Bible Study Blog Hop - 1 John

So, have you been reading 1st John? It is a pretty powerful book and I must admit, I haven't read it for the past 7 days (I am still reading it) but the things I have gotten out of it have amazed me.

First I found for me the theme of 1st John seems to be sin (we are all sinners), forgiveness (Jesus was sent to forgive our sins if we turn our life over to Him), Love (we need to love one another as Christians because the world hates us) Family of God (we as Christians whether we are Catholic, Baptists, Lutheran, etc. are a family unto God), Truth (we know the truth and it is that Jesus came to this earth and died on the cross because of our sins to save us) lastely Assurance (we find assurance in Jesus if we follow Him and the Bible that we will be saved).

Not once does 1st John tell us as Christians our life will be laid back, easy to live and filled with forever peace! What it does tell us is that we should not be lovers of the things in this world, but lovers of God and we can't be lovers of God if we have 'idols.'

Now, idols don't have to be made out of stone, they can be anything we feel we can't live without....our job can be an idol, our purses, shoes, clothes, motorcycles and yes, even our home. I am not saying we can't wear or have nice things, but if you open your closet and you have thousands of dollars in purses and you can't buy a purse unless it is a Coach bag or Chanel...you might have an idol you are not even aware of.

What I truly learned on my first day of reading and second days were that I should not have to many things cluttering up my life and my ability to serve God. It was that simple for me. I have allowed things to clutter my life and literally take over and I had to confess to God I had actually without realizing it, placed my quilting for charity not only over Him, but over my family.

Last year I was obsessed to help others and made over 40 quilts for those in need and yes, I did all of these on my own! My life was constantly thinking of fabric, thread and in my sewing closet working away. My chores didn't get done many times, I would argue with my husband I had worked on the dishes...the laundry, etc. but reality hit me....my quilting though for the good of others, had actually become an idol of mine.

This year, I have had to realize, I must concentrate on Jesus and family! If I am asked to help others, I will pray about it. Last night I had a call to take on my pregnant 16 year old granddaughter and I had to say no.
I am raising 3 grandchildren (2 are young impressionable girls) I cannot take on another one who just beat her own mother.

I also must realize that when I do take on projects I have to take them on for the right reasons. Otherwise, I get caught up in them so much, they do become an idol.

What lessons have you learned this week?