Time Alone With God

        
           
One of the reasons that we read God's Word is so that we will do that
which pleases God. In fact, the Bible says in style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> Psalm 119:11
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">I have hidden your
word in my heart that I might not sin against you. style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

           
The more we move away from sin in our lives
the more like Christ we become. The Bible calls this " style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">sanctification"
meaning becoming more and more like Christ. But what are we to do when we do
sin?

style="font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Read
href="http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?passage=1+John+2%3A1-3&NIV_version=yes&language=english">1
John 2:1-3 (later referred to as 1 Jn.)

           
While we cannot escape sin totally in this
life, it doesn't mean we should give up and give in. We'll never get
anywhere if that is our attitude. Remember, our goal is to become more like
Christ. What is so awesome about being a believer in Christ,
is that once we have received Him into our hearts, He becomes our defense
before God the Father. Before we had Christ in our lives, sin separated us
from God, but now with Christ in our hearts, we have an advocate who has taken
on the penalty for sin for us leaving us pure before the Lord.

           
Yes we do still sin, but now we no longer pay
the penalty for our sins (which is separation from
God); we have someone who has become our substitute! Isn't this incredible?

           
Sin does have it's consequences in that it
quenches the power of God in our lives leaving us less useful to God; so it is
very important that we keep our lives pure before Him. That is why we spend
time asking Him to reveal to us any thing in our lives that is displeasing to
Him. This would be a perfect time for you to ask Christ to reveal to you
anything that is displeasing to Him. As He reveals that to you, agree with Him
about that sin and then ask Him to give you the power to move beyond it with
His power.

           
Close your style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Time Alone class="GramE">With God by thanking Him for being your
substitute and for taking on the penalty for your sin! What an incredible gift
to you!

 

style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> face="Arial">Day Two

           
Remember that old saying we looked at before,
" style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">If you see something
that looks like a horse, smells like a horse, feels like a horse, eats like a
horse, chances are it is a horse." In today's style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Time Alone class="GramE">With God we are going to see what God's Word
says about identifying true believers.

style="font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Read
href="http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NIV&passage=1+John+2%3A3-6&x=15&y=10">1
Jn. 2:3-6

style="mso-tab-count: 1; font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">           
The word, " style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">know"
literally means to " style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">know by experience."
This is not talking about a head knowledge of
Christ, but a personal knowledge of Him. John says that if someone personally
knows Christ, the normal outgrowth will be obedience. Ouch! Did that hit a
little too close to home? Is the Spirit of God already speaking to you about
the lack of obedience to Him in certain areas? Remember these verses? style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">John 14:15 class="GramE">,21 style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">"If you love Me,
you will obey what I command. [21] Whoever has My
commands and obeys them, He is the one who loves Me. He who loves class="GramE">Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him
and show Myself to him." 

           
The converse of this is: He who does style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">not
keep God's Word style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">does not
love the Lord! I hope you won't get too tired of this saying but it fits so
well and applies to so many believers, " style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">We are educated way
beyond our level of obedience."

style="mso-tab-count: 1; font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">           
In fact, John says that if you say you
love Christ but do not have the fruit of Christ in your life, you are a liar!
Pretty strong words wouldn't you say?

style="font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">John 15:4-5 style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> Remain
in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in

style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Me class="GramE">.

style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">[ style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">5] "I am the
vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me
and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do
nothing. 

           
The key is to remain in Christ. That means
that you find your sustenance in Him. You get to the place where you are more
concerned about pleasing Him than you are in obeying your personal desires. In
verses 5-6 of style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">I style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> Jn. style="mso-spacerun: yes"> We are told that when you obey/apply
God's Word, God begins to work completely in you with His love. Can you
imagine how wonderful that will be? Wherever you go, you have the aroma of
God's love! This is God's will for you and me! style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> 2 Cor. 2:14-15
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">But thanks be to God,
who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads
everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. style="mso-spacerun: yes">  [15] For we are to God the aroma of
Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

           
Close your style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Time Alone class="GramE">With God by asking Christ to help you to have
His fragrance in every area of your life! Ask Him to reveal to you where you
need to be obedient to Him today! Ask Him to give you the awesome opportunity
to obey Him today!

 

style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> face="Arial">Day Three

           
I have had many people talk with me
concerning the bitterness they have had (or still have) towards someone else.
Today we will look at other Scripture that deals with the same issue of
forgiveness.

style="font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Read
href="http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NIV&passage=1+John+2%3A7-11&x=16&y=11">1
Jn. 2:7-11

           
The old commandment he referred to was to style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength
(Dt. 6:5), and  style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">love style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> your neighbor as
yourself (Lev. Hour="19">
19:18
). The new command does not replace the old but deepens it. It calls us to let
God's light shine through our lives to a dark world. The new command calls
us to live according to the love of God - to live as Jesus did! How did He
live? style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> Ephes. 4:32
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you.   style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Col. 3:12-13
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Therefore, as God's
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. style="mso-spacerun: yes">  [13] Bear with each other and
forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Forgive as the Lord
forgave you. style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Hebrews 12:15
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">See to it that no one
misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to class="GramE">cause trouble and defile many. style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

           
This is a tough passage to apply especially
if you are still harboring some ill feelings towards someone who has hurt you
deeply. The point is not whether they deserve to be forgiven. The fact is that
none of us deserve to be forgiven. The point is that we are commanded to
forgive as we have been forgiven. When we don't forgive, we are the ones who
are harmed the most. We are the ones who are crippled and become invalids.
What we need is something within us to empower us to do what we are incapable
of doing.

