1 John

August 7th – 1 John 3:1

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1 John 3:1

God didn’t hold back His goodness waiting for Saul, the persecutor of Jews, to become Paul, the apostle of Christ. Instead He showed grace, love, and kindness to Saul while he was knee deep in his wretchedness. Because God doesn’t want us waiting to come to Him until we’re “all cleaned up”, and ready to go. He wants us to come to Him as we are, dirty, broken, and hurting. To leave the cleaning up to Him. For He showers us with His Spirit who washes us anew, working to mold us into the image of Christ. The truth is, in our own wretchedness we could never get our filthy rags clean enough to stand before Almighty God. So in His unmerited kindness and love, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ. Through whose shed blood we can be transformed from a Paul to a Saul, and most wonderful of all, be called children of God.

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July 23rd – 1 John 4:16

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1 John 4:16

The greatest selling love song of all time is called, “Love Is All Around”, by an 80’s Scottish rock band. It start outs, “I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes. The love that’s all around me, and so the feeling grows”. That perfectly describes the love I feel for God. He is my Master, Lord, Savior, Friend, and Father. And as full as my heart is for Him, what makes it burst at the seams is the love that He in turn feels for me. Many are the attributes of our most high God. He is good, merciful, faithful, wise, and all powerful; just to name a few. But above of else, God is love. And we can rely on that love, as proven through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. All we need do is open our hearts and receive His free gift of grace. That’s it. No strings attached, no conditions to meet, no standards to reach. God wants to pick up us, wipe away our tears, replace our sorrow with joy, and make us royalty in His kingdom forever. And all because He loves us!

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May 15th – 1 John 1:7

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1 John 1:7

There’s nothing better than standing in the light of the sun, and feeling its warmth upon our skin. But beyond that, the sun’s power also produces valuable Vitamin D that our bodies need to function. As Christians there’s nothing better than standing in the light of the Lord and feeling the warmth of His love and grace. And when we walk in obedience to God, we experience the joy of fellowship. A fellowship with Him and fellow believers that nourishes our soul. But if we choose to step outside of the light, that fellowship with our Father will be interrupted. Which is why we need the power of God. For He keeps us from the enticements of sin. And also from foolishly stepping back into the darkness from which we have been rescued.

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May 6th – 1 John 4:12

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1 John 4:12

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to talk to God face to face? For those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, one day that will be a reality. But while on earth, because of our human frailty, no one has ever seen God in His full divine glory. Even Moses was only allowed to see the back of God (Exodus 33:18–23). But we don’t need to see Him in His physical form to experience God’s love and grace. Because His Spirit lives inside every believer. And as He abides in us, the Spirit works to perfect our hearts to maturity. A maturity that allows us to both feel God’s love and demonstrate that love to others. We are God’s ambassadors on earth. And although no one can see God physically, they will see Him as they see our love. So go out of your way to show God’s love to someone today!

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April 23rd – 1 John 4:16

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1 John 4:16 

God is my Master, Lord, Savior, Friend, and Father. And as full as my heart is for Him, what makes it burst at the seams is the love that He in turn feels for me. Too many times the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached with a heavy hand in sin, and a light hand in love. While it’s true that God detests sin, it’s also true that God loves us in spite of that sin. And when we receive Christ as our Savior, He takes those filthy rags of sin we clothe ourselves in, and exchanges them for pure white robes of righteousness. Next, God sends Holy Spirit to take up permanent residence inside of us, who gets to work changing and molding us into the likeness of Jesus. And all of this God does not because we love Him, but because He loves us! And from that great love, no matter how dirty, broken, or sinful we are, He yearns to call us His own. God wants to pick up us, dust off the dirt, wipe away our tears, replace our sorrow with joy, and make us royalty in His kingdom forever.

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April 4th – Matthew 22:34-40

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Matthew 22:34-40

All Jesus did and endured was because of His great love for us. And when approached by a Pharisee who asked what was the greatest commandment of all, the Lord’s answer? Love. Love for God, and each other. Love is so vital, Jesus adds, upon this is the foundation of the Law and the Prophets. But loving as Jesus loves can only happen if our love for Him, is greater than our love for ourselves. And the proof of this is in the way we treat others. For as the apostle John points out, to say that we love God and yet not love others, makes us liars. (1 John 4:20) So hearts that put Christ first, no longer demonstrate a self centered, sinful love, but the completely selfless and sacrificial love of Jesus.

