Authentic

Authentic (def) - being real, true, and exactly what it is claimed to be, rather than a copy, fake, or imitation. In our lives, there may be a time of doubt, of questioning, and of a faith that is weakened. Today, I want to share a Word from the Word of God, or Jesus, to help undergird or strengthen that faith you have and help you continue on strong in your faith walk. I cannot convince you of anything, but God's Word is active, and it will cut away the doubt and give you a fresh look at your life, as it has done for me. Praise God!! In 1 John 1, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, gives a word to establish the authenticity of the Son of God, Jesus. 1 John 1: 1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. ² This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.

Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is authentically who He says He is, and Jesus is our Savior. The Word of God proclaims that Jesus was born, lived, and walked like you and me, and led a group of 12 to follow Him, and all gave their lives for the sake of the gospel. One more thing that is added is something we all need to be encouraged with in our relationship with this Jesus, and that He IS the Word of God. When you read your Bible, you are reading Jesus. Don't let that freak you out, but let it encourage you to know that even though we don't see Jesus in physical appearance, we do have Him in Word. Jesus always has been, and He always will be, everlasting and authentic. Jesus sees all, and Jesus hears all, and Jesus is the one who gives us the abundant life we need. John speaks as a witness to the man, who was also God!! He is who He claimed to be, so get your faith shoes, that are shod with gosple and do like John and proclaim it. Jesus is the light of the world!!

John wrote this letter as prompted by Jesus, but it wasn't the only one given to John, because in Revelation, Jesus prompted John to write another one called Revelation. Revelation 1:1 This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John,² who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near. John was on the Island called Paphos, and he was exiled there by the very people who boiled him in oil according to Christian tradition. The Roman authorities apparently took to heart Jesus ' message of being the only way to heaven, as only a polytheistic society would do.

We look at Revelation now with the hope of the return of Jesus, and that message is authentic as well. John continued further in 1 John by writing the following: 1 John 1: 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. ⁶ So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. ⁷ But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. We need to look at our faith and see if we are authentic in our belief, and Paul says there will be fruit that shows the evidence, and that the light of Jesus will shine through us as well. A part of our authentic faith is the realization that we will fail and we will sin, but God is faithful to forgive those sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1: ⁸ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Authentic faith is a faith of truth that admits our wrongs or sins, and allows the grace of God to continue drawing us closer to God in every area of our lives. James said it this way in James 4:⁷ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. ⁹ Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. Stay current in this authentic faith, and God will draw you closer and closer to His truth, and your testimony will be "Jesus is light, and in Him there is no darkness." Just what the Word of God or Jesus said. Makes total sense.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren