“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (I John 4:17-18)
What an amazing passage this is!
It speaks of the end of fear and then makes another amazing statement.
That we are like Christ in this world.
But what does that mean?
How can that be?!
I’m all for holding onto the joy and restfulness of the season. Which is often hard to do before Christmas Eve.
So here’s some very beautiful music to link to.
One is from the London Symphony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8aDQz07Bh4
This other link below is of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel from the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Shaw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TanYQCMYOIY
The Robert Shaw/Atlanta Symphony stuff is some of my favorite music. You can search around YouTube and find many other collections they’ve done for Christmas.
So, turn down the lights, light some candles, get a mug of hot chocolate, sit by the Christmas tree, and enjoy the moment.
Merry Christmas!!
“…through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” (Colossians 2:12)
Christians sink or swim in this Christian life based on their understanding of God’s working within them.
Or, more specifically, based on their dependence on the Lord to handle the entire affair.
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” (Hebrews 4:9)
One of the greatest moments of my life was when I first discovered the reality of God’s Rest for the believer.
This occurred about 6 years after I first trusted Christ. This was that wonderful moment when I first experienced the joyful reality of Christ as my Sanctification.
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:9-11)
I’m convinced that most Christians reading this verse believe it is talking about heaven. About the rest waiting for us after we die.
This passage begins with recounting how Moses led the people through the wilderness for 40 years. And how they failed to enter into the promised land.
Only after the death of Moses and the death of all the original Israelites, except Joshua and Caleb, did the people finally cross the Jordan River and enter Canaan. All because they did not believe God would fight for them and protect them in what was, without doubt, a very dangerous place.
From that reference, we are told there is another rest that is ready for Christians to “enter into”. Something that has been provided right now for the believer. Not just something down the road after 70 or 80 years of life.
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.“ (Galatians 4:4,5)
Whatever we do, time marches on. Nothing can slow it down or speed it up.
On a bad day, it is slower than molasses. On a good day, it races by at light speed.
I was recently watching the movie, The Time Machine. In the old version, the best one as well as the one produced by George Pal, it is set just before New Year’s Eve.
The original author of the book was H.G. Wells. He was a man that believed in the goodness of men to overcome evil. He believed in a lot of the progressive views of societal & governmental control that are popular today among liberals.
“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us.” (I John 4: 17-19)
Joy is not possible in the midst of fear. A prerequisite to having joy and keeping it is to reach the end of fear.
So what is it that causes our fear?
The problem is our focus on ourselves — on our own performance, our own good works, our own sincerity, our own inner spiritual gymnastics. Even our own faith.
As Christians, has God brought us to a place where we can live without fear? Do we have a relationship to Christ that removes fear? Can we know the peace and joy of His approval?
The answer is, “Yes”.
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:11)
In previous posts, we have discussed the biblical foundation of our “reckoning”. Some call this the “reckoning of Faith”. Watchman Nee discusses this in greater detail in his book, The Normal Christian Life (which I heartily recommend).
The point today is that “Reckoning” can often be misunderstood. Even by those who have understood God’s truth on these matters.
For example, our victory in Christ is based purely on faith. It is based upon the specific words and phrases of scripture that God has inspired that tell us how we are “crucified with Christ“. (Galatians 2:20 ).
This is a fact. It is an eternal reality when we trust Christ as our Savior.
Eternal Approach 
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