GOD IS LIGHT

by Okei Hellen
(Uganda)

The job that I lost, I was not terminated. I left because it was full of lies and God hates a lying tongue. My husband did not have a full time job. Yet we had children at school. It was a painful decision, but it was worth it. Being born again I could not live in sin!

I have my brother who is difficult to love, but I try to love him. The word God says if you hate your brother whom you see how can you love God whom you have not seen.

The book of 1 John gives account of what the early disciples heard, saw, that is the word of life manifested by the Father through Jesus Christ. The same Word I read now. If I say I have fellowship with him and I walk in darkness, I lie and do not the truth. He is the light and I have fellowship with one another, the blood of Jesus cleanses me from all sin. I acknowledge my sins and confess them, He is faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. If I sin I have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for my sins. I have to keep his commandments, to love my brother, and not to love the world which passes away but to do the will of God which abides forever. I am a child of God I ought to be pure, Jesus came that he might destroy the works of the devil. I have passed from death into life because I love the brethren in deed and truth. I love God because He laid down his life for me and I ought to lay down my life for the brethren. I have confidence towards God, whatsoever I ask according to his will I receive because I keep his commandment and those commandments are not a burden to me and do those things which are pleasing in his sight. I am of God and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in me; that in the world. And there is no fear in love. I have life because the son of God lives in me.

Comments:

Well done. I assume this is for Lesson 4.

You are right, being a Christian forces us to make painful and challenging decisions at times. May God bless you as you continue to study His Word.

THE FRUIT OF OUR FAITH,CONFIDENCE,AND LOVE

LESSON-4

In 1 John, John tells us about the false teachers and encourages the faith of true believers. I have learnt many things from this.

From 1 John 1,2 I learnt about fellowship with God, from 3 I learnt to live for God, from 4 I learnt that truth is in God and to love God, from 5 I learnt to keep my confidence in God.

1.FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD: from these first two chapters we come to know that if we are in light then we are in fellowship with God and God the Father cleanses us from all unrighteousness, and also that He forgives us from all our sins if we openly and honestly confess those sins to God. Although God knows about our sins we still must ask him for release from the burden of sins. He tells us that whoever hates his/her brother or sister cannot love God or receive from Him.

We need to overcome the power of devil. Mostly the target is today's generation of young believers. We need to overcome the devil with the Word of God because it has the power to overcome. God has commanded his people not to love the world or things of it. The whole world is built on pride, lust, ego, materialism, vanity and emptiness. People fight for money, position, pleasure and other things. They are to love God but not the world. When we have been born again and are walking in God's ways, that walk will be evidenced by our faithfulness to obey His commands. As we do that others will see the love of God in our lives.

2.LIVE FOR GOD: Don't expect the world to applaud you and praise you for following Jesus Christ. They may think that you are strange, weird and even out of it for following Jesus. They are living in darkness, and they have been deceived. Believers need to pray for nonbelievers, but they shouldn't get surprised if people of the world dislike and even hate them. A believer's very presence can convict unbelievers of their sin,and they don't like that. Then also from this worldly opposition He promises that He would give us eternal life and everyone who has this hope in God will purifies himself, just as He is pure. Live for God and you will see miraculous things happen in your life. He has so many plans for all of us.

3.TRUTH AND LOVE IN GO: The God who is really there, the God of the universe, is a God of love. Although we may not fully understand why God does everything He does everything from the motivation of love. The love of God is pure selfless love, which is willing to die for others. God proved his love for us by dying for us on a cross. When the love of God has been perfected in your personality, you will not live in fear. God's love poured out completely in our hearts and minds drives fear out of our lives. When we realize how much God really loves us and wants the best for us, then we can totally trust him and fear will leave our lives.

4.CONFIDENCE IN GOD: Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything in his will, he hears us. Believe it with faith and confidence that God hears us - that what we ask for is already ours. Christians are to live victoriously and overcome the world. Our faith in Christ gives us the ability to overcome the world if we allow it to. Many Christians live in defeat because they back down from battle and surrender. It is the will of God for Christians to live victoriously and to overcome the world and the devil. It is possible to live as an overcomer by keeping our confidence and belief in God and standing on his promises.

My Comments: You have made many good points. Keep up the good work. God bless.

1 John

by Janeen Jones
(Louisville, Ky)

Lesson 4

I just want to share with this lesson everything that I am learning and growing from in my Feed Yourself, I share with my bible study classes. I believe and know like I know my abc's that God is showing up powerfully in our lives because of this study and first and foremost just want to say thank you so much.

Chapter 1 1 John verse 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and the word is not in us. KJV

I am grateful for this verse because it shows us that God forgives us from our sins so we must confess them with our mouths so that we may be cleaned. I am thankful that God wants us to admit that we sin.

Chapter 2 1 John vs 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.

I love this, I have made a saying familiar with my children through their rearing and I say this to them about telling the truth. I tell them it is what God loves.

Chapter 3 John vs 4 Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law.

I have a question to this verse some laws are not Godly are they sin?

Chapter 4 1 John vs 2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus has come in the flesh is from God.

This is a warning against false teachers in everything I teach I want to make sure that I make it known that I confess Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Chapter 5 1 John vs We know that everyone who has been born of God doesn't sin but the One who is born of God keeps him and the evil one doesn't touch him.

This is so important because as you confess Jesus as Lord then sin is what you turn away from and begin to do everything in your power to make Jesus smile. It doesn't mean you will not still sin but it means that you have an easier time at being and living righteous.

God is true, without sin and defeats all evil so love your brothers and sisters as you love yourself and love them even more.

My Comments: Thank you for the encouraging comments. It is good to know people are benefiting from this study.

You have done well. Yes, it is good to know we can confess our sins to God. We do not have to hide in fear. When we sin should run to God immediately.

As to your question about sin and the law. The law being referred to is God's law. As Creator and King of kings only God has the right to make ultimate law. Man can only legitimately make laws that apply God's law to specific situations. For man to go beyond that is for him to declare himself greater than God. We look at this in detail on our Life Line course.

God bless.

Sin and forgiveness

by shandre
(toledo oh usa)

Lesson 4

Read I John everyday and choose 1 verse from each chapter.

Good evening all! God is awesome. He knew that this is the lesson that I would need, not that I don't need all of them. Chapter one really dealt with me on sin and forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It seems that no matter how much we hear or read that God will forgive us, we still feel guilty when we sin. We are supposed to feel ashamed because we know how He feels about sin and what sin does to us and satan uses it against us.

Please forgive me if this sounds so choppy and not put together.

I just want to thank the Father for his mercy love and grace without Him I don't know where I'd be.

In His love forever...

My Comments;

Good thoughts. I am glad you are finding the lessons helpful.

God bless,
Glenn

Nobody Gets To The Father But Through Jesus Christ

by Rocco Kymdell
(Ramsgate)

I am new at this so I will try to explain what lesson 4 reading 1 John meant to me.

One thing we can not do is be without our Father. Jesus is the only way and it is stated in 1 John there is no other way but God's way and I know that people battle with this. I didn't know that I would have to give up so much to be true to God. Letting go of what is close to you is hard, but there is no other way and it all boils down to your choice. I know a choice that will keep a lot of people receiving the glory of God and its really sad (when that happens).

My Comments: You are absolutely right. It is only God's way. We have to give up our way, our ideas, our objectives, and sometimes our friends, our family, and our possessions, too. On the other hand, no matter how much we have to give up it is not even a shadow of what Jesus gave up for us.

You have made a very good start. If you want to complete lesson 4, make comments on one verse from each chapter.

God bless,
Glenn Davis