That kind of love may seem impossible. But the closer we get to Christ, and the more we experience His unconditional love, an amazing thing happens. Our heart begins to change. Once hardened, selfish, and worldly, through the work of the Spirit, it becomes softened, open, and overflowing with gratitude. Gratitude for all that God has done for us. And from that thankfulness, springs forth the ability to see, and more importantly, love others as Jesus does.

Our goal as Christians, is to become transformed into the image of Christ. To mirror His unconditional love, loving one another just as He has loved us. (John 15:12) 1 John 4:9-11 powerfully reminds us, “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love another.”  This is the message echoed throughout the Bible and especially in the teachings of Jesus. And to me, it is the greatest love story of all!

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March 30th – 1 John 1:9

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1 John 1:9

If we’re honest, there isn’t a single day that we can say “I’m good enough”. We may be born again Christians and sin no longer has reign over our souls, but we still fight with the flesh daily. The apostle Paul, who called himself “chief of sinners”, knew this battle well. In Romans 7:22-23 he says, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” 

God doesn’t want sin to have a hold on us, and longs for us to be free of its crippling grasp. The Bible devotes much to the topic to make us aware of its toxic effects. God doesn’t want us to cover up and hide our sin, but rather expose and uproot it. Because unconfessed and unrepentant sin festers under the surface. It spreads like cancer, destroying us from deep within. And it hinders our relationship with God, keeping us from being able to glorify Him.

We may be sinners, but we have forgiveness and atonement for our sin through the blood of Christ. And because we have confidence in that forgiveness, we can be free. Free to ask God to shine the spotlight into the deepest, darkest recesses of our being. And to expose and cleanse any unrecognized or unrelinquished sin. Because even if we fool other people or even ourselves, God knows our true motives and agendas.

What a privilege it is to be able to go to God in prayer and confess our sin. To share with Him our struggle, and to ask for victory. And as we surrender to the process of being shaped into the image of Christ, we will be renewed, strengthened, and refreshed!

Blessings, Becky

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Loving One Another – John 13

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John 13

When you think of Jesus what’s the first thing that pops into your head? For me it’s His love. A love so strong, Jesus laid down His life to call me His own. And I in return love Him. But that isn’t enough. Because Jesus wants more than my love. He wants me to love others with the same passion that I reserve for Him alone. …

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February 7th – 1 John 1:1-3

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1 John 1:1-3

We’ve all heard it said that Christianity is a relationship not a religion. Which was always God’s plan. From the beginning He established a way for us to fellowship with Him forever through His Son, Jesus Christ. “The Word of Life” in the flesh, the Lord came to pay our sin debt and reconcile us back to our Father in heaven. And through His blood we now can have an intimate, unbreakable relationship with God. And even better still, wanting us to have everything we need to grow in the Lord, God gave us the Bible. It has always been God’s greatest desire for us to walk in fellowship with Him. And the Holy Bible is His blueprint; the atlas of life. For in its pages we’ll find a path. A magnificent path lit by the glory of God’s light. And one, that if we do not not stray from, leads us to a close relationship with our Creator, Father, Savior, and our dearest Friend. A path to the deepest joy we’ll ever know, and a unconditional love lasting an eternity.

 

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October 30th – 1 John 3:18

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1 John 3:18

I’ve heard it said that words without action are like a heart without a beat; both are useless. The apostle John tells us that as God’s children, we need to be doers. Because for a Christian, the word love should be a verb, not a noun. It’s easy to use our mouths to proclaim our devotion, but it is our actions that truly show the state of our hearts. If our hearts are filled with God’s love for others, that love will be manifested into loving works, not empty words. For Jesus Himself actively put into practice the love He preached. Throughout His time on this earth, Christ healed, taught, fed, and comforted others in both “deed and truth.” And in the greatest example of all, He sacrificed Himself so that we could live eternal. So if we say we are His followers, it’s not enough to just feel love towards others. We are to act on that love, exampling the selfless, sacrificial, agape love, God shows to us.

October 30th – 1 John 3:18 Read More »