           
Think about the person (or persons) whom
you've been unable to put out of your mind because of what they've done to
you. Remember what was done. Now go back and re-read the earlier
passages written for you. Now, read the following verses: style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> Romans 5:5

style="font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">And hope does not
disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> Philip.
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">4:13
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> I can do
everything through Him Who gives me strength.

style="mso-tab-count: 1; font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">           
Will you take that offense and give it to
the Lord to handle for you? The last verse you read said that YOU can do
EVERYTHING through style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">CHRIST who
will strengthen you! Forgiving does not mean forgetting. Forgiving means
giving up the right to relish memory of the hurtful deed! There is an
excellent book called style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Making Love Last
Forever by Dr. Gary Smalley. Chapters 2-4 deal with forgiving
those who don't deserve it. It would be a book worth getting. It is produced
by Word Publishing.

           
Close your style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Time Alone class="GramE">With God by asking Jesus to let His love
infuse everything you do today.

 

style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> face="Arial">Day Four

                       
As you well know, satan
is going to do whatever he can to derail your fellowship with Christ. style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">1 Peter 5:8
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Be self-controlled and
alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour. 

As you will see today, there are three major areas where
he will attack.

style="font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Read
href="http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NIV&passage=1+John+2%3A12-17">1
Jn. 2:12-17

           
It is interesting that he categorizes the
stages of Christian growth. Re-read verses 12-14 and note the
characteristics of each stage. After recognizing the stages, he then warns
them against satan's mode of attacking. He tells
us to look out for three different kinds of allurement. They are: the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life..
If you think about it, every sin that you are tempted with boils down to one
of the three. It could easily be something that feels good to you physically,
something that you envy and begin to make plans to acquire, or even something
that feeds your ego – a desire to be recognized by others in some way. style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">

           
He tells us in verse 15 that we are not to love anything in the world.
He uses the word "agape" love which is the highest kind of love - a Godly
kind of love. Does he mean that we are not to enjoy anything in the world
other than Him? What he means is that there is not to be style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">anything
in our lives that is more important than our relationship with Christ. Nothing
is to have more influence in our lives than pleasing Christ. Why is class="GramE">this the case? Jesus said in style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Matthew
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">6:24
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">"No one can serve
two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

           
Re-read the consequences of loving the
world or loving Christ. V. 17. There's not much of a decision to make when
you look at it from the eternal point of view. Of course satan
knows that and he will work hard at trying to get us to view things from the
immediate situation instead of God's perspective. Close your style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Time Alone With God
by asking Jesus to reveal to you the things that you have been craving in your
life that do not please Him and then ask Him to give you His perspective on it
all. Ask Christ to reveal to you any area in your life that is more important
than Him. As He reveals that to you, confess that to Him and ask Him to help
you to get things back in God's order for you.

 

style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> face="Arial">Day Five

           
The closer we get to the return of Christ the
more we will see those who oppose God's Kingdom living. The Bible refers to
them as " style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">anti-Christs."
An anti-Christ is anyone who opposes and rejects Jesus as the Son of God. Our
study will address this kind of person.

style="font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Read
href="http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NIV&passage=1+John+2%3A18-29&x=13&y=9">1
Jn. 2:18-29

           
One thing that is clear in Scripture is that
we do not need to fear those who are anti-Christ. In verse 20 it said that we
have an anointing of the Holy Spirit which means that we are complete in
Christ and have a commissioning to serve Christ. This anointing also suggests
an ongoing presence and ministry of the Spirit within, protecting us from
false teachers or leaders. The Spirit will help us to discern between right
and wrong. So the question then looms, " style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">how do we know if
someone is of the Lord or not?" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">1 John 4:1-6 style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> Dear friends, do not
believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world. style="mso-spacerun: yes">  [2] This is how you can recognize the
Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is from God, 
[3] but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from
God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and
even now is already in the world. [4] You, dear children, are from God and
have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who
is in the world.  [5] They are
from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the
world listens to them.  [6] We are
from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God
does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the
spirit of falsehood. 

           
Our responsibility is to remain in Christ
resulting in a vital relationship that will give us the confidence and power
to handle anything that may come our way. Close your style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Time Alone class="GramE">With God by asking Jesus to help you be aware
of false teaching when it passes your way. Ask Him to give you a sense of
confidence and not fear as you live out your faith!