We Cannot Hate Others and Love God

‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭I John‬ ‭4:20‭-‬21‬ [20] If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? [21] And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Could the Apostle have been any more straightforward than he was in these verses? Here is something to consider the next time we have the occasion to interact with a brother or sister we consider "difficult" or "unlikeable". Before we say anything or interact with them, let us ask ourselves, "Is my attitude, my tone, my words, and my actions toward this person truly reflecting my love for God?" When we have the opportunity to help a brother or sister by being a blessing and helping them with a need (as led by the Spirit), do we use the escape phrase, "I'll pray for you?" Or do we consider our love for God and allow Him to take us out of our comfort zone to sacrifice whatever necessary in order to show our love for both them and God? The bottom line is that God made it clear through John that we are lying if we say that we love God, but hate our brother or sister who was also made in the image of God, just as we were made in His image. God made Christianity simple. He said love God and love people. However, He also made Christianity impossible, as we can only truly love God in the power of the Holy Spirit. How do we get that power? Through accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord, and having an intimate relationship with Him. So if we truly want to love others as we should, we need to first truly love the One who loved us first; the One who proved that love on the Calvary's Cross.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Free from Fear

‭‭‭‭‭‭I John‬ ‭4:17‭-‬19‬ ‭[17] Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. [19] We love Him because He first loved us.

Fear is one of the most prevelent emotions we experience every single day. There is always a situation or circumstance that creates fear in our lives. Sometimes it's a preconceived notion we have because of something that was said or something we experienced in our life. Amazingly, there are 365 times in the Bible where God tells us to "fear not"; one for each day. The Apostle John reassures those of us who know Jesus as Savior and Lord that we need not fear. In this case we are not to fear the coming judgment. Why is it that we are not to fear? I'm glad you asked. We are not to fear because Jesus already paid the price for our sins. God's love for us has overcome the fear of death, eternal separation from God, and the judgment that is to come upon those who reject Jesus and live to do evil. There was a time, for many of us, when we were on the path to eternal comdemnation. The fear of death enslaved us. However, on the day that we believed that Jesus was who He said He was, and we believed that He died and rose again to pay for our sins; on that day sin, death, and the fear of judgment , were all defeated in our lives. It was on that day that we could truly say that we love God, because He first loved us. My friends, there is a day comimg that no one will escape. It is the day when we will all stand before God and give account for our lives. Are we ready? If we know Jesus as Savior and Lord, then we can face that day with boldness, knowing that we have been washed in the Blood of Christ, and it is His righteousness put upon us that has saved us and will save us on that day. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. Call on Him, before it's too late, and enjoy the freedom that comes with knowing that there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

His Abiding Love

‭‭‭‭I John‬ ‭4:12‭-‬16‬ ‭[12] No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. [13] By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. [14] And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. [15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. [16] And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Here is a truth that should bring great comfort and joy to everyone who knows, and has a personal relationship with, Jesus...the Holy Spirit has sealed us and indwells us. In other words, God is with us and our salvation is secure. The gift of eternal life we received when we believed and called on Jesus, by faith, is irrevocable. God's promise to never leave us, nor forsake us, is fulfilled in the fact that the Spirit is with us 24/7. Knowing this, how do we make it evident in this dark and lost world? Evidence of the Spirit's presence in our lives shines through when we love one another, as Jesus has loved us. It shines through when we boldly, but humbly, proclaim Jesus as Savior and Lord. As true born again believers we believe, acknowledge, and proclaim, the Good News of what the Father has done in sending His Son to pay our sin debt, and freely give us eternal life. When we stand firm in that belief, we can also stand firm in the fact that God loves us. It is THAT love that we share with others, and is the undeniable evidence that we abide in Him and He abides in us. My friends, what are we doing to shine forth the evidence of God's abiding love in our life?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Let Them See God

‭‭I John‬ ‭4:12‭ ‭[12] No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

How can we see God today? Over time God has shown evidence of His existence. He gave us a conscience with the ability to know the difference between right and wrong. That is evidence of God placed right in us as His creation. The Bible tells us that nature shows evidence of His existence. He revealed Himself in times of old through the prophets; and ultimately revealed Himself by His Son, Jesus, who is the only One to have ever seen the Father, and has declared Him to us (Heb 1:1-2; John 1:18). So how does the world get a glimpse of God today? John tells is that God is seen in the way that we love one another, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus told His disciples that the world would know they were His by the way they loved one another; and that is still true today. We must not take the love we are called to have for each other lightly. We claim to serve a God of love; yet, we often show the world that we do not love one another. It is a sad commentary for the church today. We must put aside the unnecessary bickering that is rooted in our pride and selfishness, and realize that we, as ambassadors of Jesus, must show forth God's presence in our lives by the way we live and love each other. It is said that the only Bible many will ever read is our lives, as born again followers of Jesus. Are we allowing Jesus to increase in our lives, as we decrease, so that others see more of Him and less of us? Only then, when we truly love one another, will this dark world see God in us and through us. Let us love as we should, and let them see God.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Love, Not Lip Service

