Reach One

  

I John 2:15 clearly says, “love not the world, neither the things of the world...”

If we are instructed to not love the world, then obviously we are to strive to change it! What many Christians do is alienate themselves from the lost around them. Remember John 3:16? The verse clearly says, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten...” Now wait a minute; John forbids us to love the world and yet Jesus did and does love the world. There must be an explanation for this “seeming” contradiction. There is!

When the Bible tells us “God so loved the world...” it means the people in it. God loves the people of this planet; lost people, mixed-up people, weird people. He loves them so much He was willing to send heaven’s best for the world’s worst. John (in I John 1:15) is referring to this world system; the ungodly entertainment industry, the corrupt systems of government, the dishonest practices, the messed-up culture that we all face every day. If we pull away from the people that are engaged in (trapped in) this corrupt culture, we will never reach them with the glorious gospel.

As “children of the light” (Ephesians 5:7-10)-we must penetrate the darkness, engage the culture, and present the gospel as once hopeless, lost people ourselves who have been saved by God’s grace. If we never have any contact with those lost and bound by sin, how can we ever reach them? We must abide by the instruction in I John 2:15. But remember; it’s the people Jesus died for and we must try to reach them.


The Pastor's Pocket
Pastor Bruce Freeman

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thank You

Image
Hello everyone, Pastor Bruce here with an important announcement regarding our daily devotionals known as “The Pastor’s Pocket.” After today, these will be discontinued.   I am so thankful to each of you who have enjoyed reading these devotionals and I trust the Lord has encouraged you through each one. I challenge you, as Peter does, to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).   It is my desire that you will continue in your own personal study of the word of God. Learn the Word, Love the Word, Live the Word!   There may come a time when I can write these again, but for now, I will devote my time to other areas of ministry and ways to serve Him! “To HIM be all the glory both now and forever. AMEN!”   The Pastor’s Pocket Pastor Bruce Freeman
Read more

From Christmas to Calvary

Image
Matthew 16:21, “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”   From His birth to His death, Jesus suffered. In the scripture verse for today, Christ is preparing His disciples for the suffering. He was about to endure the final stages of His ministry on earth. He describes how He will suffer, how He will die, and then be raised on the third day. All of this was the Father’s plan for our redemption, our salvation. For that plan to be carried out, Jesus had to enter the world. His entrance came through a lowly manger in Bethlehem.   The sufferings of Christ begin with His birth. Jesus left the glories of heaven and subjected Himself to the limitations of time and space. He confined Himself to a body for the first time. If baby Jesus bit His tongue, He experienced pain. He got thirsty for the first time. He experienced h
Read more

Not Home Yet

Image
 As Christians, we’re destined for something much better than what this world has to offer!  As the old song says, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through, my treasure is laid up somewhere beyond the blue…And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” The Bible tells us our time on earth is brief (Psalm 103:15 / James 4:4).  If we’ve trusted Jesus as our Savior, our eternal home is heaven.  Therefore we are seen as pilgrims just passing through here.  We are aliens, strangers to this present, evil world system. Isn’t it silly? We spend so much time trying to “have it all” here and now, when in reality we already have it all “in Christ”.  Abundant life that Jesus told us about doesn’t have anything to do with having an abundance of things.  It has to do with the quality of life we possess with all the spiritual riches that come from knowing Christ. God warns us not to love this world.  We must never get too attached to “stuff”.  The fact is; we will suffer rejection, ex
Read more