Keep His Commands

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Don Merritt

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 5:1-5

As we begin the final chapter of John’s letter, John continues to tell us that we must love God and love each other. He’s been doing this for dozens of verses now, yet John is throwing us a curve in verse 2:

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 

I’ve never heard anyone argue with the loving God part; that seems easy enough, but carrying out His commands is often a sticking point. As we have stated many times going through this letter, God’s commands can be summed up very easily.  We are to love God and love one another… and make disciples. That’s the one many people get stuck on… There are all kinds of criticisms for this, as though I (or someone else) made it up or something, but that is simply not the case.  What was Jesus’ final command?

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

No, dear reader, I didn’t make this up.  Since I have commented on this so many times already, rather than explain it again, let’s just try a new approach. First, how can we ever say that we love God, but we won’t follow His command to share that love with others? How can we say we love others, and not share the love of God with them? That wouldn’t even make sense, would it?  God first loved us, so He sent His Son to die for our sins. If we don’t share God’s love with others who are lost, are we not sharing because God really didn’t love them as much as He loved us?

We share with the lost and they enter relationship with Jesus Christ; now they are our brother or sister in the Lord: Will we just stand by and watch them struggle with their new faith, or will we help them along their way?  Which choice demonstrates love in action?

John goes on to mention that obeying His commands isn’t burdensome because in Him, we have overcome the world.  Ever wonder what that has to do with anything?  What is it that would hold us back from making disciples?  Go ahead and make a short mental list of what might hold you back.  Got it?  OK, good.  Does it have things like being afraid they’ll say no?  How about not wanting others to think you’re weird? Maybe you’re afraid that you won’t know all the answers. Yes, there are other possibilities, but in my experience, these are the kinds of things people usually say.  In Him, we’ve overcome the world, and these are thoughts of the world, not His thoughts.  Was Jesus ever afraid of rejection or embarrassment or afraid of anything this world could do to Him?  No.  Why would we be concerned about such things? We have overcome the world because of our faith: Sometimes, like you, I need to remind myself about that.

To carry out God’s commands is not burdensome, because it is a joy.  I can tell you from my own experience that there is no greater joy in this life than to see a person I have mentored, grow in their faith, and step up to serve God because of their love for Him− it is by far the greatest joy there is.

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Proverbs and Gangs

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 1:10-19

This is the first of the 13 discourses, and as I mentioned in the last post, it is about gangs.

My son, if sinful men entice you,
    do not give in to them.

Proverbs 1:10

Verses 10-14 set this out clearly enough; Solomon has a gang problem. Notice that the “son” is warned to stay away from groups of men who lie in wait to ambush innocent travelers, attack them and steal their possessions. Notice also what might entice a young person into such a life: First there is the excitement of the ambush, then the thrill and power of brutality, then the gaining of the loot, and finally the most important of all, the being part of a group, the companionship.

Sociologists of the present day cite this time and again as a major contributing cause of the allurement of gangs for young people, particularly those who have no sense of belonging anywhere else. Companionship, belonging, power, being “somebody” and oh yes, money, are powerful attractions to the downtrodden in society then and now.

Starting with verse 15, the author gives a different perspective on this issue, for what may at first seem the best way to go is really a trap. Verse 16 gives a legal reason to avoid this lifestyle: Rushing into evil seems to refer to the stealing involved; I seem to recall that there is a commandment about that. Obviously, there is a commandment about the shedding of blood, too… the “lifestyle” of the gang leads straight to Hell’s front door. Verses 17 ff. really make the case, for in these verses Solomon makes the point that the real trap is set for the gangs themselves. Oh, they think they are going to ambush the innocent, and they will snare some into it, but the criminal ends up ruined in the end, for sooner or later they will be caught and dealt with, and in those days, they would be stoned to death, and then what? Doom!

To share birds, nets would be set p in plain sight, and even though the birds would see the nets, they would fly right into them. In the same way, even though every member of a gang knows that he is headed for trouble, he flies right into the trap, for like the stupid bird, he thinks he will be the one who emerges safely, and thus he traps himself.

