We Are… Marshall

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 5 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman with a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

  

The 2006 movie titled “We Are Marshall”, is based on a true story about a college football team, a school and a town that needed to mourn a tragic loss and to heal. On November 14, 1970, a plane crashed that was carrying the Marshall University football team, coaches, staff and boosters. All died!

 

In the movie, the newly hired coach gave his newly recruited team an inspirational message before their first game. He took them to the memorial site where six of the deceased players were buried. This is an excerpt from his message.

 

“When you take that field today, you’ve got to lay your heart on the line until the final whistle blows. And if you do that, we cannot lose. We may be behind on the scoreboard at the end of the game, but if you play like that, we cannot be defeated. This is your opportunity to rise from the ashes and grab glory.”

 

The players responded with a “we’re ready-to-run-through-a-wall coach”, call and response chant of - “We are… Marshall”!
(You can watch this scene by clicking on the link below.)
We Are Marshall

 

In the closing paragraphs of John’s letter, he summarizes several significant themes. He does it with a repetitive phrase starting with “We know”. As I read these it reminded me of the movie. It’s not a call and response like the Marshall chant, but it has that feel to it.

 

In a way, John’s giving the believers a pep talk to teach them; prepare them; inspire them. They’ve already faced the adversity of heretical teachings which led to people they knew, some of them were likely friends, rejecting their faith and leaving the fellowship. Plus, the believers would certainly face more adversity.

 

¹⁸ We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.

¹⁹ We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.            NLT

 

As you read these verses, could you feel the rhythm of the chant from the movie? We know… that God’s son holds you in his arms; we know… that you are a child of God living in a sinful world; we know… that you live in fellowship with the Son of God.

 

Do these words move your heart and soul? Like the players, are you ready to run through a wall for your faith? Do they inspire you to “rise from the ashes and grab glory” for the Son of God?

 

John also wrote these simple words of encouragement for us.

 

¹¹ And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.    NLT

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

Life is a Test

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 4 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman with a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

  

Tests are expected in school. You learn a section on fractions… it’s followed by a test. You learn how to spell three syllable words… it’s followed by a test. You learn about World War II… it’s followed by a test. Tests are a way to find out if you actually learned the material, and what you need to work on.

 

Sometimes a test can be scary. This is especially true in college where your whole grade could very well depend on just two tests: a midterm and a final. If you have a bad day or miss the final, like I did once, your grade for the quarter or semester could drop dramatically.

 

Chapter four of 1 John is about tests. However, the result of John’s tests wouldn’t just impact a short period of your life, but your eternal life. Talk about scary!

 

During the first century, there were people who at one point had claimed to believe in Jesus, but then went astray. They didn’t believe that Jesus came in the flesh, only in the spirit. John warned the believers to be wary of these false prophets and gave them a way to test a person’s beliefs.

 

² This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. ³ But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God…      NLT

 

This was a test about truth, but John also gave the believers a test about character based on the character of God’s love. His love for us and our love for him is exemplified by how we treat others.

 

²⁰ If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?                         NLT

 

John was known as “the one who Jesus loved”. He didn’t earn that love. In fact, like the other disciples, he deserted Jesus when he was crucified. But Jesus gives his love freely and unconditionally. Even when it is undeserved. Even at our worst moment.

 

⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.           NLT

 

Life is a test. John faced them. First century Christians faced them. We face them. Those tests may come in the form of what you believe or how you treat others. But they may also come through an illness, an accident, a broken relationship, an addiction, problems at work… anywhere that life happens.

 

So the question for you and me is, “How will we respond”? Will your love for God strengthen or weaken? Will you learn from your tests and grow in your faith? John gives his own personal answer with these words.

 

¹⁶ We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ¹⁷ And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.                     NLT

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

Put on the Shoulder Pads

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 2:28-3:24 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman with a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

  

It’s often said that a sports team takes on the personality of their coach.

 

Tom Izzo is the head men’s basketball coach at Michigan State University. He’s an intense, hard-nosed coach that pushes his players to be the same. In the past, to make his point, Izzo had his basketball team wear football shoulder pads during practice. By doing this, his players could visualize what he wanted. Point made!

