“Beloved [Gaius], you do faithfully whatever you for the brethren and for strangers.”
Third John presents a sharp contrast between the way two member of the church welcomed believers who visited them. The letter is addressed to “the beloved” Gaius, whom John loved “in truth” (v.1). the truth was him as he walked with God (v.3). Whatever he did for his “brethren” –itinerant missionaries and teachers such as Paul-he did it faithfully and with love (vv.5-6).
Diotrephes was another story. He was proud and domineering (v.9), and he spoke against those who came in the name of Christ (v.10), probably even Paul. In addition, he drove out of the church anyone who wanted to accept them. No doubt he did this to protect his position and self-interests and to keep the focus on himself.
My wife, Shirley, and I, along with our granddaughter Bree, recently visited a country once closed to the gospel. The believers welcomed us with trust, openness, hospitality, and genuine love. Though they had little, their generosity was astounding. What an encouragement to us! They truly followed the example of faithful Gaius.
May God give us a loving and faithful spirit that enables us to treat our fellow believers in “a manner worthy of God” (v.6).-Dave Egner
A time for fellowship that’s sweet, A time for sacred song; But never is there time to treat A human being wrong.--Isenhour
“I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions.”
What is memory? What is this faculty that enables us to recall past feelings, sights, sounds, and experiences? By what process are events recorded, stored, and preserved in our brain to be brought back again and again? Much is still mystery.
We do know that memories can be blessings—full of comfort, assurance, and joy. Old age can be happy and satisfying if we have stored up memories of purity, faith, fellowship and love. If a saint looks back on a life of Christian service and remembers the faithfulness of Him who promised: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5), his or her sunset years can be the sweetest of all.
But memory can also be a curse and a tormentor. Many people as they approach the end of life would give all they possess to erase from their minds the past sins that haunt them. What can a person do who is plagued by such remembrances? Just one thing. He can take them to the One who is able to forgive them and blot them out forever. He’s the One who said, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).
You may not be able to forget your past. But the Lord offers to blot out, “like a thick cloud, your transgressions”(Isaiah 44:22).—M.R. De Haan, MD
The deep remorse that’s in the soul No human eye may trace; But Jesus sees the broken heart, And can its woes erase. --Bosch
“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
In the television series The West Wing, fictional president Josiah Bartlet regularly ended staff with two words—“What’s next?” It was his way of signaling that he was finished with the issue at hand and ready to move on to other concerns. The pressures and responsibilities of life in the White House demanded that he not focus on what was in the rearview mirror—he needed to keep his eyes ahead, moving forward to what was next.
In a sense, the apostle Paul had a similar perspective on life. He knew that he had not “arrived” spiritually, and that he had a long way to go in becoming like Christ. What could he do? He could either fixate on the past, with it’s failures, disappointments, struggles, and disputes or he could learn from those things and move on to “what’s next.”
In Philippians 2, Paul tells us how he chose to live his life. “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the perspective that speaks of moving on—of embracing what’s next. It is where we too must focus as we seek to be shaped into the image of the Savior while we look forward to eternity with Him.—Bill Crowder
Onward and upward your course plan today, Seeking new heights as you walk Jesus’ way; Heed not past failures but strive for the prize. Aiming for goals fit for His holy eyes.--Brandt
In the middle of carting 70 pieces of luggage, an electronic piano, and other equipment through airports and on and off a tour bus, it’s easy to wonder, “Why are we doing this?”
Taking 28 teenagers on an 11-day ministry trip to a land across the ocean is not easy. But at the end of the trip our bus driver, who had carted us all over England and Scotland, grabbed the bus microphone and in tears thanked the kids for how wonderful they had been. Then after we got home, he e-mailed us to say how much he appreciated the thank you cards the kids had written to him—many of which contained the gospel.
Although the students ministered to hundreds through song during the trip, perhaps it was the bus driver who most benefited from their Christlikeness, in Ephesians we are told to be imitators of God and to walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-2). Others see God in us when we show love to one another (1John 4:12). The bus driver saw Jesus in the students and may told them that they might just convert him to faith in Christ. Maybe it was for this man that we took that trip.
Why do you do what you do? Whose life are you affecting? Sometimes it’s not our target audience that we impact most. Sometimes it’s the bus drivers of the world.-Dave Branon
Lord, may I be a shining light For all the world to see Your goodness and Your love displayed As You reach out though me. - Sper
“The temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
In journalism, the term gatekeeper refers to reporters, editors, and publishers who consider various news items and determine which stories are newsworthy. Some long-time news professionals warn that the Internet allows information to get through without being check at the gate.
In Old Testament times, gatekeepers guarded the temple to prevent those who were unclean from entering (2 Chronicles 23:19). In ad 70, the temple was destroyed by the Roman armies of Emperor Titus. But the destruction began years earlier when the Levites assigned to guard if failed to do so after coming under the corrupt influence of the Syrian king Antiochus IV.
Paul called our bodies God’s “temple” (1 Cor. 3:16-17), and many forces are at work to assault God’s new dwelling. Evil may gain a foothold through unfortified areas of our spiritual life—places where envy, strife or divisions may undermine us (3:3). Eavh of us must be on guard against the enemy of our souls and never give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27). The criteria for what may enter is found in Philippians 4:8—whatever is true, noble. Just pure, lovely, of god report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. The resulting peace will guard the gate of our hearts and minds. –Julie Ackerman Link
"Help me to guard my troubled soul By constant, active self-control. Clean up my thought, my speech, my play; Lord, keep me pure from day to day." --Thomas
A music professor with a welltrained voice usually sang the major male solo parts in the choir of a large church. A young man named Bob with no training sometimes took a few shorter solos. As the choir director prepared for the Christmas cantata, she felt that Bob's voice and style made him a natural for the lead role. However, she didn't know how she could give it to him without offending the older man.
Her anxiety was unnecessary. The professor had the same thoughts as she did, and he told her that Bob should take the part. He continued to sing faithfully in the chorus and was a source of much encouragement to Bob.
People who can set aside selfish ambition and genuinely seek the good of others have an attitude that pleases God. Do you remember how John the Baptist reacted when crowds left him and began following Jesus? He said, "He must increase, but i must decrease" (John 3:30).
What did John the Baptist and the music professor have in common? They were able to set aside "selfish ambition." They were happy to see others elevated above themselves when it was for the common good. Can the same be said about us? --Herb Vander Lugt.
This is the highest learning, the hardest and the best-from self to keep still turning and honor all the rest. -MacDonald
”God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark.”
A Chinese festival called Qing Ming is a time to express grief for lost relatives. Customs include grooming gravesites and taking walks with loved ones in the countryside. Legend has it that it began when a young youth’s rude and foolish behavior resulted in the death of his mother. So he decided henceforth he would visit her grave every year to remember what she had done for him. Sadly, it was only after her death that he remembered her. How differently God deals with us! In Genesis, we read how the flood destroyed the world. Only those who were with Noah in the ark remained alive. But God remembered them (8:1) and sent a wind to dry the waters so that they could leave the ark. God also remembered Hannah when she prayed for a son (1 Samuel 1:19). He gave her a child, Samuel, Jesus remembered the dying thief who said, “Lord remembers us wherever we are. Our concerns are His concerns. Our pain is His pain. Commit your challenges and difficulties to Him. He is the all-seeing God who remembers us as a mother remembers her children, and He waits to meet our needs. –C. P. Hia
"There is an Arm that never tires When human strength gives way; There is a Love that never fails When earthly loves decay."
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