Do Not Love This World

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the wold offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this wold is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John 2: vv. 15-17, NLT)

A New Commandment

“Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This commandment – to love one another – is the same message you heard before. Yet is is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

If anyone claims,’I am lying in the light’, but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinding by the darkness. (1 John 2: vv. 7-11, NLT)

Living the Light

“This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that His word has no place in our hearts.”
(1 John 1: vv. 5-10, NLT)

The Day of the Lord is Coming

“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow in His promise as some people think. N0, He is being patient for your sake. He does not anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear with fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgement.

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight.” (1 Peter 3: vv. 8-14, NLT)

The Dangers of False Teachers

“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who brought them. In this way, they will bering sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned then long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.” (2 Peter 2: vv. 1-3, NLT)

“These people are as useless as dried-up spring or as a mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who barely escaped from a lifestyle of destruction. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And when people escape from the wickedness of the wold by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than ever before. It would be better if they had never know the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: ‘A dog returns to its vomit.’ And another says, ‘A washed pig returns to the mud.'” (2 Peter 2: vv. 17-22, NLT)

Pay Attention to Scripture

“For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw His majestic splendor with our own eyes when He receives honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to Him,’This is my dearly beloved Son, who brings Me great joy.’ We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place – until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scriptures every came from the prophet’s own understanding, nor from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1: vv. 16-21, NLT)

Growing in Faith

“By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for loving a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that your really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1: vv. 3-11, NLT)

Advice for Elders and Young Men

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. All power to Him, forever! Amen .” (1 Peter 5, vv. 6-11, NLT)

Suffering for Being a Christian

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad – for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world. (1 Peter 4: vv. 12-13, NLT)

“So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you. (1 Peter 4: 19, NLT)

Living for God

“The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God, Himself were speaking through you. Do. you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ . All glory and power to Him forever and ever, Amen!” (1 Peter 4: vv. 7-11, NLT)