 

In John’s letter, he tried to help the believers to visualize who they shouldn’t be. Specifically, the Gnostics, who believed that the spirit was good, and the flesh was inherently evil. Because of this, they also believed that there were no consequences to how they lived. So, they could sin without any repercussions.

 

John flatly refuted this. He maintained that God was their Father, and they were his children. He emphasized that continual disobedient behavior was unacceptable.

 

⁹ Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.              NLT

 

John also helped the believers to visualize who they should be by giving them a goal. It focused on how they live their lives now in light of the expected return of Christ.

 

²⁸ And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.

 

² Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. ³ And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.                 NLT

 

Finally, John challenged believers to follow the commandment to “love one another”.

 

¹¹ For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 

 

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. NIV

 

John’s words still ring true today for us. He’s telling us to “put on the shoulder pads” and practice so that we’re ready for the game. He’s giving us a picture of who we are to be and how we are to live so that we will “remain in him”.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Who Has your Back?

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 2:1-27 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman with a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

 

In October 2020, my wife had a stroke! 

Following my 911 call, the ambulance arrived very quickly. It was all very surreal and very scary. At one point, there must have been six or seven EMT’s in our home, putting her on a gurney and loading her into the squad to be transported to the hospital. The EMT’s had her back.

 

We all face times in our life when we need help. There was a faction in the first century church known as Gnosticism. It was perhaps the most dangerous heresy that threatened the early church during the first three centuries. 

 

Gnostics believed that the human spirit was good and that the body was evil. They also believed that salvation came through a special knowledge, not through faith in Christ. And, that Jesus came not in human form, but in spirit.

 

This heresy was causing problems for the believers. Some had left the church. Some were living in a licentious lifestyle. Many were going down a path that would eventually lead to darkness and spiritual death. John wrote about the ramifications of their misdirected beliefs.

 

⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.             NIV

^15-16 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.       MSG

²² So who is lying here? It’s the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that’s who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son.    MSG

 

The good news is that those believers who remained faithful, were not alone. God had their back.

 

¹ My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.                       NLT

 

The Greek word for “advocate” is parakletos. This word became a title for the Holy Spirit, whose role included/includes “encouraging, strengthening and supporting God’s people”.

 

²⁶ I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. ²⁷ But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.                       NLT

 

This is a promise made to you by the Living God, the creator of the universe. As a believer in Christ, you have an advocate, and that advocate is the Holy Spirit. You have received him, and he lives within you to guide you into truth, to encourage and strengthen you. And, like the EMT’s who came to our home, he has your back.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

It’s Unbelievable!

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 1:1-2:2 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman. He had a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

  

For the past six months, my daughter’s been planning a trip to Disney World for her family, as well as Grandpa and Nonna. But she didn’t tell her kids until about a week before when she surprised them with a scavenger hunt. At the end of the hunt, there was a gift bag for each child. They were going to Disney World!

 

Watching them open their bags and their reaction of pure excitement, was amazing! Each one responded in their own unique way, but the oldest couldn’t believe it. She kept repeating over and over in disbelief, “We’re not going to Disney World”.

 

There’s something else that’s unbelievable. That God sent his only son into our world, not just the world, but our world. John wrote about this in his letter.

 

^1-2 From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.       MSG

 

Isn’t that amazing! “The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us”. It’s unbelievable! And even more unbelievable than that is why he did it.

 

^3-4 We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.     MSG

 

To know personally the Father and his Son is… well, it’s unbelievable. But, like the Disney reveal when my grandkids got so excited, the best part is yet to come.

 

⁵ 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.                     NLT

 

Darkness can’t exist if there’s light. If you’ve ever toured Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, there’s a point where the guide turns off all the lights. You can’t see your hand right in front of your face. Then the guide lights a small match. All of a sudden… the darkness is gone.

In a world that has so much darkness in it, we can live in the light of Jesus Christ. This is only possible because he not only forgives us, but also purifies us from all our wrongdoing.

  

² When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.          MSG

 

It is unbelievable!

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams