Jesus Fellowship: Grace, mercy, peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ. 12/7/15

Day 340

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/2John.1

2 John

1 The elder,

To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we[a] have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.

Supplied Life Devotional by Bill Freeman

December 7th

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8
We need to appreciate the relationship between grace and good works. It is very simple. Good works are just grace abounding (2 Cor. 9:8). And grace abounding is grace bulging. Do you know what it is to bulge? To bulge is to expand. When grace bulges, it becomes good works. Good works are the bulging, the expansion, of grace. They are not something different from grace. They are the coming out of grace. Good works are the issue, the fruit, the result of grace. They prove that the grace in us is genuine. They are an extension of our enjoyment of grace. So when we are enjoying God's life and following that life, what comes out are good works.
Our experience of grace in a genuine and practical way is a testimony of the kingdom on this earth. For example, Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Let your good works be seen. But do not forget that our good works are just the outshining of this life that we are enjoying. So when we are enjoying Christ as our light, the issue will be good works. John 1:4 says, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." To let our light so shine before men is to let the inner life of Christ as our light come out of us. It is not to hold a little candle out for men to see. It is to let the shining from our inner enjoyment of Christ beam out of us in the form of good works. Thus, good works are another form of grace. Ephesians 5:8 tells us that we are now "light in the Lord." When I enjoy the light and stay in the light, I let it shine. Then there is an outflowing. That outflowing is called good works. These are practical deeds and actions particularly in relation to others. Good works are Christ applied in a specific way to meet the needs of others

Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH)

Anna, Ariana, Ariel, Georgie, Linnette, Wes, and Zoe.