1 John 2

1 John 2
1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
7Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
9Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. 12I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. 14I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Do Not Love the World 15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
Warning Against Antichrists 18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.
26I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
Children of God 28And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

16

i started writing the 16 random things about me note...but decided i'm not much of a random person.well, thats not true, i mean i am random but thats not really how my mind works....
i can't just congure up randomness, it has to hit me, thats why the majority of my posts just kinda spontaniously errupt from my soul. thats a fun phrase huh? yeah it is, don't disagree.so anyhow, i'm here to offer up a report of how my life's going, and by how life's going, i just mean a couple of thoughts that i've been having of late.

so as i have previously mentioned, Third Day's new album is pretty much crashing through and reconfiguring my soul; that in combination with Messy Spirituality. And so as i listened last night at 3 o'clock in the morning to the song Ready, i just started to think of all of what God has been showing me.

"I want the world to turn because of love and the mercy to find each of us, doing what we can to just believe. I want the world to know that you're the one who fills me up and gives me hope and bring about this change that's in me, Oh I'm ready, you know i'm ready. Can't sit around waiting for the world to change, its gunna take every single one of us doing what we can..."

that just kinda hit home even stronger last night/this morning. Life is hard, its messy, and sometimes all we can do is just feebly try and hold on to God, to just believe. And that belief, no matter how seemingly small, can be harnessed by the Father to tame the nations. yeah, when YOU are struggling to see which way is up, God can and does use you to change lives.

So the little bit of encouragement i offer is this. We all struggle, but just give all you have to God, let him Take It All (another song by Third Day from their new album). But do not dispair, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:2).

And one final tidbit, encourage one another daily

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

never underestimate the power of encouragement, even when someone is "on the top of the world" in their walk, a little bit of encouragement does wonders. even when you think you're fine, it always shows you more of what God is doing in your own life. It shows you who you are, and so much more. Live your life as a service to others. So thanks Kenzie for showing me that again today. and thats all i got now folks, peace out

-matt

Messy Spirituality

Messy Spirituality is a book by Michael Yaconelli. It's pretty much blowing my mind. Definitely more to follow with this one. Just a quick update i guess.

We define spirituality as being right with God and following him. But what if things are hard? What if we can barely grasp prayer? Are we simply unspiritual?
no.
Spirituality isn't being the perfect Christian. Spirituality is giving it all we got, trying to stay afloat in a busy world. Now don't take that wrong. I'm not trying to say that to be spiritual you have to slack off. What i mean to say is that God didn't come for those who had it all together. He came for the messy. And when we see the Light and we meet Jesus, we aren't instantly unmessy. Our past still remains and we still have our problems. But we have been cleaned by the blood, we are being Sanctified. It is a process of making us unmessy. This process doesn't end until we meet him face to face on the Last Day.

Spirituality isn't unmessy. Spirituality is giving God 60%, because thats all we have to give. Spirituality is not commiting ourselves to memorize this or stay in this certain biblestudy. Spirituality is taking a break and admiting we can't do it on our own. Spirituality is messy.

more to come

-Matt

Revelation

"Take it all, 'cause I can't take it any longer.
And all i have, I can't make it on my own.
Take the first, take the last,
take the good, and take the rest.
Here I am, all i have, take it all."

just a short lyric from the song Take it All by Third Day, off their newest album Revelation.
it just kinda hit me this afternoon, i had a Revelation if you will, haha, bad joke but anyhow...
but for real, i was playing madden and listening to the CD cuz i just got it for Christmas.

and i wasn't really focussing on the words much, but it did have a catchy tune, so i replayed the song and i listened to the chorus. and it hit me. that should be our Anthem as Christians shouldn't it.
we are lost in the darkness, but God sent his son, that we may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10).
its not our life to live, its ours to give. our life should be a mirror, to reflect Christ by how we live, and that starts by focusing ourselves on Christ so that we can fully reflect his goodness. How do we focus? "Here I am, all i have, take it all."

here's a link to more info about the music and third day
Revelation
-matt

The TRUE meaning of Christmas

So a quick briefing before i get started. I just got back from a remarkable Christmas even sermon given by Ben Stuart. great guy, leads the largest college ministry in the country at Texas A&M...Whoop!! anyhow, he opened up with this text so read it before i start retelling the story. so click on the links and read up before you get to the rest of the blog.

Isaiah 8:19-9:7 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%208:19-9:7&version=31

Luke 1:76-79 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:76-79;&version=31;

briefed? alrighty lets hit the message. **just a quick note, i'm stealing most of this section from Ben's sermon, cuz it was great stuff, but i am not completely retelling and i'll post a link to his sermon ASAP**

So what does the media define Christmas as? the media says that Christmas is about caring, about giving to those in need. Christmas is about creating joy. It's about us making the world a better place, its all our work. what does this really mean? Christmas is a demonstration in the media of how we try and save the world and save ourselves.

