It always catches my attention when I read the same thing in two different places. Here’s the recent reading from 1 John:

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3.2, 3, ESV)

A promise with a “so what?” “Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” Purifies himself… Didn’t we just see that in 2 Corinthians?

Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 6.17 – 7.1, ESV)

Same setup: a promise of God’s presence in 2 Corinthians; a promise of his appearing in 1 John. Therefore: “let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

Intentionality: 

• Purify myself as he is pure

• Cleanse myself from every defilement of body and spirit

• Bringing holiness to completion

Life requires intention and paying attention, as I wrote recently.

¹  Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the LORD!
²  Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!
³  They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways. (Psalm 119.1 – 3, NKJV)

Continuing our highlights from 1 John and his frequent use of “abide.” Here’s one of my favorites:

…I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 1 John 2.14, ESV)

You young men…

• are strong
• The Word of God abides in you
• You have overcome the evil one

It reminded me of an iconic quote from the original Star Wars movie. Darth Vader says about young Luke Skywalker:

The force is strong with this one.

The parallel is a strong one (no pun intended!): who is in danger from someone who is strong because “the Word of God abides in you”? The arch-enemy! “You have overcome the evil one.”

And how does the Word of God abide in us? The first step is to memorize it! Please read this blog I wrote back in 2019, explaining how 82-year-old (at the time) Max Barnett teaches scripture memory. Read the blog, start the habit. And scripture memory is very much one of those disciplines to which the 7 days/week rule applies.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3.16, ESV)

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119.11, ESV)

We move from Titus to 1 John in our 5x5x5 New Testament Reading Plan. I’ll just capture a few highlights over the next couple of days. One thing I noticed was John’s use of “abide.” Here’s an example:

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. Children of God And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. (1 John 2.24 – 28, emphasis mine)

Here’s the technical definition of the Greek word translated “abide” from stepbible.org (a resource I highly recommend!):

μένω (menō) ‘to stay’ (G3306)to stay, remain, live, dwell, abide; to be in a state that begins and continues, yet may or may not end or stop. “To abide in Christ” is to follow his example of a life obedient to the will of God. – stepbible.org

It’s a common word, used in a variety of contexts. However, as nearly as I can tell, the idea of “abiding in” occurs only in John’s writings. For example:

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15.7, ESV)

We are to take up our residence in Christ as he takes up his residence in us! In the metaphor of the vine in John 15, “abide” is a permanent connection. The branch can’t even exist without the vine.

I wonder why John is the only one to use this language. Maybe because John had a stronger sense of being in relationship with Jesus. In his gospel, he refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” (See, for example, John 21:7). I don’t think John was the only disciple whom Jesus loved. I think he loved them all! But, maybe John was the only one who realized this. I am the disciple whom Jesus loves…and you are too!

Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2.6, ESV)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3.1, ESV)

Fall color is essentially over for us, but we enjoyed four weeks of it from the spectacular aspen on the left, which we saw at Copper Mountain on September 23, to our own large aspen on October 22. A few hours after that picture was taken, the winds came in at 30 mph, blowing most of the leaves off, and about 40 hours later, we woke up to our first snow.

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. (Genesis 8.22, ESV)

Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. (Daniel 2.20, 21, ESV)

I was doing a crossword puzzle the other day, and it clued STOP with “Detraining site.” It turns out the clue meant “Where do you get off of a train (de-train)?” Before I thought of that, I was researching “detraining,” and I discovered that detraining is a concept related to yesterday’s blog, A Case for 7.

Just like we wrote yesterday, the effect of not training is not zero progress, it’s negative progress, or…detraining. Here’s the official definition:

Detraining (often referred to as ‘reversibility’) reflects the fact that if a training stimulus is insufficient, or removed entirely, then the aspect of physiological conditioning to which it relates begins to decline. In other words, the individual begins to lose ‘fitness’. – a detailed article in Sports Performance Bulletin

For example, “With detraining of endurance-trained athletes blood volume is reduced by 5-12% within the first two days.” (emphasis mine)

So with respect to our Christian walk, let’s not detrain. It’s daily.

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9.23, ESV, emphasis mine)

Yesterday, I reported research that found that people who engage with the scripture 4 or more days/week experience way more benefits than those who don’t. That said, I still think we should aim for 7 for 7, not just 4 for 7. Here’s why:

Years ago, I was talking with Willie Peterson of Dallas Seminary about the importance of consistency, and he made this observation:

Today’s discipline preserves the effects of yesterday’s discipline. – Dr. Willie Peterson

Later, after I shared this concept in a presentation, author Kennon Callahan, who was in the audience, told me:

Today’s discipline sets up the effectiveness of tomorrow’s discipline. – Dr. Kennon Callahan

So we’re linking our disciplines together, forming, as Dr. Peterson told me, a lifelong chain. When I miss one day, I lose more than one day’s benefits: I cancel some of yesterday’s gains and lose some of tomorrow’s.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. (Psalm 5.3, NKJV)

If you’re a regular reader of the Ewellogy, you know that a frequent theme is daily time with God: a time of reading the scripture and prayer to hear from God. Does such a discipline really matter? The answer is YES, according to research done by the Center for Bible Engagement. They surveyed over 400,000 people worldwide:

