While on the bus

I've tried writing a few notes while riding the bus to language school in the morning. I have been using my Kindle Keyboard. When I got home I synced it to the web and copied the notes here.

1 John 3

19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.

Note: true that

20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Note: God is greater than our feelings of guilt. we can know confidence before God. we are not held hostage by our feelings. And what is the sign of this relationship of acceptance? Isn't the fact that we can freely ask whatever we want. When we are free from guilt when we feel acceptance then we can freely ask God for whatever we want. We know because we love him that we will ask for things that will please him. 

1 John 4

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

Note: Loving others and loving God is the full expression of God's love. We don't need some deeper experience. The love of God and his love for others is the pinnacle, the ultimate. There is no deeper experience. We are not lacking in any releam of spiritual understanding, wisdom or knowledge if we have love. Love for God and love for others is the ultimate in spiritual, human, and church life, nothing can top it. When your heart swells with unconditional love for your enemies you are experiencing all that God has to offer. 

Kerk en School

1 John 5

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ* has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.

And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 

Note: It is belief in the Son that makes a member of the family of God. And thus it is family status that causes us to love our Christian brother and sisters. Since we are loved by the Father and since we love the Son (we do not really believe if have no love for the son.) it is natural that we also will love the our brothers and sisters. And since we were loved by God when were enemies we also will love our enemies. 

3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 

Note: We have the author of life indwelling us. How could we think his way was burdensome? He gives us all we need and more. He fills us with hope and joy. We who walk in his ways are able to break free of sin and death we have hope and he possibility to do right. This is not a weight or restriction this is life itself. His way is the way of righteousness. To walk on his ways is to walk the path of light. No more stumbling in the dark. No more bearing the burden of guilt we who keep his commands are free. So lets not think of his rule as a restriction, rather we see his way as the way of lightness; We see his commands as the path of abundance, provision and light. We who follow his commands become complete and live as we were intended. It is like discovering that proper way to use a chain saw is to turn the motor on after spending a life time trying to cut with it with out turning it on. It's like finding the motor car has motor so you don't have to push it everywhere.

10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son. 11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.

Note: What does it mean that evil can not touch them?

21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.*

Note: This warning is profound. We have the greatest treasure possible in knowing Jesus so why would we allow our hearts to be filled with something inferior? Why would we allow ourselves to be deceived?