1 John 4:4-6

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

First and foremost, I am ultimately comforted knowing in Christ all false prophets, antichrists, and the devil himself find their defeat. If God is with us, who can be against us? We have nothing left to fear.

On a practical note, I was pondering how we can ensure we are listening to the right Voice in our the midst of our daily living and moving. The answer is really to know God better, to know Him so well that all other voices clang false in our ears. To be like the Bereans, examining the Scriptures every day. His Word is the only Truth in this world.

God bless your weekends, dear girls!

1 John 4:2-3

Good morning women of God! :)

How we can test those who teach, preach, and minister in our lives:
If they believe Jesus came as a real man, in flesh to live and die for our sins.
If they believe Jesus is the only way of salvation, and that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.

Any other core beliefs or claims other than those are sure signs that those men/women are not truly Christ-followers. It is hard, but necessary, to understand that there is a real possibility more and more these days that we may find this to be the case. The devil and his workers are always more numerous and we can't be too naive to think they will all stay out of our circles forever.

This reading today reminds me why exactly we read the Creeds at church most Sundays - it helps us remember what EXACTLY we believe in a world filled with so much grey space of "anything goes" and a "little bit of this, little bit of that" kind of Christians. Next time we recite one of the Creeds in a church service, I am making a point to really think through each line - and be thankful Christ has worked the faith in me to believe those statements without a hint of a doubt.

We can do nothing without him! Don't let anyone convince you the contrary!

Have a beautiful day,
Love, Cait

I John 4:1

One of my footnotes took me to Matthew 7:15, another warning against false prophets:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

I found an old note written on the margin-- "pretenders of the flock." As I read on in Matthew, I read, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven." False prophets, it appears, are people who may wear the title of "Christian," but they are not moved by the Spirit and by the motivation of Christ's love to speak of his promises. They may belong to a church, lead a church, etc., and be dressed in "sheep's clothing." A person who, sadly, comes to mind is a rather famous pastor who was featured in Time magazine recently. He is a pastor here in Grand Rapids, where we live, and his beliefs have plummeted to no longer recognizing Christ as our only hope. I know some people who attend, or have attended the church he leads. I don't think he started out this way. Writing about this reminds me that I should pray for him. My prayer, also, will be that God will guard our hearts against any "pretenders of the flock" and any false teachings, that he will point us back to his truth and give us courage to stand for what we've been shown, to teach the truth in love. He gives us the strength to do all things through Christ.

I pray that all of you women have a great week and know better, each day, how cherished and loved you are. When we are weak, he is strong. He is waiting for us to lean on him in our struggles. Please pray for me, too, that I will trust in these promises and not be bogged down by life's schedule in a demanding season....this too shall pass!

1 John 4:1 - Week 8

Good morning ladies!!
I cannot believe this weekend we celebrated "falling back" with Daylight Savings Time already and that today is NOVEMBER 7! Fall is morphing into winter around here like crazy! I just hope we have some more time yet until it snows...! I LOVE how snow beautifies our world, but with my new job, I am mainly responsible for snow removal at our huge apartment complex - so needless to say, winter may not be as "fun" this year! Prayers are appreciated, because this is all new to me and I'm hoping for a calm and peaceful winter :)

Anyway, we are on week 8 in First John, starting into chapter four and even though I bet many of you are up to your eyeballs in homework or work responsibilities before the holidays come around, I sincerely pray that God is still able to encourage and warm your hearts with his words! Whether from current sections of our study, or other parts of Scripture, church services, or group Bible studies - however you are getting into the Word, my hope is for your nourishment and joy upon receiving it, despite what hard things you each may be going through.

I have been going through some of my own hardships lately, learning the tough way sometimes to lean on God and "not on my own understanding" (like Proverbs 3:5-6 says). I have been fighting my reality versus God's plan for me on many different levels lately, as well as trusting my own common sense instead of remembering God's ways are higher than mine. It's a story I don't need to go into very much detail about, because the situation is hardly the issue. It's where my faith is at, and where my heart is at. God is working it all like dough,  it seems, it feels, haha. Every day is a new prayer for a new start in this learning journey!