400,000 people, and here is the main finding:

A key discovery from the CBE research is that the life of someone who engages scripture 4 or more times a week looks radically different from the life of someone who does not. In fact, the lives of Christians who do not engage the Bible most days of the week are statistically the same as the lives of non-believers. (Emphasis mine)

Those who engaged with scripture 4 or more times per week were:

• Less likely to feel lonely
• Less likely to have anger issues
• Less likely to experience bitterness in relationships
• Less likely to struggle with alcoholism
• Less likely to feel spiritually stagnant
• Less likely to view pornography

The researchers attach various percentages to these findings as do the commentators on this 2-minute summary video. Even though I’m a math guy, I don’t put much stock in numbers associated with social science research – it’s hard to measure humans! But there seems to be no question that regular engagement with God through the scripture is important and beneficial.

Moreover, I’m encouraged by the magic number 4 days/week. Actually, it’s “4 or more.” That is, most days. But 4 out of 7 is doable! I was working with a man once who asked me, “How many days a week are you expecting me to have daily time with God? I want to hit my marks.” I said, “How many days are in a week? Why would you set a goal for fewer than 7?” That said, we all miss a day now and then. And it’s OK! The Bible reading plan I recommend calls for 5 days/week. We’re not after perfection, but consistency over time.

If you’re not doing it, please start! And aiming for 4+ days/week is a worthy and achievable goal.

Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD. (Proverbs 8.34, 35, ESV)

PS I’m indebted to my friend and fellow Navigator Dane Allphin for reminding me of this research as I exchanged emails with him on this article.

Our daughter Melody, who teaches music in an American School on Grand Cayman Island with her husband, who is also a music teacher, is a prolific FaceBook poster. The other day she showed a picture of her weekend laundry project – a fairly good-sized pile of clothes that accumulate when you have two working parents and two active daughters. The post prompted this exchange between me and one of her friends:

Melody’s friend: Our current issue is that Jack has more dirty clothes than Geoff and I combined! I keep threatening to make him do his own laundry…

Me:  I’m Melody’s father… Ask Melody when she started doing her own laundry. If Jack is tall enough to reach the controls, having him do his own laundry is not a threat; it’s training.

Melody’s friend: Many years ago my mom accurately accused me of doing too much for my kids. As a raging perfectionist, it always seemed better/easier just to do it myself. Ugh. Jack has to learn at some point…I have three years to prepare him to live on his own! Bob — I love that perspective 

Me: Thanks, Susie. When we dropped Melody off at college for the first time, there were mothers trying to teach their daughters how to use the washing machine. 

Ask any of our four grown-up offspring what one of our mottos was:

This is a house, not a hotel for children.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6.4, NIV)

How should we live so that people through us might encounter THE Jesus, as Carolyn Moore wrote and we shared yesterday? Paul, writing to Titus, is clear. In chapter 2, after specific instructions to various groups (please see Titus 2.1 – 10), he summarizes:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to 

• renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to 
• live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,  
  • waiting for our blessed hope, 
    • the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
    • who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and 
    • to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2.11 – 14, bulleted for clarity)

Paul goes on in chapter 3…

Remind them to… 

• Be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be 
• Be obedient, to be 
• Be ready for every good work, to 
• Speak evil of no one, to 
• Avoid quarreling, to 
• Be gentle, and to 
• Show perfect courtesy toward all people…
• Avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. (Titus 3.1, 2, 9, ESV, bulleted for clarity)

That’s how people will know THE Jesus, when we live like that!

Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. (Titus 3.14, NASB)

Sometimes I run across something that’s too good not to pass on. Carolyn Moore writing for the Wesleyan Covenant Association (now becoming the new Global Methodist Church) wrote about knowing THE Jesus. She opened this way:

Years ago, my life got radically changed by a very brief exchange with a man in a low-income apartment complex in downtown Augusta, Georgia. We were there to host a worship service and meal among residents. We hadn’t expected much of a crowd but that night more than 100 people showed up. After sharing food, conversation, and worship together, there was a sense that God was ready to do a new thing in that room. The atmosphere was thick with expectation, so I gave an invitation for anyone who was ready, to come to Jesus. Many renewed their faith, and six or eight people stood up for Jesus that night.

Afterwards, an older man came to me and said, “I stood up tonight because I thought I knew Jesus, but I was wrong. I realized that I know A Jesus, but I don’t know THE Jesus. And now I have to rethink everything.” – Carolyn Moore, October Prayer Points

She went on to say:

As we contend for the historic Christian faith, this is our ultimate hope. It is that anyone walking into a Global Methodist Church might encounter not just any version of Jesus that feels comfortable and accessible, but the radical, Spirit-giving, heart-dwelling, life-changing Jesus who leads us into the heart of God.

Her prayer points included:

• Pray that every pastor who serves the Global Methodist Church would have a life-altering encounter with THE Jesus. (Romans 1:9)
• Pray for God’s mercy and intervention over pastors who are preaching a form of Christianity but not the power of it. (2 Timothy 3:5)

I recommend the article in its entirety.

Tomorrow, we’ll see what Paul says to Titus about people living in such a way that others would come to know THE Jesus. In the meantime, we have this warning:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1.6 – 9, ESV)