By This...

1 Jn. 4: 17

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world. 

Verse 13 begins with the same by this construction as is in verse 17. In verse 13 it refers to the fact that the love of God was manifested to us in Him sending His Son into that world to be the propitiation for our sin so that through Him we might live. Then the passage says, If we love one another, God's love abides in us and His love is perfected in us. So By this we know that we abide in Him and He is us, because He has given us of His Spirit. Loving each other is evidence of His love in us as is His Spirit living within us. 

Moving on through the passage, the verses that precede verse 17 say that if we confess Jesus as Son of God, then God abides in us and we abide in Him. Through this we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. So if we abide in love, we abide in God. By this abiding, His love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love because fear has to do with punishment, and our punishment was taken away by Jesus. He took it for us!  His great love has not only filled us, saved us, and impacted the way that we love others, but it has also taken away our punishment at the day of judgment. 

Father,

Thank You so much for Your great love for me, for sending Jesus as my propitiation, and for taking away my punishment. Help me to love as You would love. 

In His name,

Amen 

Overcomers

1 Jn. 4:4

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

It is just that simple. Jesus Christ and God's Holy Spirit who dwell within me are greater than Satan or any of his minions or followers!!! Nothing takes God by surprise. He is the author of all that happens each and every moment. So why fear??? There is no logical reason, but sometimes fear is not a logical thing. So to bolster my emotions I would need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, in His word, in prayer, and in fellowship with the rest of my body. Yes, even little children [in the faith and physically] can overcome what is in the world. for God gave us not a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. I am gifted to withstand all the onslaughts of this world. I am gifted to be strong and overcome. I am gifted to love as He loved and to have self-control. 

Father,

Take my knowledge from my head and send it coursing through my emotions, in fact, through my entire being. I know I am Yours, and I thank You so very much. But at times, my life doesn't reflect you at all. It's not as if I am doing something bad, but it's like I have forgotten you for a time. I don't ever want to forget You even for a moment. Give me purpose and strong resolve.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Obedience and Love

1 Jn. 3: 22

and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. 

John is teaching that there is a direct correlation between obedience and answered prayer. But in the 2 verses preceding verse 22, John addresses an important preparatory concept. He says that obedience to the truth or the word is one way that reassures our hearts that we are in Him. But there are times when our hearts condemn us. Perhaps Satan brings up old issues, or maybe even current sins that we are struggling with seek to condemn us. But John says that God is greater than our hearts. His promises override what our hearts say, and He has promised that our sins are forgiven. [Not to say that we shouldn't confess the everyday sins that we struggle with.] So then if our hearts do not condemn us saying that we are not worthy to be saved or that we are too sinful for God to forgive, then we can have confidence in God, confidence that whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him.  How glorious is that! Answered prayer! 

The verse says answered prayer is linked with keeping His commandments and doing what pleases Him. What are the commandments? John answers that question immediately. And this is the commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us. Whoever keeps His commandment abides in God, and God in Him. Believe in Jesus and love each other! Simple yet needing so much thought and purpose. We must live intentionally seeking out ways to love and honor fellow believers, and at the same time, deepen our relationship with Jesus. If we do this not only do our prayers get answered, but we are abiding in God and He in us! And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. And how do we have confidence that all this is true and that these are not just empty words? Because of the Holy Spirit who indwells our bodies and whose temple we have become. What a glorious 6 verses!

Father,

My heart is full of praise and gratitude for all the blessings You have given me. Teach me through Your great grace to be obedient to the commandments and to love my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Help me to seek to know You in prayer so that my thoughts and Your will may be on the same page. 

In Jesus name,

Amen

Not in Word or Talk but in Deed and Truth

1 Jn. 3:18

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 

Does John address these believers as children because of their maturity level? Are these concepts so elemental that even children should understand them? Regardless his instruction is that we should love one another. [Sounds somewhat basic!] A bad example would be Cain who killed his brother because Abel was more righteous than he. Such jealousy! We condemn Cain but how much jealously is in us? Not to the killing point but to a degree. Are we jealous of other's prestige, position, possessions or friends? When we write it down, it sounds so petty. But in the heart it is so deceptive. 

The world does hate us because Jesus Christ lives within us. But that is where hatred must stop! It must never be seen in one brother toward another. Jesus' example was to lay down His life for us, His brothers. In similar fashion our love for one another should be that strong. If we see a brother in need but then walk away without meeting his need, what kind of love is that? Is the love of God abiding in us? That is why John speaks to believers as children. This kind of behavior is childish and selfish. We need to look around and see the needs of our brothers and sisters in the Lord. And then meet those needs! That is loving not just in word or talk but in deed and truth!