Today's verse means something to me, in that sense: we can't just go around believing everything we hear; there is evil in the world, in people that desire everything BUT God's agenda, and it is up to us to NOT blindly listen or adhere to everything or anything people say. Whether it's on TV, or in other media, but especially in places like our churches (they aren't exempt!) and friends. It's good to have a Bible open, so to speak, next to every bit of advice or wisdom we take in. God helps us discern what is right or wrong this way! We have a guidebook - let's not forget to use it as such! :)

I attached a summary video of last week's study from the Good Morning Girl's.org site that I think you all might enjoy. Angela is the sweetest lady, and I always am encouraged by her real-ness and confidence in God's word! 

Have a great week, everyone - love to you all!
~Cait

1 John 3:16-20

Hi girls!

I'd like to share a particular section of my commentary on verses 19-20 of today's study! It is SO well-written, and such an encouraging end to John's section on what true love looks like and how we should put it into practice. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know I definitely wonder why loving others sometimes comes so hard, and feel as if I always have a million miles to go on my faith journey. I believe God is growing me all the time, but sometimes I feel blind to any progress.

Paul Kretzmann says in his commentary to comfort us:

"A believer naturally wants nothing to do with hypocrisy; he wants to be, rather, a child of the truth, a follower of the truth, also in the matter of brotherly love. The love shown to the brethren is in itself an evidence, a proof, of the new spiritual life in the heart of the believers. As the Christian, however, grows in sanctification, he will often find that his heart is dissatisfied with the progress made, and therefore proceed to accuse himself of lack of love. It is true, of course that, as in all matters pertaining to the righteousness of life, so also in the matter of brotherly love, we are far from perfection. And yet we can reassure ourselves before the tribunal (any accuser), in spite of the condemnation of our heart. For God is a greater, a more reliable Judge than our heart, and he has given us the definite assurance in his Word that all our shortcomings in the matter of perfect righteousness will be made up through the perfect righteousness of our Savior, as it was imputed to us by faith. He who knows all things also knows that, in spite of our faults and weaknesses, we are His children by faith in Christ Jesus, and that our imperfections are not due to our lack of spiritual willingness or to hypocrisy. Thus we may defend ourselves against the condemnation of our own heart."


To God be the glory for the generous, amazing portion of grace he extends! And that He goes an extra measure to comfort us when our consciences are too sensitive regarding our behavior. We are never "quite there" and yet He knows us better than we do, that we'll pick on ourselves, accuse ourselves relentlessly and be tempted to give into works righteousness. Thank you Lord, for keeping us centered in your grace, remembering all we are and have is only because of you. (And please continue to strengthen our love muscles! With your help we strive to run from selfishness every day!)

Have a wonderful evening :)
Love, Cait

1 John 3:11-15

This section gave me so much to think about regarding my attitude toward those around me. Like Paula and Caitlin have written, when we truly our examine our hearts, we see how inward-turning they have become. Even when outwardly I may have treated someone well, inwardly I feel that twinge, knowing my motives were actually self-promoting. How hard it is to actually love our neighbors as ourselves! Thank God His love is not small like mine.

One of the benefits of studying a book like this is how it forcibly drags us again and again to the dear cross. We can lay all these burdens on Jesus, knowing God has already buried them in ocean depths to drown.

My prayers have been filled with thoughts like these - "Oh God, forgive it all for Jesus' sake! Teach me to see others as You see them. Help me to put their concerns above my own."

I John 3:13-15

This reading reminded me of our Bible study from Sunday. Pastor talked about how unbelievers actually validate God's Word as being divine. Their anger (whether toward believers or God's Word coming up in its various forms), is a testament that the Bible is active and true. The fact that it gets under their skin (unlike other "religious" texts, such as the Koran), attests to its truth. I hope that it means their conscience is not dead, but rather bothered, because of their anti-sentiments. We can praise God that others hate us or our beliefs, because it reminds us that God is present in our hearts (we are blessed when we're persecuted), but we can also then love, rather than hate, and pray for these people, because they obviously don't have the peace and promise of salvation in their hearts, and God wants to change them and invigorate their lives as he is doing to ours. If you have to make a stand in the near future, remember that what you are standing on is powerful. God's Word is "living and active, sharper than a double-edged sword." He is with you, and will give you the strength to stand.