TWO SHORT LETTERS
Suggested Reading: 2 – 3 John
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
The ruins of Ephesus. The top of the ancient Celsus Library can be seen lit by the sun just beyond the pillars. John's two letters, today's reading, were probably written from here. Ephesus spawned many religious cults. John writes, "Many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh" (2 John 1:7).
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: 2 John 1:5, 3 John 1:5-6
And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another…
Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well.
John’s primary message in his Gospel and in his three letters is about God’s love and “that we love one another.” Second John teaches how to behave as Christians, and how to recognize any teaching which diminishes the Person of Jesus Christ by teaching that He was an angelic spirit who was not 100% human as well as 100% God! Let’s not forget that while John was a most loving person, he was also referred to by Jesus as one of the “sons of thunder” (“Boanerges” in Greek – Mark 3:17). Because he loved God and people, John was able to thunder out his message of uncompromising truth, particularly the truth about the One with whom he spent over three years.
In his third letter John refers to a previous letter which he had written, perhaps First or Second John, which had been rejected by “Diotrephes,” a leader in one of the churches. Religious cult founders are much like this man who “loved the preeminence,” who “spoke malicious words,” and who exalts himself into a place of egotistical religious authority. Gaius and Demetrius are two generous and humble men. We would do well to follow their examples.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, I did not have the glorious opportunity that John had. He spent all that time with You during Your ministry in the Galilee and Jerusalem, and he was there at the cross when You died. He even fished with his brother James, with Peter and Andrew, and with You, Lord, when You caused great catches of fish, as well as when You miraculously fed the 4,000 and the 5,000. I pray for the sense to know that John knew You better than I ever could, and for the grace to accept and believe John’s words about You. In Your Name I ask this. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I find it hard to imagine how inflated are the opinions some have of themselves, that they think they know better than the Prophets and Apostles, who gave us the historical record of God interacting with His human family. The wanderings of the imaginations of some who teach false doctrines, like Diotrephes, are with us in books, lectures in universities, media appearances, etc. Now, 2,000 years later, there are still some who are getting attention who think they know the facts better than those who were actually there when the events described happened. In order to deceive people, the devil even comes as an angel of light, deceiving many. There are false doctrines brought to our doors. The founder of one of these says he got his information from an angel (Mormonism), and another founder was an independent minister in Brooklyn, NY, who was bitter against other Pastors in his area. He claimed to know the Greek language in which the New Testament was written, but in the records of a court of law in which he appeared, he could not name the letters of the Greek alphabet. He resurrected the false doctrines which John thundered against. Then it was called “Arianism;” today it’s “The Watchtower Society” or “Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Yours for “Truth,” John’s message, and for living out that truth as did “the elect lady and her children.” Also for learning from the godliness and generosity of Gaius, and for following the example of the one who “has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself,” Demetrius!!
David
P.S. If readers have the time, I suggest going back into the blogs and reviewing all three of John’s letters. Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll be in the book of Obadiah.
P.P.S. Below is a picture of that one-legged duck that I mentioned two or three days ago. He or she keeps up with the others, waving his little stump around when hopping. I’m learning life lessons every day from nature as well as from God’s Word!
Thank you Lord Jesus for the mentoring and teaching in this blog. I lift up all those who are following to receive your full blessing, the love of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, through the Word which brings us our Savior and redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us present ourselves before you in repentance and with the expectation that you will here the prayers of our hearts. Let us cry out the burdens and leave them with you at the cross. Fill us with your amazing love and let us go about this day concerned with what really matters, doing your will Lord Jesus. Amen
AMEN Anna, A beautiful way, to begin a beautiful day. Forgive me Lord for my trespasses, fill me anew with your presence. Holy Spirit, what are you and I going to do today? (and the other bloggers) Thank you for your presence. Reveal yourself to me,(us) moment by moment, and guide my(US) every move and nudge me(us) when I don’t pay attention. Praise God, Fellow bloggers and have a wonderful day with Holy Spirit inspiration. Thank you Jesus for what you have done for us. AMEN
Amen!
Amen
The one legged duck looks no worse for wear! Looks happy and content he has one leg to stand upon. I did not know Arianism spawned The Watchtower Society and Jehovah’s Witness. It makes me wonder how many other distortions can be found which deny John’s emphasis that Christ was flesh and Son of the Father? May God’s Spirit of truth and love rest on each of us, as we seek to know and abide more in His ways, every day. Enjoy this Spring day!
Amen
We adore Thee, we adore Thee, oh Lord, our God,
Oh Holy, oh Holy, is Your name.
You reign on high, in the heavenly realms,
Within us, Your Spirit, is the same.
We toil with struggles of unimaginable pains,
And daunting are tasks that we face.