So what is the true message? The world is a dark, broken, corrupt place, and Jesus is the light. The darkness has even permeated into our own beings. We know this because everyone in the world, Christian and non, will agree that there is a moral standard or code by which we ought to live. and no one has entirely kept this code. we are broken. we can't fix us, we are trapped in the dark! 

But here comes the good part. the good part is not that a baby was born and we can all be happy, granted that is still important. But that isnt the context we're looking at. The God of the Universe sends his only son, into obscurity to save the world. There was a saying in those days, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" It was pretty much a run down hick town with not much majesty or allure. But the God of the Bible sends our Lord into the lowest of Lows so that in 33 years or so later...he can be exalted to the highest of Highs.

So what does this mean to me? Darkness has overcome us. We are hopeless and helpless. But there is hope, wanna know why? Because in John 1 Jesus, the Word, is called a light. And the best part about light, is that "Light always wins." Even in the darkest of dark, pitch black, the smallest ray of light will shine through. There will never be an instance where there is too much darkness to see the light, its the other way around entirely.

**that was a paraphrase of some of what Ben said, the rest from this point is just me and what i got from the sermon**

This is the true story of Christnas, that the world is fallen and broken, and that we have a God who is willing to step into our world, and save, Jesus the Christ. He is our savior and on that night, he revolutionized what love is. So when you think of Christmas from now on. Don't think of just the babe wrapped in swaddeling clothes, lying in a manger, think of destruction. Think of Pain. Think of Murder, of Stealing, of Lieing of Cheating, of Hurt. Think of the WORLD. (1 John 2:15-17), and only after you have thought upon that, can you begin to understand the severity of what the Christmas Story that you have heard since before you could walk, really means. Jesus stepped into human history to save the world. to - save - the - world. 

So as i sat in my chair and thought upon this. How the light is what has saved us from eternal darkness, i began to write the lyrics to a song i had heard for the first time in 9th grade. It is entitled, You are the Light, just think upon the words.

You are the Light

The world lost in darkness 
Dying to see the sunrise 
Savior will come 
Heaven is waiting 
Glimpses of mercy fading
A savior will come 
Waited so long 

You are the light Bethlehem's son
Hope of the world the glorious one 
The savor to all is with us tonight 
You are the light. You are the light.

Bow in your presence surrounded by angels beaming
A savior has come 
Candle to lead us 
Flame to destroy the darkness
Light of your love 
Messiah has come 

You are the light Bethlehem's son
Hope of the world the glorious one 
The savior to all is with us tonight 
You are the light. 

Now the whole world will not be the same
Cause love has come down and grace has a name
Name of the child is Jesus Christ 
You are the light. 

Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah 

You are the light Bethlehem's son 
Hope of the world the glorious one 
The savor to all is with us tonight 

You are the light Bethlehem's son
Hope of the world the glorious one 
The savior to all is with us tonight 
You are the light. 

Now the whole world will not be the same
Cause love has come down and grace has a name
Name of the child is Jesus Christ 
You are the light. 

You are the light. You are the light. You are the light.

really consider what the lyrics are saying. i fight the urge to cry after i see this every time, and i can't remember a time where i have not shed tears when this song is played at worship. i know friends who gave their life to Jesus after hearing the truth in these words. this song is lifechanging. simply spend some time unpacking what this song says and what it means. This song captures the true meaning of Christmas. You are the Light

Merry Christmas Ya'll

-Matt

Jesus Christ - Good or God - All or Nothing

Jesus Christ is on a short list of people who have claimed to be God. Yet some people don't believe that. Some people just think he was a good guy, a prophet, a man of their own God(s) but not God himself. I was listening to Mark Driscoll, a pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, and he brought up a very interesting point.  please feel free to listen to what he has to say, i'll leave a link to the sermon.

If Christ wasn't God, he was one of two things: insane, or evil.

The first option, insane; is laughable in this instance. Most Historians agree, Christian and non; that Jesus Christ was a remarkable man who marked the turning point in all of history. The majority of the world believes that Christ was absolutely sane and not a madman.

So if Christ is sane, he is either God with us (Emanuel) or absolute evil. I'll unpack the ladder first, becasue it seems to be the most curious. Bare with me here. If Jesus Christ was not God, even though he claimed to be God then what did he accomplish. He led billions into the darkness. He told them to pray to him and He would forgive them of their sins. He told us that narrow was the path to the Father and that he was the only way. So if this was not true, he deceived the world. He would be a advocate of the Devil.

