Month: February 2025

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1 John 4: Knowing God Through Love

Resources:

Overview:

  • 1 John 4 includes two major ideas.
    • Believers ought to “test the spirits” to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1–6).
    • God both loves us and “God is love” (1 John 4:7–21), leading believers to love one another.
  • 1 John, chapter 4 focuses on several key points:
    • Test the Spirits (Verses 1-6): Believers are urged to discern between true and false spirits. The test of a true spirit is its acknowledgment that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. False prophets deny this fundamental truth.
    • God is Love (Verses 7-21): The central theme of this chapter is the declaration that “God is love.” John emphasizes that love originates from God, and those who love are born of God and know Him. Conversely, those who do not love do not know God.
    • Manifestation of God’s Love (Verses 9-10): God’s love is manifested in sending His only Son into the world to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. This selfless act is the epitome of divine love.
    • Call to Love One Another (Verses 11-12): Since God loved us so greatly, we are also called to love one another. This love is evidence of God living in us and His love being made complete in us.
    • Assurance through the Holy Spirit (Verses 13-16): Believers can know they live in God and He in them because He has given us His Spirit. Additionally, acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God further assures us of God’s abiding presence.
    • Perfect Love Casts Out Fear (Verses 17-18): God’s perfect love drives out fear, particularly the fear of judgment. Believers can have confidence because fear is replaced by the assurance of God’s love.
    • The Necessity of Love (Verses 19-21): Loving God is inseparable from loving others. If someone claims to love God but hates their brother or sister, their love for God is questioned. True love for God is demonstrated through love for fellow believers.

Notes on the video:

Group Discussion:

  • No time tonight – we ran too long and had to end the meeting at 7:30.

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A quick and dirty overview of popular JS frameworks. Also downloadable in PDF format.

Framework

Developed By

Where to Use

Key Features

Limitations

Blazor

Microsoft

Uis, full-stack applications using C#

– .NET libraries and tools

– C#, not Javascript

– WebAssembly C# execution (near-native)

– modern browser support

– works with any JS library

– not widely used or adopted

– best for Microsoft-oriented teams

– slower than React (no Virtual DOM)

React.js

Facebook

Ideal for building interactive UIs, complex SPAs, and mobile applications.

– Component-based architecture
– Virtual DOM (very fast UI)
– Large ecosystem of libraries

– Steeper learning curve for beginners
– Can lead to boilerplate code in larger apps

Angular

Google

Suitable for enterprise-level applications and complex SPAs with dynamic views.

– Two-way data binding
– Dependency injection
– Powerful routing model

– Performance overhead in large apps
– Steeper learning curve due to comprehensive tools

Vue.js

Evan You

Great for small to medium-sized projects, and when progressive adoption is needed.

– Easy integration
– Incremental adoption
– Strong community support

– Smaller ecosystem compared to React/Angular
– Fewer enterprise opportunities

Svelte

Rich Harris

Best for performance-sensitive applications and smaller projects.

– Easy and concise syntax
– Scoped styles
– No virtual DOM

– Newer framework with limited community support
– May require adjustment for existing devs

Ember.js

Yehuda Katz

Excellent for ambitious web applications needing convention over configuration.

– Built-in routing and data management
– Rich community resources

– Larger application size
– Steeper learning curve due to complex concepts

Backbone.js

Jeremy Ashkenas

Good for lightweight projects where flexibility is needed.

– Lightweight framework
– Modular development approach

– More boilerplate code required
– Manual code organization can complicate scaling

Aurelia

Rob Eisenberg

Suitable for large applications needing a modern framework with modularity.

– Modular architecture
– Supports TypeScript
– Powerful router

– Limited ecosystem compared to established frameworks
– Somewhat less mature tooling

Mithril.js

Mithril Team

Best for small projects where performance is critical.

– Lightweight and fast
– Strict structure for consistency

– Potential overhead with bundle size
– Vendor lock-in concerns

Polymer

Google

Ideal for developing web components and applications with reusable components.

– Focus on reusable components
– Interoperable with any JS framework

– Steeper learning curve
– Limited community support compared to larger frameworks

Alpine.js

Alpine.js Team

Best for smaller projects needing interactivity without heavy frameworks.

– Lightweight
– Declarative syntax
– Component-based architecture

– Relies on DOM manipulation
– Learning curve for newcomers to its reactive model

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1 John 3: Love in Action

Resources:

Overview:

  • 1 John chapter 3 powerfully reinforces the overall theme of assurance in the book by focusing on the practical implications of being children of God. Here’s the main points in Chapter 3:
    • Assurance of Salvation (Obedience & Love): Chapter 3 heavily emphasizes the connection between being a child of God and living a life of righteousness. Verses like 3:6 (“No one who remains in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him”) and 3:10 (“This is how the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother”) 1 directly link righteous behavior and brotherly love to genuine salvation. This echoes the tests of genuine faith (obedience and love) mentioned in your summary of chapter 1. Chapter 3 doesn’t introduce new tests, but it expands on them, showing how these principles play out in everyday life. It provides concrete examples of what it means to live as a child of God, thus bolstering the reader’s ability to examine their own lives for evidence of true faith.
    • Assurance of God’s Love (Children of God): The very language of “children of God” permeates Chapter 3. Verses like 3:1 (“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”) and 3:2 (“Dear friends, now we are children of God”) highlight the intimacy and privilege of this relationship. This reinforces the theme of God’s love by showing its result: adoption into His family. It’s not just that God loves us; He loves us so much that He makes us His own. This strengthens the assurance of God’s love by giving it a tangible identity – sonship. It makes the abstract concept of God’s love concrete and personal.
    • Assurance in the Face of False Teachings (Righteousness vs. Sin): Chapter 3 contrasts the behavior of the children of God with the behavior of the children of the devil. This clear distinction between righteousness and sin serves as a powerful tool against false teachings that might blur the lines between good and evil. By emphasizing the importance of practical righteousness, John helps believers discern truth from falsehood. If someone claims to be a Christian but their life is marked by ongoing sin, their claim is suspect. This echoes the theme of testing the spirits (mentioned in your summary), giving believers a practical way to evaluate those who claim spiritual authority.
    • Assurance of Victory Over the World (Overcoming Sin): While not explicitly stating “victory over the world” in the same way as 1 John 5:4, Chapter 3 addresses the root of worldly defeat: sin. By emphasizing the possibility of overcoming sin through Christ (implied in verses about not continuing in sin), it provides a foundation for the later statement about conquering the world. True victory over the world begins with victory over sin, and Chapter 3 focuses on that crucial battleground. It shows that the Christian life is not marked by sinless perfection, but by a direction of increasing righteousness, which is evidence of the Spirit’s work and a source of assurance.

Notes on the video:

Group Discussion:

  • Verse 6 isn’t about sinless perfection – it’s about avoiding habitual sin.
    • Some people didn’t wait for Glorification to go to Heaven (become perfect) – Elijah is an example of this.
    • There were times when Elijah didn’t trust God (e.g. after he killed the followers of Bale). God didn’t take Elijah because he achieved sinless perfection.
    • As humans we cannot achieve “sinless” – we can only achieve “sin less”.  Jesus as our Advocate then enables us to become sinless.
  • As we perfect our walk with Christ we should gradually be sinning less – we will never be sinless and this is why we need Jesus as our Advocate.