New Covenant!

For Friday, November 8, 2024:

3 John 11 AMP: “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but [imitate] what is good. The one who practices good [exhibiting godly character, moral courage and personal integrity] is of God; the one who practices [or permits or tolerates] evil has not seen God [he has no personal experience with Him and does not know Him at all].”

With the New Covenant, God’s laws are “written on our hearts.” That means that we instinctively know the way God would want us to live. For example, we all know stealing is wrong. You shouldn’t take something that belongs to someone else. We don’t need the government to write laws to tell us this. Everyone already knows. Everyone!

Similarly, God should always be first in our lives, murder is wrong, and we should keep our hands off our neighbor’s wife (or husband.) Don’t yearn for what someone else has that you don’t have. Thoughts like that can only lead to sin. Honor your ancestors and don’t lie about anything. Like I said, we don’t need laws to teach us these things, because God’s value system is now written on our hearts!

God says that he’ll do the final judging, but we should learn to spot evil and false teaching. Stick with those who–through their actions–show that they have personal experience with God. That’s the side on which you want to be!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship