Life and Love, Day 8 It matters what we love. Read 1 John 2:15-17. As we continue reading, John has just been explaining why he was writing the book to the people. Now he wants to explain the point of love. As a man who is so focused on the love of God and the love of Jesus, it may seem interesting to think about the fact that there are things that we should not love. John wants to be very clear, love is not meant for everything. Love is only meant for God. We are to demonstrate and display to God the love that we have for him. We…

Life and Love, Day 7 Hope. Read 1 John 2:12-14. We have hope because of Jesus. John is sharing with the people that he is writing to them for so many reasons. The main reason is because we have hope in Christ. If we have come to him, Christ has forgiven our sins and he has made a way for us to experience his grace and mercy. Because of him, we have hope. As we go through life today, we recognize that all we have is a result of our relationship with Christ. Are we sharing that with others, just as John was? We have a reason to hope because…

Life and Love, Day 6 Words matching actions. Read 1 John 2:7-11. Our attitude and actions must match. As we read 1 John we see just how focused on God’s love he really is. We are to be living out God’s love in every area of our life. But, we must make sure that our attitude toward ourselves and others matches up with God’s love. We are not to be claiming one thing and living out another. We are to be consistent in all that we do, and that consistency extends to our attitude as well. Are we keeping a Godly attitude toward others? Watch the video devotional here: https://youtu.be/t1l5cQ_Tf7g

Life and Love, Day 5 Complete Love. Read 1 John 2:3-6. Many people have desired to understand love. They want to have perfect love. They want to experience complete love. God gives the recipe for how to find that in these verses. If we obey God’s word as a follower of Christ, we experience complete love. Not just do we experience it, but it is made complete in us which means that is the love that we are demonstrating to others as well. You see, love is not just about what we experience. It is also about what we share with others. Are we seeking God’s love? Do we want…

Life and Love, Day 4 The advocate. Read 1 John 2:1-2. At one point, I worked handling employee relations investigations. While doing that, it was always amazing to me how many people would claim to have an attorney. They wanted to have someone intervene on their behalf into what we were discussing. The good news is that we all actually have an advocate who intervenes for us. Jesus Christ is the one who is able to approach us and also speak to God the Father on our behalf. He stands in the gap that was created by our sin. However, he will only do that for those who want him…

Life and Love, Day 3 We make the choice, he does the work. Read 1 John 1:8-10. Our key verse for today, 1 John 1:9 is a extremely popular verse in church circles. We see it used a lot. And the truth in that verse is profound! We see the promise that if we will come to God and confess the wrongs that we have done in our lives, God is the one who is faithful. He is the one who forgives our sin, and he is the one who cleanses us from the sin in our lives. When we understand this promise, we see that truly the work that…

Life and Love, Day 2 Christ is the life and he is the light. Read 1 John 1:5-7. There are many people who claim to be Christians. Depending upon the country you live in, it may be a commonplace thing to identify as a Christian and talk about your Christian values. However, if you are claiming to be a follower of Christ, then you should be living your life in the light. Christ is the light, and if we are living for him, we are to be living in the light. Our deeds, our actions, our attitude should all be reflective of something that we would consider light. To others…

Life and Love, Day 1 What are we seeking in life? Read 1 John 1:1-4. First John is a book that is written by the apostle, John. He went through an incredible transformation in his life. He began following Jesus being described as a “son of thunder,” and ended his life describing himself as “the one Jesus loved.” John became very familiar with the love of God. John knew that seeing God as love and understanding the love of God truly led to life. As we study through this book, we see here at the very beginning, eternal life is based on God alone. Eternal life is not defined as…