But thankfully for us, he is God in the flesh. 

this might have been lacadasically thrown together, but at hopefully you get my point. Christ cannot just be good. He must be God or a demon. Pure Good or Complete Evil. How could a good man, lead one third of the world to their doom? unless...unless he really was the Son of God, the Good Shephard, the Prince of Peace, the Slaughtered Lamb.

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/vintagejesus/is-jesus-the-only-god

-Matt

What is a New Year's Resolution?

2008 is almost over.  we've literally gone through 340 plus days of it... who were you then?
who are you now?

seriously though...think about it. what have you done with your life this year? i mean sometime as teenagers it can seem that we don't have much of an impact right? i mean we're just kids, leave it up to the adults to get things done. but i mean that ideaology doesn't really hold up in the long run. write now i'm working on memorizing 1 John and from that i can give this verse
1 John 2:14
"I write to you, fathers, because you have know him who is from the beginning. I write to you young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."

so what does that all mean? it means that we as the younger generation have the Word of God, Jesus Christ (see John 1) living in us. and with him inside of us we have crushed the devil under us. and notice what is written to the fathers. the fathers have known God, they have grown wise, they can offer aid and assist us. but are the fathers described as strong? or the overcomers? no. i'm not saying they aren't strong, because without them we'd sure make a bungle out of a lot of things, we need them their to help us out, but young men, young people are called to be strong. we have the direct spirit of God inside of us.

so what about that cliche verse we hear all the time? the one almost as common as John 3:16 Phil 4:13
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
funny how we can know all these verses and still fade away huh? i mean i'm the worst at this, i'm talking to myself right now ya'll. i mean thats one of the reasons i'm going through 1 John, cuz it cuts right to the core. and its hard. i mean it says in 1 John 2:4 "The man who says "I know him," but does not do as He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him." 
thats pretty harsh huh, so whenever i claim to be in the light and to be that light for Christ, i'm called to this? i mean it isn't possible right? haha right, its not actuallly possible. and that turns into grace, but thats another subject for another time.

but what i'm trying to get to here is this i suppose.
1) We have been empowered by God to do great things. I'm not talking helping an elderly woman across the street here ya'll. yes, that is one way to show the love of Christ, and i'm not trying to diminish that. but i'm talking on a bigger scale here.

last year i was part of Water is Basic, if you haven't heard of it yet, the gist is this, a few highschool students had a dream. we wanted to give the people in the Sudan clean water. we decided on a goal of $10,500 for 3 wells to save uncountable lives. God surpasses. way. way. way. we end up with over $30,000. and turns out each well is going to cost less than a third of what we thought. so thats 30 wells right there. 10 TIMES A GOAL THAT WE THOUGHT WAS JUST BARELY RESONABLE

why do i bring that up again? cuz we have the ability to do BIG things, all it takes is a dream.

2)Faith. kind of a broad term there huh? i don't know about you, but i always seem to take it for granted. i just have faith, its something i can carry around in my back pocket and just forget about. but when life gets tough, we have to go digging for that faith, and sometimes its hard to find. so my advice, don't wait to fall, be active. Psalms 119:11
"I have hidden Your word in my heart, that i may not sin against You."
so memorize scripture.(that ones a good one to start out with...hint hint) i never really thought it was that big of a deal, but trust me, i'm starting to figure that out right now. the more you know, the better prepared you are. and i mean, its not a contest, so what if one person knows all the bible word for word, and i only know a handful of verses, those handful can get you through a lot. so start out small. just take a verse, write it on an index card, and start reading over it. before you know it, it will be memorized, and you can call on it when in need.

3)So what is the BIG picture Matt?
i'm glad you asked. the big picture is January 1, 2009 is almost here. The day we make resolutions. The day we promise to do this and that. How about we all do this for a change this year. We make a commitment to God. We give him this year. We give our lives, our minds, our bodies, to his Good and for his glory, after all we are living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).

what do i mean by that? its simple. just say a quick prayer, "God, i don't know what you are going to do this year, and i don't know what my future is. Take my life and use it." and you will be surprised, i promise.

Make a new year's resolution with an accountability partner, challenge eachother to stay sharp, to learn more scripture. so lets give 2009 to God guys. it's in his hands now.

so as my new years resolution,
I Matt Bartlett, resolve to memorize 1 John this year. I resolve to learn more about what Leadership is and how to actively utilize skills while in positions of leadership and serving. I resolve to make a difference

godbless Matt Bartlett
Dec 23rd, 2008 AD

**AD is a latin abreviation meaning Anno Domini, in the year of Our Lord**