But we look to the cross and sacrifice You made,
For our sake, so that we would be saved.
John’s gospel preaches love, above everything
In every action, every word that we speak.
Let us pray for one another, as we do to our King,
Let us live what we truly believe.
We are nothing without You, our lives are not the same.
We proclaim You, our Saviour and King.
We cling to Your cloak, as we do to Your Word,
We praise You, for the love that You bring.
c. Beverlee Kay, Apr. 2014
P.S. David, thanks for the duck photo! 🙂
Denis and Bernice both 83 years young. Friends of mine, did have a little dog whom had only 3 legs. If you did not look closely , you would (miss) that he was (missing) a leg. They are both experiencing several health issues. Both spent a long winter, on and of in Hospitals and health care. Please bloggers join with me in prayer for them both. They live together in a beautiful home, that Denis built himself, on there farm, approximately 10 years ago. They are very independent and take care of each other perfectly. They have been married, for over 64 years and are more in love than when they married. I love them both. Please Holy Spirit comfort them, in their ageing years.
We lift up dear Denis and Bernice to You, Lord. We pray for their longevity, health, strength, peace and well being during future years You have intended for them on earth, Lord. We pray for blessing upon blessing to be bestowed upon them, in Jesus precious name. Amen, amen, and amen.
Thank you Beverlee.
Beautiful Beverlee!!! You have a special gift and I am so glad that we share that gift with your fellow blog-buddies. Bless you sister!!!!
Amen! Beautifully written and meaningful!
Beautiful words Beverlee!
Agreeing with you Beverlee. I also did not know what Arianism was! I thought it was a white supremisy group. Thanks David, Reyn, and Ron.
How great that John has warned us to avoid false prophets. They pop up everywhere in our daily lives. The devil is a busy entity.
The duck photo is adorable. How I would love to see the duck with a new leg….maybe with one of those legs that can be printed out with one of those new-fangled printers.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s study. Thank you DM for the knowledge of each day’s study.
Does anyone know, is this John, John the Baptist?
No, John the Baptist had his head cut off by Herod during the time Jesus was here on earth, so he cannot be the writer of this letter. This John was one of his apostles.
Thanks Donna. God bless.
Wonderful message today, David and like the phrase, “fellow-helpers to the truth” as well.(3 John 8). Also the photo of the ducks is so inspiring and preaches a message. Share your thoughts about nature and took several photos of a beautiful sunrise this morning and yesterday my friend and I rescued a starling out of my chimney again. Spring is coming!
Very true ,nature helps us understand our creator. As I said about Denis and Bernices’ dog you, you don’t notice right away that there is a missing leg. God has made us so wonderfully, that even with missing parts we still function beautifully. The one thing we do not function well without is the Lord himself. Weare made to seek him with all our being.
Your writing touched my heart this morning, and gave me great comfort. After a day yesterday where I wondered if/when/how does God use a wicked soul (at times) like mine, where I was so aware of the sin within me, and I had allowed the flesh to rule, the beauty of the work that God has done in you, somehow encouraged me… The Lord is so much more than the flesh in me, I am so glad for that, ‘greater is He that is in me than he (the enemy of my soul) that is in the world. I am so glad that Jesus our dear brother, has left you here a while longer on this earth, to encourage us.. your words about our Saviour and who He is are balm to my soul. Thank you.
I feel sometimes that I am like that one legged duck in Christ, not quite what I was meant to be, but managing to get by with what I am.
Yes I agree with David we must be on the look out for deceivers still in this day and age for there are still here, trying to lead vulnerable souls away from the truth. I remember a couple years ago there was a book sale at my church and I bought a book thinking it was about Jesus Jewish life. Well as I began reading it it was obvious that this book was about proving Jesus was just a Jewish preacher and the Paul has in fact the one who started a new religion based on pagan worship of some Roman sun god but adding some Jewish concepts to it to create Christianity. And the funny thing is as silly as that sounds saying it here, the author was so convincing in his arguments that for about minute or two I began to believe him. So I did web search of the book, found a Christian site that has the Scripture evidence to dispute his theory. That is when I threw the book in the garbage where it belonged– but it does drive the point we are not grounded in the truth of Scripture, we are open to all kinds of lies about our Lord. But thankfully we many Christian leaders providing us with knowledge and understanding like the new believers had John we have someone like David, leading us to stay grounded in the true foundation of God’s Word. Amen
Amen, Donna, amen!
Dear Donna, daughter of the King, we all can be deceived, satin is very good at what he does. We all have to be on our guard and also praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. I am so thankful for any extra prayers that you precious bloggers could direct to my children and all children. The world is so full of corruption. God have mercy on us all.
