proving our testimony

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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proving our testimony

1 John 2:28-3:10 (JDV)

1 John 2:28 So now, little children, stay in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
1 John 2:29 If you know that he is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
1 John 3:1 See what great care the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children — and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him.
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is.
1 John 3:3 And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.
1 John 3:4 Everyone who fails practices lawlessness; and failure is lawlessness.
1 John 3:5 You know that he was revealed so that he might take away failures, and there is no failure in him.
1 John 3:6 Everyone who stays in him does not fail; everyone who fails has not seen him or known him.
1 John 3:7 Children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
1 John 3:8 The one who fails is of the devil, because the devil has failed from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.
1 John 3:9 Everyone who has been born of God does not fail, because his seed stays in him; he is not able to fail, because he has been born of God.
1 John 3:10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not care about his brother or sister.

proving our testimony

John agrees with James that confession of faith is not proof of faith. True children of God are going to stop habitually failing God, and start habitually loving each other. If we say that the blood of Christ has made us righteous before God, then our lives are going to produce righteous practices. Our lives are to be proof of our testimony.

LORD, we want to prove who we are by what we do.

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stay with him

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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stay with him

1 John 2:18-27 (JDV)

1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know that it is the last hour.
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; because if they had belonged to us, they would have stayed with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.
1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Sacred One, and all of you know the truth.
1 John 2:21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth.
1 John 2:22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son.
1 John 2:23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.
1 John 2:24 That you have heard from the beginning should stay with you. If what you have heard from the beginning stays with you, then you will stay in the Son and in the Father.
1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he himself made to us: permanent life.
1 John 2:26 I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing you received from him stays in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, stay with him.

stay with him

Some time in the first century, there was apparently an exodus from the Church. A number of people who were thought to be Christians left, and started their own groups. Then they sought to convince those who stayed to leave as well. John called these people antichrists. He chose a word that connoted an appropriate sense of fear and repulsion. He wanted to remind the believers how serious it is to defect from the body of Christ. He wanted to encourage those who claimed to be Christians to stay with Him.

LORD, we want to stay with you.

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do what Daddy wants

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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do what Daddy wants

1 John 2:12-17 (JDV)

1 John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, since your failures have been forgiven on account of his name.
1 John 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.
1 John 2:14 I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word stays in you, and you have conquered the evil one.
1 John 2:15 Do not care about the world or the things in the world. If anyone cares about the world, the care of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:16 For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions — is not from the Father but is from the world.
1 John 2:17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does what God wants stays permanently.

do what Daddy wants

John is writing to the whole church — not a building but all believers. They are described as groups at different stages of spiritual development, but they all have the same problem. They are all being tempted to be distracted by focus on temporary things — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in their possessions.

The solution to this problem is the care of the Father. It is both subjective and objective. It is God’s care for us, and our care for Him. It is caring enough for God to imitate him by obeying his commands. That is one of the earliest lessons a young child gets: do what Daddy wants.

The desire to focus on those temporary things is just as temporary as they are. We must learn to look past those things which are passing away, and focus on the voice of our Daddy, doing what He wants.

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walking like he walked

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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walking like he walked

1 John 2:3-11 (JDV)

1 John 2:3 This is how we know that we know him: since we keep his commands.
1 John 2:4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1 John 2:5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the care of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him:
1 John 2:6 The one who says he is staying in him should be walking like he walked.
1 John 2:7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the word you have heard.
1 John 2:8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
1 John 2:9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now.
1 John 2:10 The one who cares about his brother or sister stays in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
1 John 2:11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

walking like he walked

Confidence and assurance of salvation do not come from confessing a certain doctrine or creed. Confidence comes from living like the Savior told us to live. That is why the Lord in his compassion is going to give us some neighbors and brothers and sisters who challenge our commitment. Their words will irk us. Their actions will tempt us to be infuriated. This is a test. The authenticty of our faith is being tested. Don’t walk away from such people. Embrace them with love. The result will be our own confidence in Christ.

LORD, give us the wisdom to love those you bring to us — to walk like you walked.

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hide or heal?

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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hide or heal?

1 John 1:5-2:2 (JDV)

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.
1 John 1:6 If we would say, “We participate with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we would be lying and are not practicing the truth.
1 John 1:7 Since we are walking in the light as he himself is in the light, we participate with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all failure.
1 John 1:8 If we would say, “We have no failure,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:9 Since we confess our failures, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our failures and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:10 If we would say, “We have not failed,” we would be making him a liar, and his word would not be in us.
1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not fail. But if anyone does fail, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous one.
1 John 2:2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our failures, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.

hide or heal?

I use “fail” and “failure” rather than the traditional word “sin” — not denying the reality of sin, but stressing its comprehensive nature. To sin is to miss the mark, whether intentionally or by mistake. Our Lord’s death on the cross is our one sacrifice for every possible failure. Everyone who hears the gospel has a choice. The choice is to confess all failures and let the blood of Christ bring restoration and healing. Or, the alternative is to hide the failure behind a respectable darkness. Those who choose to hide their failures may claim to participate with God, but the claim is empty. There can be no healing without treatment, and there will be no treatment if we refuse to acknowledge the disease.

LORD, give us the wisdom to seek your healing restoration, not to hide our failures.

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joy in the gospel

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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joy in the gospel

1 John 1:1-4 (JDV)

1 John 1:1 The reality that was from the beginning, that we have heard, that we have seen with our eyes, that we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life —
1 John 1:2 and that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the permanent life that was with the Father and was revealed to us —
1 John 1:3 that we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also participate with us; and we really participate with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

joy in the gospel

John’s joy is the reality of the gospel of grace through Jesus Christ. But it is more than a doctrine he believes. It is a person he has met. He has heard, seen, observed and touched this person. He can never be persuaded to reject Jesus. Do do so would be to deny his own experience. His joy is made more complete by sharing what he knows.

He also knows that Jesus is the possessor and the grantor of permanent life. His very existence is a promise from God of immortality for his followers. When John and the other apostles saw Jesus, they recognized that he had been with the Father, and that he was a revelation from the Father. But what was that revelation? It was that we can also be more than we are. Our weak temporary lives can be changed and we can participate with the Father and the Son. We can also have permanent life. His joy is made more complete by sharing that good news.

So, John writes. He must write because he must get the gospel’s message out. He feels compassion for those who do not yet know the good news. But he is motivated by more than pity. He writes because sharing the gospel makes him happy. It completes his joy. It is the joy of passing on the most essential truths ever revealed to humanity. It is the joy of inviting others to experience the person of Christ.

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she was their “little sister”

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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she was their “little sister”

Song of Songs 8:8-14 (JDV)

Song of Songs 8:8 Our sister is young; she has no breasts. What will we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?
Song of Songs 8:9 If she is a wall, we will build a silver barricade on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with cedar planks.
Song of Songs 8:10 I am a wall and my breasts like towers. So, in his eyes I have become like one who finds peace.
Song of Songs 8:11 Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased the vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for his fruit one thousand pieces of silver.
Song of Songs 8:12 I have my own vineyard. The one thousand are for you, Solomon, but two hundred for those who take care of its fruits.
Song of Songs 8:13 You who dwell in the gardens, companions are listening for your voice; let me hear you!
Song of Songs 8:14 Run away with me, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

she was their “little sister”

The anticipated day has come, and the bride and groom enjoy each other, and find peace in each other’s arms. But she remembers the community who guarded her chastity when she was their “little sister.” One of the underlying messages of this poem is how marital love is sacred, and thus should be protected. Real friends protect each other. Real lovers wait until the time is right.

LORD, give us the wisdom to enjoy love as it was meant to be, unencumbered by guilt, unashamed before you.

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a lifelong commitment

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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a lifelong commitment

Song of Songs 8:1-7 (JDV)

Song of Songs 8:1 If only I could treat you like my brother, one who nursed at my mother’s breasts, I would find you in public and kiss you, and no one would scorn me.
Song of Songs 8:2 I would lead you, I would take you, to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranate.
Song of Songs 8:3 May his left hand be under my head, and his right arm embrace me.
Song of Songs 8:4 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.
Song of Songs 8:5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on the one she loves? I awakened you under the apricot tree. There your mother conceived you; there she conceived and gave you birth.
Song of Songs 8:6 Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death; jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol. Love’s flames are fiery flames– an almighty flame!
Song of Songs 8:7 A huge torrent cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all his wealth for love, it would be flatly rejected.

a lifelong commitment

The seal of ownership. Love, sealed by marriage becomes a lifetime of security and belonging. It becomes familial. That is as it should be. Love should not be awakened until it has become that lifetime commitment.

LORD, teach us to be cautious with love until it is ready to be a lifelong commitment.

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joy and the adventure

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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joy and the adventure

Song of Songs 7:10-13 (JDV)

Song of Songs 7:10 I am my love’s, and his desire is for me.
Song of Songs 7:11 Come, my love, let’s go to the field; let’s spend the night among the henna blossoms.
Song of Songs 7:12 Let’s go early to the vineyards; let’s see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my caresses.
Song of Songs 7:13 The mandrakes give off a fragrance, and at our doors is every delicacy, both new and old. I have treasured them up for you, my love.

joy and the adventure

The bride invites her beloved to explore all the joys that their mutual love can bring. She takes pleasure in the fact that her groom desires her, and wants to share the choice fruits of that love – the new experiences as well as the old.

LORD, thank you for the joy and the adventure of marital love.

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beauty reserved

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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beauty reserved

Song of Songs 6:13-7:9 (JDV)

Song of Songs 6:13 Come back, come back, Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may look at you! How you gaze at the Shulammite, as you look at the dance of the two camps!
Song of Songs 7:1 How beautiful are your sandaled feet, princess! The curves of your thighs are like jewelry, the handiwork of an expert.
Song of Songs 7:2 Your navel is a rounded bowl; it never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a mound of wheat surrounded by lilies.
Song of Songs 7:3 Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.
Song of Songs 7:4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory, your eyes like pools in Heshbon by Bath-rabbim’s gate. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus.
Song of Songs 7:5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple cloth– a king could be held captive in your tresses.
Song of Songs 7:6 How beautiful you are and how pleasant, my love, with such delights!
Song of Songs 7:7 Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit.
Song of Songs 7:8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like bunches of grapes, and the fragrance of your breath like apricots.
Song of Songs 7:9 Your mouth is like fine wine — flowing smoothly for my love, gliding past my lips and teeth!

beauty reserved

When the all male chorus asks the Shulammite woman to return so that they may look upon her, the prince intervenes. Her beauty is reserved for him. Pornography parades the sacred sexual life and makes a mockery of its intimacy.

LORD, thank you for the intimate life you have provided within the marriage bonds. May we not defile it.

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