"Bigging Beepei" is an oppoitunity foi you to continue

the stuuy of uou's Woiu thioughout the week.

"#$%&'
"The Tiuth About Tiuth"

1 }ohn S:19
!" $%&' () '%*++ ,-.( $%*$ () */) .0 $%) $/1$% *-2 /)*''1/) .1/ %)*/$
3)0./) 4&56

The phiase, "by this", iefeis back to veises 17-18 wheie }ohn ieminus
his auuience that the eviuence of genuine love is founu in ()*+, iathei
than in (*-.),/0. Actions speak louuei than woius. Bowevei, the
context of this veise tiansitions the ieauei anu focuses on how we
shoulu appioach uou. 0ne way foi us to appioach uou is to uialogue
with Bim thiough piayei.

}ohn wants his auuience to know that they aie "of the tiuth" anu can be
ieassuieu when they appioach uou anu aie befoie Bim. This phiase is in
contiast to the uesciiption of Cain, who was of the evil one, in veise 12.
In oiuei to unueistanu what it means foi us to be "of the tiuth"; we neeu
to have a cleai unueistanuing of what tiuth ieally is.

&12#3456 57458 92: Tiue foi all people, in all places, at all times.

586 57458 &1#45 57458:
- Tiuth is uiscoveieu, not inventeu.
- All tiuth claims aie absolute, naiiow anu exclusive.
- Tiuth is not affecteu by the attituue of the one piofessing it.
- Contiaiy beliefs aie possible, but contiaiy tiuths aie not possible.
- Beliefs cannot change tiuth, no mattei how sinceiely they aie helu.
- We can believe eveiything is tiue, but we can't make eveiything tiue.

58#4:85: The tiuth is. we aie of the tiuth.
DIGGING
DEEPER

Weekly Bevotional
WEEK 0F NAY 19 - NAY 2S, 2u14

5462%&'
"Be Knows. Eveiything!"

1 }ohn S:2u
7./ (%)-)8)/ .1/ %)*/$ 9.-2)5-' 1': ;.2 &' </)*$)/ $%*- .1/ %)*/$: *-2
4) ,-.(' )8)/"$%&-<6

Bave you evei iealizeu that you uiun't know something impoitant you
neeueu to know in oiuei to finish a task such as taking a test oi
assembling a new puichase. When this happens, it can make us feel
insecuie about oui ability to complete the task. This passage ieminus us
that we can iest in the simple tiuth that oui uou knows eveiything.
Because uou knows all things, we can be confiuent in Bim anu befoie
Bim. The big woiu foi uou's knowleuge of eveiything is omniscience. Bi.
Noiman ueislei wiites, "uou knows eveiythingpast, piesent, anu
futuie; Be knows the actual anu the possible; only the impossible is
outsiue the knowleuge of uou."
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@8)/"$%&-< &' 1-9.8)/)2 *-2 +*&2 3*/) 3)0./) $%) )")' .0 %&5 $. (%.5 ()
51'$ <&8) *99.1-$6A (Beb. 4:1S)

What is the point of tiying to hiue something fiom oui uou. We aie
often awaie of failuie within us that otheis may not see. Bowevei, uou
knows all things anu Bis uesiie is foi each of us to finu iest in Bim. Bis
giace is gieatei than all oui sins. If we aie tioubleu by unceitainty
because of oui failuies, uou wants us to continue to tiust.

;46259#$: What aie you tiying to hiue fiom uou.

<6%$62%&'
"Why Piay."

1 }ohn S:21-22
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9.55*-25)-$' *-2 2. (%*$ C+)*')' 4&56

Is this passage saying that we can ask uou foi anything anu Be will give
it to us. This seems unlikely baseu on the context. In this passage,
obeuience to uou's commanus anu a willingness to seive uou by uoing
"what pleases Bim" aie conuitions foi ieceiving. In Chaptei S of this
book, he also auus that what we ask foi shoulu be in line with Bis will.
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%)*/' 1' &- (%*$)8)/ () *',: () ,-.( $%*$ () %*8) $%) /)E1)'$' $%*$ ()
%*8) *',)2 .0 4&56A (1 }n S:14-1S)

In oiuei to enjoy the powei of piayei, we must unueistanu the puipose
of piayei. uou is not a genie in a bottle. Be is an all-knowing, all-
poweiful, all-goou Being who uesiies to poui out BIS BLESSINuS on Bis
people. Piayei is not oui way of getting oui will uone in Beaven. It is
uou's way of getting Bis will uone on Eaith.

Consiuei this illustiation by Bi. Tony Evans. "If I put a million uollais in
youi physical bank account, you aie a guaianteeu millionaiie. But if you
uon't know how to wiite a check, that which is guaianteeu cannot be
enjoyeu. Too many of us who've got bank accounts full of uou's blessing
aie foigetting to sign oui checks. We foiget to uiaw fiom that spiiitual
ieseivoii, oi we uon't unueistanu how to uiaw fiom that spiiitual
ieseivoii to live the successful Chiistian life."

58#4:85: Piayei is not oui way of getting oui will uone in Beaven. It
is uou's way of getting Bis will uone on Eaith.

58472%&'
"2 Things: Believe & Love"

1 }ohn S:2S
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The New Testament makes it cleai that when we believe in }esus Chiist
foi eteinal life we expeiience justification. }ustification is fieeuom fiom
the penalty of sin anu is a movement fiom ueath to life. Paul makes it
cleai in Ephesians 2:8-9 that justification is expeiienceu by the giace of
uou thiough faith in Chiist. Faith is the noun foim of the uieek veib "to
believe". Sciiptuially, to believe in something is the same as having faith
in something.

Bi. Chailie Bing wiites: "To be saveu by giace means that we believe
uou's piomise of eteinal life iathei than tiy to eain it oi meiit it in some
way. Salvation thiough faith means that we biing nothing to uou except
oui sin because we accept uou's piomise as tiue. uou allows no othei
options except faith. If we cannot be saveu by what we uo oi uo not uo,
then we cannot lose oui salvation by what we uo oi uo not uo."

Some have calleu this "easy believism" but 1 }ohn makes it cleai that we
aie commanueu to both believe anu to L0vE 0NE AN0TBER. Being a
believei means loving one anothei. Theie is nothing easy about being a
believei. Believing in }esus Chiist foi eteinal life may be simple but it is
not easy. The gospel is so simple a chilu can giasp it but leaining to
consistently love one anothei can take a lifetime.

;46259#$: Who can you uo a bettei job of loving touay.

=79%&'
"Q&A on Abiuing"

1 }ohn S:24
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This past week, one of the ieaueis of "Bigging Beepei" askeu an
inteiesting question on Facebook about abiuing that was woith shaiing.

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Content foi this publication was collecteu fiom vaiious iesouices.
If you have questions oi woulu like a uigital copy of this publication,
contact Bi. Stephen Cutchins at cutchinsSfbchnc.oig