Thank you Beverlee for sharing your meaningful poetry. Tradition says that John the Apostle wrote the Gospel of John, the Epistles of John and the Book of Revelation. Lord, we pray that you will strengthen and continue to use Denis and Bernice in their senior years for Your Glory, Lord. Amen! Blessings everyone!
Amen
Lianne Hogg
Thanks David for the one legged duck photo… walking and swimming would not be it’s strong points… but flying the skies above with it’s brothers and sisters, that’s another story…
I sometimes too feel like that one legged duck… in many areas of life, I would like to do better or even excel, but life often has many detours in the road…
At this stage in my life, I have a good job with excellent benefits… At age 62 probably the first time that I had that kind of security. I am thankful – for if not for my current position in life, I would not be following this blog and looking forward to hearing wonderful testimonies and feeling the love of fellow bloggers as we pray for one another…
This blog is truly a gift of love…
The sun has yet to shine this day, but already I can see that it is going to be a glorious sunrise here on the west coast… Have a great and blessed day everyone!
My youngest son, Willie 23 yr. left last Friday for Prince Rupert BC, to work as a welder , repairing a giant conveyor. It is for loading the ocean liners with coal to go across the Pacific, to foreign ports. He will be away for 3 months, and is already missed . Please pray for his safety on the job and with his 3 buddies. Lord watch over them. Thank you.
Willie is now added to my prayer list. May his faith grow even stronger as he ventures out here to BC…
Thank you David ! Willie is the youngest of our 4 children and the last to move out of the nest. Don’t read me wrong, we encouraged him to expand his horizons. He will be back, he intends to take over our farm in the future. Out of 4 children 3 of them are welders. Growing up on a farm I guess they realize every thing brakes and needs a weld. They will never be out of a job.
One daughter , Susan, 25 and yes she is a welder too. Going Friday to take final exams. It is her little boy Hunter that my husband and I watch during the day, while she and her husband are at work. He is such a blessing. 3 last fall and he fallows Grandpa around like a shadow.
Hi David! It has been such a blessing to get your daily devotional over the last few months! Thank you so much! Please pray for my Aunt and my Aunt and Uncle who are elderly and who follow the JW teaching and that I will be a good witness to them of the truth. My one Aunt wants me to come over and share with her.
Please pray for me!! Thank you so much!! GOD bless you all!!
Heather.
I pray that God will inspire you. Father God we ask you help in difficulty.
Dear Rev, David M.
It is so right to say that your daily blog is an act of love .
Looking at that little duck reminds me a bit of the challenge and questions I had 7 years ago being amputated one leg after another due to rheumatoid arthritis complications . But we serve an amazing God who has brought me out from full despair to an incredible , undescribable journey and a wonderful discovery of a new life to serve Him.
PS.. will be adding Pat Vinnets son Willie and Denis and Bernice in prayer.
Have a blessed day everyone.
xxxx Carole.
Ahhh, Carole! You are an amazing sister in the Lord, and we love you! Praise God for saving you! Your legs were removed and no longer weigh your body down with aching pain, but your spirit is alive and well and beaming full of love and comfort in the posts you share with your fellow saints! God’s continued blessing to you,, dear sister-in-Christ!
God bless you dear daughter of the King, Carole our precious sister, what beautiful strength in your spirit. May God send a league of his angels to keep you safe.
Thank you for praying for Willie.
Your blog David reminds me of something almost forgotten–that the apostle John was not only the apostle of love–but one of the Sons of Thunder. In our world society says that any believe system is right but St. John would have spoken up loud against such a view. May we, none of us confuse keeping silent about truth as part of love. I think St. John is saying that speaking up for truth is truly love.
Blessings,
Roy C. Kenny
God, let none of us, be silent in the face of injustice. Lord give us your wisdom and spirit to ( role the thunder ) against the atrocities of evil that we see, around us. Help us stand up and nock a few tables over if need be.
Appreciate you Carole, and your spirit, prayers and blogs have been a blessing. Yes, Lord keep Wille safe wherever he goes and draw him closer to you. Yes this blog is a wonderful gift of love. Praise God!
Thank you Ger Dear daughter of the King. Willie is one precious boy, but this is such a corrupt world we live in. When my children were small I could read their minds, I knew what they thought. Old satin is out there, to steel any thing, he can get his grimy little grabbers on. We are all subject to be deceived. Satin back off, get away from all our children, in the name of, the one who has defeated you, Jesus Christ The Lord. Amen
I felt like rolling a little thunder there. Get out of our lives satin!
Roy, I join in your thunder against the enemy satan…get your grubby hands of our loved ones In the Mighty Name of Jesus …I pray
What a beautiful picture of faith and determination that one-legged duck presents…David, thank you for sharing…and God’s love for all His creation is so evident!!!