There’s no denying the power of truth.
The word truth is spoken five times in the first four verses of 2 John.
The foundation of our faith is completely based on truth, and we see this in John 8:32, which says, "and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
As a mother, I can attest to the joy that fills my own heart when my children are living according to the truth. It's always a joy to see a believer rise up and live according to truth, but there's something extra sweet about seeing the ones you have personally discipled live according to Gods Word. I believe we see this same sentiment in 2 John 4, as John described his feelings in seeing believers live aligned with God's commands: he greatly rejoiced.
There's one particular word that sticks out to me in this passage: some. John says, "I rejoiced greatly because I have found some of your children living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded us" (2 John 4). This implies not all who were presented with the truth were living accordingly. If this doesn't serve as a wake-up call I don't know what does. What a frightening reality this is. This is truly something we must be on our knees about, daily.
One thing I know to be true, even through dealing with infidelity, divorce, and single motherhood is I am a more fierce and focused mom today than I was before the break up of my family. The devastation brought on my family gave me an opportunity to rise up and get serious about the salvation of my children. I could no longer assume anything was safe and off limits to the enemy. Not that I wasn't serious about it before, but it's a whole other level when you experience an attack like that on your family. Not only did the devil mess with the wrong mama, but my children are fierce prayer warriors today and they have seen with their own eyes the provision and the goodness of God in our lives as we have risen up of out of the ashes.
What was meant for destruction, the Lord has and continues to use for good and His glory. This is truth.
Truth is all I had to cling to in those dark days, and it's what I cling to today as I navigate my new life. (It also helps to turn up worship music louder than my thoughts!) The battle for our minds is real, y'all! For every lie that entered my mind, for every temptation that seemed to feel right in the moment, it was truth that would set me free. Disappointment is the playground the enemy loves to play in to trip us up. But it's in those seasons of loss, grief, and disappointment that we need to grab hold of Gods truth even tighter and live like we believe it. We can't afford to passively be in agreement with truth or have it tucked away in our minds from childhood. We must believe it and live it, today.
While the house was on the market, the kids and I prayed every single night and declared that although we didn't know where we would be moving when the house sold, we believed the Lord had a good plan for us. We took the Word of God (Romans 8:28, Galatians 6:9, Jeremiah 29:11) and spoke His promises over us and believed Him at His Word. We could have easily sat in doubt and fear, but we chose to trust God. Satan's greatest desire is to lead us astray and to get us to question the values and truths we hold dear.
Our house sold at the perfect time, and to this day my kids and I are blown away by what God did for us. In fact, it was my seven-year-old son that said it first: "Mom, when we were waiting for our house to sell, God was building us a house."
Cue the tears.
I don't think I've experienced a greater moment than when my own son gave credit to God for what He did in that season for us.
If seeing believers abide in truth made John rejoice, can you even imagine how much rejoicing goes on in heaven on our behalf when we live in truth and love and mercy and grace?
Lord, thank You for Your truth. Thank You for being near to the brokenhearted. Thank You for the plans You have for us that keep us out of harm's way. Your Word is truth and may the truth of Your Word ring in the ears of all who need You and need to be reminded of who You are today.
-Kelli
Week 3 - Wednesday
Walking in Truth
September 2, 2020 • Kelli
Week 4 - Friday
September 11, 2020 • Sara
I grew up in a time and a place where WWJD? ("What would Jesus do?") bracelets were popular. There were so many of them in my day it spawned parodies and became almost cliche. But, at the heart of it, it’s a great question to ask in any situation. What would Jesus do? Would He have reached across a political aisle to love people with different opinions? Indeed. Would He have welcomed broken people and shown grace without watering down the God breathed truth of Scripture? Of course. But how do we actually live like Jesus? Third John 11 says, “Dear friend, do not imitate what is bad but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does what is bad has not seen God.” It sounds relatively easy on the surface, but the world has a funny way of blurring boundaries. What’s superficially nice is not necessarily kind. What initially seems appropriate may be popularity or political correctness in disguise. Thankfully (and as usual), Scripture helps us. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 also gives instruction on where we can focus our energy and what virtues the Holy Spirit can cultivate in our lives. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” We can’t imitate God’s power, His omnipotence, or His eternal presence, but we have the perfect example of goodness - and godliness - in Jesus. C.S. Lewis wrote about this beautifully in his work The Four Loves, saying, “our imitation of God in this life — that is, our willed imitation as distinct from any of the likenesses which He has impressed upon our natures or states — must be an imitation of God incarnate: our model is the Jesus, not only of Calvary, but of the workshop, the roads, the crowds, the clamorous demands and surly oppositions, the lack of all peace and privacy, the interruptions. For this, so strangely unlike anything we can attribute to the Divine life in itself, is apparently not only like, but is, the Divine life operating under human conditions.” We won’t ever be perfect, but we should fight and pray and practice to be His true apprentice. May the world see a glimpse of the goodness of our living God and of the hope of Heaven in our lives. -Sara
Week 4 - Thursday
September 10, 2020
Week 4 - Wednesday
September 9, 2020 • Brittany
“I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are living according to truth.” 3 John 4 A few years ago, a college mentor reached out to me after having not been in contact for years. We had been incredibly close during my undergraduate experience, but life happened. I moved away, got married, had a family, and after over a decade of living in different states - aside from a Christmas card and an occasional email - we no longer talked regularly. Every couple of years we’d catch up on all the big happenings in our life, and I’d find myself again soaking up her wisdom. One day, after one of our catch-up sessions, I opened up an email from her and saw these life-giving words, “I am so proud of the way you’re choosing to live your life.” Tears brimmed my eyes and spilled over onto my cheeks as those words, rich with the love of a mentor, spoke life over me. She viewed her guidance, her discipleship, and sacrifice of time and resources as an investment of love into my life. And because of her love of the Lord and love for me, all these years later I am still walking with the Lord (imperfectly) but striving to live my life in a way that is according to truth. I love how Jesus’s words in the Great Commission tell us that, as we go, we’re called to make disciples, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I [our heavenly Father] have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Third John 4 shows us the beauty that comes from obeying the Great Commission: “I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are living according to truth.” There is a pure joy in knowing your work for the kingdom has produced good fruit. There is deep satisfaction knowing the work we’re doing today, the love we’re sharing with others, will one day take root and grow something faithful and true. Because isn’t that the way of the disciple? To know the deep riches of God’s love, to have been shown and taught it during our early years of our faith, to allow it to transform our lives into something beautiful – and then to one day be the one who takes the hand of a younger person in their faith and help them navigate the joys and heartaches of this life? To be a disciple of Jesus is to also be a disciple maker – and that is a good and life-giving calling, worthy of our utmost attention. Years later, I am now modeling the relationship I had with my mentor. Over cups of coffee and open Bibles, I meet with college girls in my church. We talk about life, sin, relationships, career choices – you name it! Sometimes we talk specifically about Scripture, other times we share about what’s going on with our lives. And I often walk away praying, “Father, keep her close to you. Let these moments not return void. Help her see your great love for her and allow it to change her life forever.” I don’t yet have the satisfaction of seeing the fruit God grows in their life, but what I do know is this: the great love God has called us to is one I can’t keep to myself. And I am confident in this, the one who began a good work in them, will complete it (Philippians 1:6). And I look forward to the day where I can send them an email and say, “I am so proud of the way you’re choosing to live your life” -Brittany