In contrast, a wise man sees the folly of such a life and avoids it completely.

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We love because He first loved us

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Don Merritt

We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

1 John 4:19-21

This just about sums it all up, don’t you think?  God so loves us that He went to extreme measures in showing it, sending His Son to die for us… because so great was God’s love (John 3:16).

If God loves us, and we in turn love God, then we must also love our brother or sister.  As you can see from these verses, there is no negotiating to be done.  In fact, John says that it is a command from God that we love our brother− End of discussion.

Well… almost.  It may strike some as odd that God has commanded love.  It is really a fair question to ask if someone asked it… How can I be commanded to love?  I see my brother or sister, and I don’t feel anything for them. As I’ve written before, words are funny things; they mean stuff.  In English, we only have one word: “Love.”  John wrote in Greek.  Greek has five words for our “love” and they mean different things.  The word that John used here is agapaōwhich is the word used in the New Testament for God’s love.  It is not the word for romantic love. When we are commanded to love one another, this command has nothing whatsoever to do with emotions.  Instead, it has everything do with attitude.

To love your brother or sister in Christ means to put their interests ahead of your own. If your brother or sister is in need, we are to take care of their need before we take care of our need.  We are to be willing to set aside our cares and hurts to see to the needs of others… just like Jesus did.  If we see our brother or sister hurting, we do something about it. Jesus saw us hurting from sin and death, so He did something about it, setting aside His own personal needs… that is unless you’d claim that He really needed to be tortured and murdered, or that it was His idea of fun…

This is the attitude that makes the Body of Christ possible.  If we were to approach the Body (church) as our little plaything or as our chance to be important, or in the way humans often approach things, then the Body will fight and divide.  Hmmmmm, we might think about that one! If we approach it as people who love one another and put others ahead of ourselves, the Body is the most amazing and awesome thing this side of Heaven, as they say.

So, can we do it?  Sure, we can!  We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  It begins with a commitment to follow Jesus, and it carries on when we are more satisfied in His presence than when we are any place else. Need help or guidance in this?  No problem, seek Him, and follow where He leads.  You’ll know what to do.

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The fear of the Lord

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 1:1-9

The first major section of Proverbs is chapters 1-9. These chapters are further broken down by theme into three subsections, the first of which is 1:10-3:35. Within this first major section, there are 13 discourses between father and son (teacher and pupil) that are designed to teach the son about the ways of this life. In the first three chapters of the book, there are 6 of these discourses, all of which are within the theme set by verse 7. I realize that in starting out this way, it might seem to you that I’m being a bit too technical… “Come on; let’s get to the good stuff!”

Don’t worry, there is plenty of good stuff right around the corner, but as always, the good stuff is a great deal more meaningful in context, and that is why I’m describing, first of all, the structure of the section.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

The book opens with an introduction in verses 1-6, an introduction that explains what this book is all about, and yes, I would agree that it is largely self-explanatory. Thus, since verse 7 sets our context, I’ll begin in earnest at that point. Much has been written about the word “fear” in this verse; what did he mean by “fear”?

The Hebrew word used here is yir’ah which means two things. First it means fear or terror, second it means reverent respect, and I suppose that the two fit together rather nicely: Approach God with reverent respect, or you could find yourself terrorized. It is important for us to bear in mind that this, like Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, was written by Solomon roughly 900 years before Christ, in a time when you could not approach the throne of God, for Man was cut off from His presence. For those of us living today in relationship with Jesus, we might have a somewhat more difficult time relating to this concept than they did in the Old Testament, yet who among us would be so flippant as to be unable to understand the concept of reverent respect for God?

So then, this reverent respect is the beginning of wisdom, for with it comes the recognition that we are still answerable for our actions, and acting with wisdom in this life, as opposed to stupidity, remains in our own best interests and is pleasing in His sight: This is our context.

Verses 8 and 9 urge the young to revere the wise teachings of their parents, or as we might say today, our role models who have attained wisdom and knowledge. These we are to consider blessings rather than burdens, for they teach us how to survive and flourish in a harsh world.

