, but the opposite is true. I know that John was chosen by the HOLY SPIRIT to write different types of books. He wrote the Gospel of John, plus these three short letters, and later, in pain and exile, John penned for the different visions that HE saw on the island of Patmos. Those different visions, were gathered into one Revelation, one "last day unveiling" by JESUS.! I love that John was able to reveal so much, with different styles. 1 John is a great reminder that we have been given hope. Peace is available for us through GOD's forgiveness. 

And yet, we still feel ALONE. That word is a preview for us of one of the themes we will discover as we read 1 John. That staggering sense of aloneness is epidemic today, even in the followers of JESUS. When you close your eyes, and take a deep breath, you can start to feel this sense of aloneness seeping over you. With the crushing amount of data, from phones, from the internet, from computers and tablets, you would think that everyone is busy, engaged, and happy. It couldn't be further from the truth. Most of us struggle with that sense of aloneness, even desperation, as we look for someone or something to make us complete. This month, our goal is to find the ONE, who made us, who loves us, and who completes us. HIS name is JESUS… GOD Bless you, my dear friends. Remember, you are loved! big marv