Father,,

Help me to love like Jesus did. Open my eyes to see the needs in others and then meet those needs. 

In Jesus name,

Amen

Strong Words

1 Jn. 3:9

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in Him, and He cannot keep on sinning because He has been born of God.

John has some strong words in the first 10 verses of Ch. 3. These words demonstrate how the grace walk is not an easy walk. He begins by giving us a great promise: we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. 

• The first order of business is purification because of our hope in Him. We should desire above all to be like Him: And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
• Secondly, He came to abolish sin so that all who believe in Him will not be enslaved to it. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. What is my attitude toward sin? 
• Third, No believer should be making a practice of sin. It is an impossibility for God's seed to be in a person and for them to keep on practicing sin. To God sin is heinous!-No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.
• Then a flat-out statement. Those practicing righteousness are of God and those not are of the devil. This statement is followed by a practical example, that is loving our brother. Loving is an evidence of the seed of God within a person.  By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

The key word here is 'practice'. What is my attitude toward sin? Am I ashamed when I repeat the same sin? Do I pray and seek God's help, or do I just accept it? It is a serious issue. Do I have the evidences of the seed of God within me? 

Father,

Fill me with a desire to be godly so strong that I cannot resist it. Grow me in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. I confess letting my flesh have control of my life too many times. Forgive me.Grant me repentance. 

In Jesus name,

Amen

Follow

Jn. 15: 14-16

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself and washed the disciples feet. [And yet there was even a greater humbling yet to follow, His humbling to the point of death.] In like fashion, we are to feel toward one another in the same way that Jesus felt toward His disciples, that is being willing to humble ourselves to the level of foot washing. In our society foot washing isn't done, and to me it seems awkward and yucky! Yet the attitude behind it isn't. Complete humility, seeking the good of another before our own, caring and loving as Christ loved! We must do this because if we don't, we are putting ourselves on a higher plane than Jesus Christ. No one would ever say that, but our actions would reveal that. How foolish on our part not to think about what our actions are saying. If Jesus states it explicitly, it is important. Humility is an integral part of our Christian walk even though it is counter-cultural in America. 

In America, someone who is humble is considered a doormat, someone easily manipulated. We are given the mindset from an early age to go after what we want, to get ahead, to be the best, and to excel over others. None of these mindsets encourage humility. Just as our salvation was counter-cultural so is our Christian walk. God's word must now become our mandate, our way of life, and our new mindset. We must follow Him walking in His footsteps all the time. 1 Peter says those footsteps include suffering, things that are way worse that washing another brother's feet. John 13 goes on to say, If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Do I want a blessing? Yes. Then humility is the path that I must take. I must be aware of every step that I take so that it aligns with Jesus Christ. 

Father,

Help me walk in Your way. Give me a heart of humility, one that seeks not else but walking as Jesus did. I confess to having pride in my life, to having a heart of insensitivity, and to having a mouth with unkind words. Forgive. And give me Your grace!

In His name,

Amen

Foot Washing

Jn. 13:10

Jesus said to him, The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not everyone of you.

After Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He makes some weighty statements. But first Peter, in typical fashion, declares that he wants his hands and head to be washed as well. But Jesus says no. The one who is clean, that is the one who has been saved and redeemed, bought back with the blood of Jesus, has no need to be washed anymore than his feet. Why? Because he has been made clean by Jesus' blood. But why the feet? Because the feet are what we use when we walk through this world. The feet are the parts that come in direct contact with the dirt and the grime of this world. Metaphorically, the feet refer to our daily sins, the ones that must be confessed continually. We are saved eternally, nothing can change that, but the constant cleansing because of our contamination with the world must be ongoing. We are no longer in bondage to sin, but we still sin. Not that we want to sin, but in the moment, the flesh seems to entice us to change our wants and desires. 

Speaking of the world and the flesh, 1 Jn. 2: 15-16 is helpful. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life--is not from the Father but is from the world. The world is comprised of the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life. Desire and pride! What a combo! These are the things that take us down. These are the things that need constant confessing. Even though we are saved eternally with the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are still in the body of flesh, a body that is very weak and prone to cave. That is why in Scripture, we have the warnings, Be alert! Watch and pray! Be vigilant! As good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we must be on guard! Watching constantly for the next roadblock! Always concerned that are feet are clean! And if not, washing them. 

Father,

Help me to have a heart of ready confession and repentance. Help me not to brush off things as nothing when they are something, when they are sin. Thank You for bathing me in the blood of Jesus and saving me eternally. 

In His name,

Amen