1 John 3 - 10.10.25

Scripture: 1 John 3:24

24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Observation

John is enjoying his fellowship with the God of Love, Life and Light. In this chapter he is encouraging fellow believers to love our brothers and sisters to the point of laying down our lives, just as Jesus did for us. Love is an action word. God is Life and those who fellowship with Him must possess His quality of life. A spiritual life starts with a spiritual rebirth and faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ infuses us with God’s Life – Eternal Life. God is Light, so to walk in a relationship with Him, we must walk in light and not darkness. We must regularly confess our sins and allow the blood of Christ to cleanse us. By keeping God’s commands and loving others, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us.

Application

God wants an intimate relationship with us. He longs for us to sit quietly and talk to him and share our innermost feelings and concerns. He gave us the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us, that speaks truth to our heart and mind. We are to live righteously, obeying God’s commands and surrender our lives to Him and He will dwell mightily within us. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. – Acts 5:32

What a privilege it is to be called Children of God. The God of the Universe loves and adores us and eagerly awaits time with us. To Abide means to live, continue or remain in a close, intimate relationship with God.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. – John 15: 9-12

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus,

What an honor and privilege to be your child. Thank you for loving me so much that you would put the Holy Spirit inside of me to lead, guide and direct my path. Help me to obey your commands and life a life of righteousness. Thank You Lord for abiding in me as I abide in you. Help me to have an abundant love for all people and to shine forth your love to all that I come in contact with. I love and adore You!

- Michelle Craig

1 John 2 - 10.9.25

SCRIPTURE: 1 John 2: 1-2; 9-11

S - 2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

O – First John was written to dispel doubts of who God is and to build assurance by presenting a clear picture of Christ. We know we have sinned, but Jesus has already suffered our penalty in our place. You can’t be tried for a case that is no longer on the docket.  Entering history, Jesus was and is God in the flesh and God in focus – seen, heard, and touched by the author of this letter, John the apostle. He was a first-hand witness as he walked, talked, and lived with Jesus. John wrote this letter to no particular church. It was a pastoral letter to several Gentile congregations explaining in simple and practical terms what it means to have fellowship with God. He is urging us to obey Christ fully and to love all the members of God’s family. He presents God as love – giving, dying, forgiving and blessing. God IS love and this truth should motivate us to live close to him. And we can be sure of our relationship with Him when our lives are filled with good deeds and love for others.

A – We are blinded when we look at others and think to ourselves, “Hey, I’m not as bad as all that. Sure, I sin, but they are just little sins. Look at what he/she is doing!”  I am guilty lately of seeing some things on social media that make me cringe…that make me question certain people’s love and commitment to Jesus. Or as Moses said in his comments yesterday, the things I see can also anger me to such a place of disgust and that is NOT love! It actually is just straight out sin. So yay, look at me LOL  God never told us to just love the loveable, to just pray for our fellow brothers and sisters, but to love the whole WORLD and to pray for our enemies. Our enemies are anyone who would lie and say that God doesn’t exist. Love is about self-sacrifice, selfless giving and loving even the difficult ones, perhaps especially them. We need to reach beyond friends to enemies and persecutors. Love should be the unifying force and the identifying mark of the Christian community. Boy does the world need to see us leave our mark right now more than ever! Love is the key to walking in the light, because we cannot grow spiritually while we hate others. Our growing relationship with God will result in growing relationships with each other and with the outside world who is watching us with eagle eyes during these dark times. And the truth is we ALL deserve the punishment of the cross. We need to picture ourselves up on that cross because that is where we should be, and then fall on our knees in gratitude to the one who freed us from such a horrible suffering.

P – Lord Jesus, forgive me for ever looking at someone else’s life choices and having judgmental thoughts and even disgust in my heart. That is not of you, that is not the person you have called me, or any of us to be to be as your children. Help me to be so filled with love for those who don’t know you, those who rebel against you, and those who flat out deny you. Help my life be a SHINING example of the love you have given me by living a holy life that shows my love, devotion and awe over what you have done for ME.

- Crystal Flory

1 John 1 - 10.8.25

Scripture: I John 1:8-9

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Observation

In this world, we are surrounded by sin - there are sinners everywhere. Including right here! We must be careful to not get caught up in noticing the sin in others and forget to examine ourselves. We must be careful to not deceive ourselves into thinking we are better or more worthy than others based on their sin. For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 

Application

If we are not careful, it is easy to judge others based on their lifestyle and choices. Instead of concerning myself with how others live, my new challenge to myself is to try to view everyone that I encounter as someone that Jesus loves and gave his life for. If Jesus loves them, then so should I. 

Romans 3:10 says, there is no one righteous, not even one. But the blood of Jesus purifies us from our sin. And that promise is available to all who believe. 

Prayer

God, thank you for reminding me of your great love. Your heart breaks for those that are lost because of your great love for them. You were willing to send your son as a sacrifice for me and for all those that have yet to come into relationship with you. Thank you for your promise of forgiveness. Fill me with eyes to see others as you see them and fill me with your love. 

- Debbie Dunn