EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/27/2025 9:36 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 Introduction
to “Christian Certainties”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
1 John 5:13-21
Message of the verses: “13 These things I
have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that
you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence which we
have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15
And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have
the requests which we have asked from Him. 16 If anyone sees his brother
committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will
for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is
a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for
this. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to
death. 18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of
God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of
God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we
know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order
that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son
Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard
yourselves from idols.”
I have to say that with what is going on with my
wife, (cancer) that the first sentence from John MacArthur’s commentary is
something that surely hits home for me. “Life
in this fallen world is filled with uncertainty, with few guarantees and little
that can be depended on. ‘Man, who is
born of woman,’ Job lamented, ‘is short-lived and full of turmoil’ (Job 14:1), being
‘born for trouble, as sparks fly upward’ (5:7).
Illness, an accident, violence, or old age catches up with everyone in
the end, because all people ‘are just a vapor that appears for a little while
and then vanishes away’ (James 4:14; cf. Pss 39:5; 90:10). In the mean time, life’s journey is fraught
with doubts, questions, and uncertainties.
Jobs vanish as companies downsize and outsource. The volatility of the stock market, the
fluctuations of the economy, and increasing taxes create further
uncertainty. Relationships come and go,
with people’s faithfulness often lasting only as long as their felt needs are
being met—or until they find someone more attractive. The uncertainty of relationships has made
prenuptial agreements commonplace, as people attempt to protect themselves being
exploited by their erstwhile (one-time) partners. On a larger scale, natural
disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and floods, can
sweep away in an instant the accumulated treasures of a lifetime.”
Now as you once again look at the title to this
introduction to these last verses in the book of 1 John you probably get an
idea of where we are heading to in this SD, but I guess the bad news had to
come first as this is the way that MacArthur has chosen to deal with this
introduction, but I don’t think that anyone can disagree with the things that
he is talking about in this introduction.
MacArthur continues:
“Uncertainty over what the future holds drives people to spend a
significant percentage of their income on insurance, as they attempt to
safeguard against all of the potential negative contingencies. Car insurance provides a measure of security
in the event of an accident. Uncertainty
about fire, theft, and natural disasters leads people to buy coverage to
protect their homes. Health insurance
provides money should the breadwinner in a family die.
“But the most profound uncertainty with the most
disastrous results exists not in the material realm, but in the spiritual and
eternal realm. Because they reject the
gospel and are without God, people are also without hope (Eph. 2:12), or
protection from divine wrath and eternal hell.
Most people put their hope in false religions or personal ideologies to
get them into a happy eternal state. And
it is popular believed that all religions lead to heaven and most people are
good, thus they are headed there. What
is not popular is the reality that only the Bible is the true Word of God, the
gospel the only way to heaven, and all who do not believe it go to hell
forever.
“In a world of uncertainty, relativism, and deception,
the Bible proclaims absolute truth. Five
words, based on biblical absolutes, frame the paradigm.” Now Lord willing we will begin to look at
these five words in the next SD.
3/27/2025 10:03 PM
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