Thus, our author has set up the first of 13 discourses which begins in verse 10 and runs through verse 19, and interesting enough for our time, it deals with gangs… for there is nothing new under the sun.

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God is Love

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Don Merritt

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4:16b-18

This short text is tricky; we need to be sharp to get the full benefit of it.  “God is love.” OK, so far, so good, this part is easy.  Them John says, Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  For us to live in love is to also live in God, and when we do that, God lives in us because God and love are parallel. They are inseparable.  Here comes the curve: John is building again.  Because of the inseparable nature of God and love, living our lives in love will make love complete, and ensure that we will be confident on the day of judgment: This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment:OK, this one is really interesting… John finishes this way:

In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Did you catch that?  If we live in love, we live in God, and God lives in us.  This is because love and God cannot be separated.  If we live this way, we live like Jesus lived.  Jesus did not fear death, why should He− He knew exactly where He was going!  When we live in love, we need to have no fear of judgment, for that love drives fear of judgment out of our lives.

When a person dies, the next step is judgment.  You might believe that we die and immediately go to judgment, or you might believe that we die and sleep until judgment day, but to be honest, it doesn’t matter.  Judgment is the next step either way.  Just as Jesus knew exactly where He was going, so do we, we are going to be at His side.

So what really happens?

When we go to judgment, there are two sets of books. There is the Book of Life and there are the Books of Deeds.  If your name is in the Book of Life, that’s it, you’re in!  If not, the other books are consulted, and you are judged by your deeds: You don’t want to be involved in those deeds books.  The judgment is not a horrifying ordeal if you are in the Book of Life.  Your name is read and that’s it, “welcome home.”  What John is telling us here is that living in love means that our names are in the Book of Life.

Let’s put it another way: We read about this day in Revelation 21:11 ff. If you are in Christ, living in love (they are the same thing) your name is in the Book of Life.  That being the case, you are not being put on trial or accused of anything at all, for your sins have been taken away entirely; they are as far from you as the east is from the west.  There is no sin to even discuss: Period.  That is why John can say here that perfect love drives out all fear.  The love God has always had for you terminated all discussion and your appearance at judgment is like a welcoming ceremony.

There is a lot more love to come tomorrow- see you then!

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Introduction to Proverbs

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Don Merritt

In thinking about the best way to proceed with a study of the Proverbs would be to write an introductory post that outlines briefly, my plan of attack, and add a few notes about the structure of the book. Then in the next post, to begin looking at the text in earnest. Along the way, I will also add several notes about the background and history of the work in the form of “Bonus Posts”.

Some thoughts about the structure are necessary to study any book of the Bible, but it is even more important for this one because of its unusual nature. Proverbs obviously is not structured quite like any other book of the Old Testament. For one thing, it appears to be a collection of collections, as many commentators before me have pointed out. For another, it is a book that has a subtle, but definite structure, aside from the divisions of collections; a structure that provides a cohesiveness that might otherwise be overlooked.

Collections

We can easily glean from the text that there are six collections of material in this book:

PassageCollection
10:1-22:16“the proverbs of Solomon”
22:17-24:22“the words of the wise”
24:23-34“also these are by the wise”
25:1-29:27“also these are the proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah transcribed”
30:1-33“the words of Agur”
31:1-9“the words of Lamuel”

Overall Structure

Some have suggested that the structure of the book is like an envelope: Chapters 1-9 open in the form of an instruction of a father to his son, and it concludes with wisdom personified in the form of a beautiful woman. Chapter 31begins with the introduction of a queen mother to her son in verses 1-9 and then concludes with the remaining verses consisting of a beautiful poem that personifies wisdom in the form of the perfect wife. In between these two sections are the collections of short verses and passages that are contained within the envelope.

At first blush, Proverbs seems to be a random collection of fragments all thrown together. Topics appear here and there, but aren’t always organized together, yet the book isn’t quite as random as it may seem at first. Proverbs is a teaching about life, and life isn’t so well organized either. Things come up here, then aren’t mentioned for a time, and then pop up again, just as in life itself. As we continue through the book, I think you’ll start to see this random, yet not really so random structure, for the truly wonderful collection of collections that it is.

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Sunday Reflection: January 25, 2026

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Don Merritt
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Happy Saturday to all!

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Don Merritt

I started this blog back in 2011, which is a bit hard for me to believe, was 15 years ago or so. My real reason for doing this was to practice writing, and to regain the writing discipline to sit down to write something, and to start typing right away. The truth is, my time as a staff writer had ended long before, as I moved into management where the writing happened in a more rational way than “Hey, the Big Guy wants language for such and such yesterday.”

Over that time, you lose the knack of switching your thinking process on a dime and putting content on paper instantly. Oh, yes, and you start to develop bad writing habits, too.

It should be obvious to anyone who regularly visits this site that those bad habits still need a great deal of work.

All of this chit chat is really leading up to my reason for writing this morning, which is to introduce a new series of posts that will begin Monday at 6am EST. You see, I’ve thought about writing a series on the Poetic Books of the Old Testament for years, but I haven’t gone beyond Ecclesiastes, which I’ve done a couple of times, and Song of Songs, which I’ve also done a couple of times. Just to be clear, the Poetic Books are Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon), and the Psalms- they are also called “Wisdom Literature”.

I did begin a series years ago on Proverbs, but I never finished it. It turned out to be the only series I’ve ever started and not finished; it isn’t as easy to blog through as I thought it was…

With that little bit of background, I will begin a series on Proverbs, which will be completed. After that, I’ll be left with Psalms and Job, both of which will be a challenge, although for completely different reasons. Psalms is huge, which makes it a challenge to hold an audience’s attention. Job is not a personal favorite and rather long, making it hard to hold my attention…

Sounds like great fun! We’ll get under way on Monday; see you then.

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More Love

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Don Merritt

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:11-12

John is continuing his thoughts that we looked at in vv. 7-10, and as I mentioned last time, this is the central core of Christian theology, the part that everything else is built upon.  Simply stated, this love core flows like this:

1. God loved us while we were still sinners.

2. God sent His Son to die for our sins.

3. We loved God and responded to the Gospel.

4. God loved our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Therefore, so do we.

We see this pattern at work once again in verse 11.  God loved us, so we should love each other. Then John, as was his custom, takes one more step.  Since no one has ever seen God, and since God loves all of us and we love Him, if we also love each other, God’s love will be complete in us and visibly expressed within His Body, the Church.  This is as far as John has gone so far…

At this point, we can infer that there is another step.  The other step is implied in John’s mentioning that “no one has seen God.”  OK, why did he choose to write that?  Think…

No one has seen God, but if we love one another as God loved us, then His love will live amongst us, and through us all will see it.

I have seen several debates about Evolution and Creation.  These kinds of discussions usually have at their core, an assumption that if we cannot observe some “evidence” that God exists, then we can determine that He does not exist.  I’m no scientist, but this seems to be a natural inclination on the part of people who are educated about the Scientific Method.  Remember that one from your school days?  It was the one about observations, and testing theories with observable evidence.

Back to John.  Have you ever thought that it would be nice if you could find the positive “proof” of God’s existence? Yes, something that can be observed and studied?

Are you sitting down?

John just gave it to you− The proof is God’s love at work in our lives and within the Body of Christ; at least it should be.  Maybe if we started taking these verses to heart and putting them into our everyday manner of living, like we are commanded by God to do, more people would notice that the greatest “proof” of God, the observable evidence, is right there in front of us all: Love for one another as Jesus has loved us, and gave His life for us.

Let’s wrap up for today with a question to think about: Do you ever wonder if it is a coincidence that the whole concept of Godly love has been corrupted and demeaned in our culture? After all, doesn’t society use the word “love” to mean just about anything other than Godly love?

Never fear, there’s a lot more love coming our way next time as we continue our journey here in the great love chapter: See you Monday!

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The Power of a Word

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Don Merritt

We often assume that the big words are the really important ones, yet the more I think about it, the more I believe that it’s really the little words that make or break a person. This is particularly true for those of us who are followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. We read passages in the Bible that are greatly comforting, encouraging or even empowering, and we add one little word to the picture, and send our lives into despair.  One such word, containing only three little letters can be a killer.  That word is “but.”

Yes, I believe God’s promises, but…” Yes, I’m walking in newness of life with Jesus, but…” I am a new creation in Christ, but…” “My sins are forgiven, but…”

Dear brother or sister, there is no “but” in any of those verses!

We are called to love one another, and there is no “but.” We are called to relationship with God through Christ, and there is no “but.”  We must pray continually, and there is no “but.” We must focus on our relationships with Jesus Christ and there is no “but.”

The word “but” has a cousin, and that is the word “try.”  They are close cousins; you may have noticed that they often hang out together. “Yes, I will try, but… I know it won’t work.”

The Bible has much to say on a wide variety of topics, including a better way to live our lives, and quite frankly, it usually gives simple answers to life’s challenges.  Simple doesn’t always mean easy, it means uncomplicated, easy to comprehend.  Easy to do is another matter entirely.  All of the Biblical answers to life’s challenges begin with our relationship with Jesus.  If you think surmounting an obstacle is difficult in life, just try to do it alone.  You’ll find out what hard really is!  You might be interested to know that every person or couple I’ve ever counselled had the same root problem: No healthy relationship with Christ. You simply can’t live by Scriptural principles without it, any more than someone who is not a follower of Christ can… and for the same reason.  Know what that reason is?  This too is simple: They can’t see why they should even bother to try. In a non-Christian, this attitude is perfectly understandable, even sensible, but for the Christian, it is deadly.

Before I go any further, I should make it very clear that I am not talking about people who face addiction, mental illness or severe emotional trauma, I’m referring to more typical spiritual situations.  These other folks need a mentor who is experienced with those specific problems.  Let’s be honest, most of us don’t have those kinds of issues to surmount.

I’m not sitting here at my keyboard this morning trying to play “Shrink” I’m simply trying to put some Biblical teaching out there for consideration.  Take it if you find it helpful or toss it in the bin if it isn’t.  In any case, focus your whole being on your relationship with Christ.  This is easier for some than it is for others, I understand that, so if it is hard for you, better get started.  I’ve set forth many ideas along these lines in this blog for 15 years now, and particularly in the last couple of weeks, so there is plenty of ideas here.  There are also many ideas on other blogs, and some of you have posted some great stuff yourselves lately.

Seek the resources available in your local church.  Your church should be a place of love and healing, and there should be people either in the congregation, in the leadership or on staff who can mentor you through this… and if there isn’t I’d suggest that you might be in the wrong church!  There should be people who are glad to help, and who want nothing at all in return.

Whatever you do, loose the word “but” from your vocabulary, and be suspicious of the word “try.” We must find a way to “do” in these areas, don’t you think? Here’s something I’ll leave you with.  I know I’ve written posts on this verse several times, so here’s the quick version.  Suppose you come upon one of the promises of Scripture, like the one that says that you are a new creation in Christ, the old is gone and the new is here… “but” you don’t feel all that new because the old stuff is still giving you problems.  Notice I didn’t quote the verse, I paraphrased it and added the “but” portion that I’ve heard so many times over the years… and maybe I’ve said it myself once or twice.  Now, I’ll quote a different verse: “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  (Gen. 15:5; Rom. 4:3) Abraham was far from perfect, but he believed God.  God credited his belief to him as righteousness.  When we take the promises of God, and add “but” after them, are we being righteous?  Maybe we ‘re really telling God that we don’t believe Him, instead…  Let’s not listen to the lie of the enemy that usually follows the word “but.”  Instead, let’s act in faith, believing in His Word and seeking His presence with confident hope, that we will find the peace that we are seeking in Him. That, dear reader, is my prayer for you.

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