The God Shot With Tara-Leigh Cobble

The God Shot: 1 John 3:18-19

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:" (1 John 3:18-19)Most people believe this letter was written by John the Apostle, one of Jesus' inner circle, the one who cared for Mary after Jesus's death. John knows what it's like to love others in a way that is inconvenient. Mary was likely a widow at the time of Jesus death and it would have fallen on Him, her firstborn, to care for her. But Jesus passes the responsibility off to John when He dies. If john had said, "sure I'll care for her", but then left her destitute, that wouldn't be loving toward her or toward Jesus. Love means being willing and ready to demonstrate it today. May we be people who live out the truth we say we believe even when it's inconvenient. May our actions testify that He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 John 3:17

"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?" (1 John 3:17)In his 1st letter, John spends a lot of time talking about what true faith in God looks like. He says true faith in God will always result in action. Our actions are not contributing to our salvation. They're the result of our salvation. Once we've been adopted into God's family and given new hearts, His spirit comes to dwell in us and He works in us to make us look like Jesus. When Jesus saw people hurting people in need, He leaned in. He aims to help ease the burden of the world's brokenness. He sees your pain and He leans in. He also sees the pain of those around you and He leans in there too, and maybe He does it through you. Maybe you are the way someone else will see and believe that He's where the joy is.

The God Shot: 1 John 3:16

"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." (1 John 3:16)How does love reveal itself? One of the ways our love for someone reveals itself is in our willingness to inconvenience ourselves for the one we love. If I'm not willing to lay down my preferences for someone else, I certainly wouldn't lay down my life for them. But that's exactly how Jesus revealed his love to us. The reality is that His love will always supersede ours. His love isn't tainted by sin and selfishness because of His great love for the Father. Jesus laid down His desires to fulfill the Father's plan and because of His great love for us, God the Son laid down His life paying the debt for our sins and bridging the gap between us and God the Father. Now that His Spirit lives in you, Christ empowers you to love others well. Tap into that love today. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 2 Peter 1:8

"For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:8)That sounds great but what qualities is Peter talking about here that we need to be increasing in? He listed them in verses 5-7 right before this: faith, virtue, knowledge, self control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Are those things on the increase in your life? Do you see any gaps in your growth? If so, lean in and ask him for help in that area. He's the one who empowers you to grow and be effective and fruitful. Peter says that knowing Jesus changes us. Not just our eternal destiny, but our everyday lives as well. The Holy Spirit is at work in us to make us an effective display of who God is to the dark world around us. Are you displaying him? When I add up all the things in that list? They seem to add up to joy. Do you have it? He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 2 Peter 1:5-7

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love." (2 Peter 1:5-7)In this portion of Peter's letter to the persecuted church, he gives them a list of things that he knows will sustain them and help them be effective in ministry, even in the midst of serious trials and possibly even death. As I read through the list again, ask God to equip you with these things today so that you can not only see God at work in your life, but so you can display God's work in your life to those around you. Here it is: Faith, virtue, knowledge, self control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. If you're weak in any of those areas, ask Him for help. He stands ready and able to help you. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 2 Peter 1:4

"Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Peter 1:4)What's the best gift you've ever received? If you thought of anything other than your relationship with God and His people, then your answer is something that will end in this life. But your salvation and adoption into His kingdom family, that gift is eternal. These are just a few of the things in the category Peter refers to as God's precious and very great promises. By His divine nature, our sinful nature is being transformed day by day. Someday, when Jesus returns, we will live in resurrection bodies like His and all those promises will be fulfilled. Today, think about the immense gift He's given you by calling you His child. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 2 Peter 1:3

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." - 2 Peter 1:3Did you know that you have all you need to live a godly life? If you know Jesus, then you have His Spirit living in you, equipping you with everything you need to love and honor God. God never asked you to do something He doesn't empower you to do and when it comes to life and godliness, He has empowered us through the presence of His Spirit in us. How comforting to know that we're not left to do this in our own strength. You don't have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and muscle your way through. The more you know him, the more His power will be evident to you. He does the doing and He does it for His own glory and excellence, which is for your joy because He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 2 Peter 1:2

"Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." (2 Peter 1:2)Not long before he died, Peter wrote this letter probably from prison in Rome to Christians who are facing persecution and maybe even their own martyrdom. This is the opening of his letter and a lot of it is centered around the ways God's grace shows up in our lives. In biblical terms, grace isn't an excuse to sin. It's God's work in our lives as an agent of change moving us beyond where we are. Charles Spurgeon said it this way, "Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, not the apologist of sin." Peter says, the more we know God, the more we will know His grace and the more we will feel His peace. Where do you lack peace today? Where do you need his grace to empower change in you? Lean in and draw near to know him. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Peter 2:16

"Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves." (1 Peter 2:16)Peter wrote these words to a church living under Roman authority. They weren't free in the political sense, but they were free in the eternal sense for even the power of sin to control them, free from the penalty of their sins, because Christ had paid that debt for them. They were free in every way that mattered eternally, but Peter warned them not to use their freedom selfishly, not to be short sighted in their freedom. Freedom in Christ isn't freedom to sin, it's freedom from sin. Freedom in Christ should never be confused with our right to be inconsiderate of others or unloving to our neighbor. Freedom in Christ means I'm free from the bondage of my own selfishness and free to follow Him. It means I'm free to love my enemies just like Jesus did. I'm free of me and I'm a servant of God instead. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Peter 2:15

"For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people." (1 Peter 2:15)Have you ever wondered what God's will is? Have you ever flipped through your Bible trying to find it written out for you somewhere? Today, I'm happy to tell you that we're encountering one of the few places in Scripture where God's Will is stated outright. So what is it? This is His will: when foolish people act ignorantly, we should do good. His will is to use our good deeds, not our good rebuttals to silence the fools. If you've been with us for a while, you may have noticed that lots of Scripture seems to talk about how we use our mouths. Even though the internet didn't exist in the first century, I imagine this applies to the words we type with our fingers too. May our actions and our words and even the words we withhold be a means to point others to Jesus. He's where the joy is!