Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | 1 John 2:4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 2:4 Whoever says, "I have come to know Him," but does not habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings), is a liar, and the truth [of the divine word] is not in him. |
Subject: What commandments to keep? |
Bible Note: Dear Brad, I have been asked by others the same questions, albeit from a position of hostility…..as you request is calm and reasonable I would be more than happy to give you my “testimony”……a blurb on the members’ profile page would not present a clear picture. On my first Sunday on earth I was in church. I was raised in Evangelical and Reformed…..now UCC. “Church” was an absolute every Sunday and for every other church function, but there was no “God-talk” in the home throughout the week. In college I attended a Lutheran church as there was no UCC……the pastor died and his replacement was boring….my friend invited me to her Catholic Church. I was impressed with the solemnity……there wasn’t a lot of socializing going on. I went to classes to see what it was all about…..I became a Catholic. I first read the Bible cover to cover when in college. I truly loved God and was seeking Him. I became a Catholic and married a Catholic…..after seven years and two wonderful children, and every Sunday in church, my husband divorced me to pursue his philandering on a full time basis……he paid the “church” thousands of dollars for an annulment in lieu of child support. I knew this was not in the Bible…….exit Catholicism. I tried other churches and was left cold……I started doing cable church……I was exposed to yet another facet of Christianity. I learned a lot and became a big Charles Stanley fan as well as all the other big boys (Kennedy etc.). I was reading the Bible again. During a one year stint in Nevada, I felt the need to get real serious with the LORD….I acknowledged that any problem I had in my life was of my own making and it was because I was not following the LORD, this was in my living room, not in a church…….I poured out my heart to the LORD and received an incredible peace…..there was not enough tension in my body to keep me on the chair…I slithered to the floor. I professed my love for the LORD and, He said to my spirit (I don’t know how else to put it)…..you can’t love what you do not know…..I went back to Genesis and began a voracious study…..and I’ve been studying with a passion ever since. I began attending a Church of God and then Calvary Chapel. I listened to Christian radio from rising to retiring…..I heard a mind blowing message from Irwin Lutzer as to how the “Holy Roman Church” brought paganism into Christianity to make it more palatable to the pagans they conscripted….I sent for his tape series and became adamantly against anything that hinted at paganism…..goodbye Christmas……goodbye Easter…..I kept them as my personal sentiments not wanting to offend my Christian brothers and sisters because, after all, they were sincere believers, and much more spiritual than I.....I wasn't comfortable making waves. Upon returning home from Nevada, my niece invited me to her church….Assemblies of God. Great music, dynamic pastor etc. I was baptized and became an enthusiastic member. The Toronto revival and later the Brownsville revival kicked in…..there was a lot of revival enthusiasm. I thought it was exciting yet on another level disturbing……I was searching the scriptures for verification of what was going on and finding none…..of course the take was that I was just not on the same Holy Spirit level as everyone else which is why I wasn’t totally getting it. continued next…….. |