2 John, 3 John

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20John,%203%20John&version=ESV



2 John 6-11: "And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works."

Are you loving Christ? By obeying His commandments we demonstrate our love for Christ to the world. We will not do this perfectly, as we all are sinners, but as we abide in Christ and ask that the Holy Spirit help us in obeying Christ, we should see in ourselves a more eagerness to obey Christ and pursue holiness an purity and a more eagerness to hate sin, and to avoid it and kill it in our lives at all costs.

In the Scripture quote above, I also would like to mention the verses that talk about going ahead and not abiding in the teachings of Christ. In our world today, there are so many self-help books that promote wisdom. This is man-made wisdom. There are many Christian books as well, that often times do not reflect accurately the truths of Scripture.

Now, I have read many Christian books, and I am a fan of the ones that exalt Christ and His Word. So, when doing your readings in 2011, seek out books that exalt Christ and His Word.

Read the Word first, and analyze what you have read via the lens of Scripture. In doing this, you will develop a more biblically based worldview in this culture that is immersed in post-modernism which relativizes the truth.

Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ is the truth.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Today's post was submitted by Russ Shellhamer.