I John‬ ‭4:7‭-‬11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ [7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. [8] He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [9] In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. [10] 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. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Can we say that we love God if we aren't loving others? John tells us that if we do not love, we do not know God. Why is that? Simply because God IS love. Love is not just an attribute of God; God IS love. How did He prove His love, and that He is love? He proved it on the cruel cross that He allowed Himself to be nailed to. He proved it when He poured His own wrath, for our sins, upon Himself; when He became flesh and dwelt among us. God the Son came to show us that He is love, by laying down His life for us. He rose again, and now offers us eternal life freely because He paid the price. He calls us to love one another, as He has loved us. That being said, let us be reminded that loving one another isn't just saying, "Love you, brother/sister." No, loving one another is about demonstrating it with our actions, with our attitudes, and with our lives. Loving others, as God loved us, is about taking up our cross daily and putting the needs of others before our own, as God leads. It means that we are willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others. The best way to do that is to cast our cares and burdens upon the One who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7); thereby being free to take up the burdens of others (Galatians 6:2). Let us not love with lip service. Instead, let us love with service to God and others.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Know, Recognize, and Speak

I John 4:4-6 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" The truth is that not everyone who is religious is a born again follower of Jesus. There are many who proclaim the Name of Jesus who are really not His. Those who follow them are of the world, just as they are of the world. They use the Name of Jesus for their own profit and gain, but just like the devils, they believe there is a God, but there is no true faith in God. They merely have a head knowledge of Him. There are many who proclaim to be teachers of the Bible, but their teaching is strictly academic and not rooted in a genuinely born again relationship with the Lord. In John 3:3 we are told, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" If we who are born again followers of Jesus are also genuine students of God's Word, we will not be sucked in by the worldly teachings of false teachers, and antichrists. We have the Spirit of God indwelling us and guiding us. We have access, through Christ, to the Throne Room of God. This means that if we are praying and diligently studying the Word, we will not be deceived. Those who do not know Jesus will always show themselves because they will gladly hear us when we speak of God, but will be immediately offended when we speak the Name of Jesus. We must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves in a world filled with wolves dressed in sheeps' clothing. My friends, when we do encounter those who ignorantly follow false teachings, and we recognize that they truly do not know Jesus; we need not engage in worthless arguments. Instead, let us lovingly share the life changing Good News of Jesus, and pray that the Lord will open their hearts to the truth. Our pride may drive us to win an argument, but in the end we may also drive someone away from accepting Christ; and that is a victory we do not want to give account for when we go before our Lord. We must know the Word, recognize falsehood, and do all we can to speak the truth in the midst of this generation that is increasingly perverting God's truth.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Sober and Vigilant Testers

I John 4:1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Did you know that the devil knows the Word of God? In the Gospels we read that Satan attempted to use God's Word to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. If you read those passages, you'll see that Satan quoted God's Word, but took it out of context; thereby twisting Scripture. Did you know that there are many out there doing the same thing today? Yes, even many of those very popular radio, internet, and television preachers that so many people follow blindly. They are twisting the Bible for their own benefit. We are warned over and over that there are false teachers out there, and in our midst. Yet, so many "Christians" still end up following these perverters of God's Holy Word. Sadly, these false teachers end up with great followings because more and more people want to hear messages that tickle their ears. They want to hear messages that make them feel good; and do not want to hear messages that convict us of sin, or that rebuke us for our lack of love for God and each other. Too many want to hear messages about how God will prosper them and give them all their selfish desires. God forbid we should hear the truth about who Jesus really is, or hear messages about loving God, and sacrificing for His Kingdom and the wellbeing of others. We don't want to hear messages about Jesus not just being our Savior, but also being our Lord. That kind of message makes us accountable to the Lord; and therefore, we are accountable for living in obedience to His Word, witnessing to the lost, and making disciples. We become accountable in respect to our words, action, deeds, and how we represent Jesus. It's far more palatable to hear "feel good messages" that promise peace and prosperity, without accountability; so that we can continue living our idolatrous lives, and continue our everyday romance with the world and all it offers. My friends, listen closely. Not every message we hear, and not every proclamation and promise we hear comes from God. We are instructed to test what we hear. What do we measure it with? That's an easy answer...the Word of God. However, that means that we have to actually take the time to read it, study it, and most importantly...pray. If we want to know what spirit is speaking to us, then we have to rely on God's Spirit who indwells us and seals us. Let us not be lazy followers of Jesus. Let us be diligent to test the spirits. I guarantee you that if we do, we will be surprised by just how many antichrists are out there. We must not allow ourselves to be easily deceived. Instead, let us be sober and vigilant spirit testers.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Do We Prepare?

I John 3:22-24 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 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.

The Word of God tells us to pray without ceasing. We are to be mindful of the Lord's presence in our lives every moment of the day. However, there are those times, or at least should be, when we have a set time to get alone with our God, in Christ Jesus. A time of being still before Him, taking time to talk to Him and be in His Word; so that we can hear from Him, draw near to Him, and seek His direction for our lives. Sadly, far too many of us approach our time of prayer as if God is our personal genie in a bottle or our good luck charm who is here to grant our every wish; and get onboard with our plan, for our lives. We don't stop to ask ourselves if we are truly seeking Him and His will, or if we are even living right before Him. This is not going to be an exhaustive devotional on prayer. Today, I would like us to see what John is saying about a particular aspect of having our prayers answered. Are we living for God, obeying His commands, and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ? If we are not, then there is going to be a bit of an obstacle between our requests and God's response. We may continue to hear, "no", or feel like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and going nowhere, until we realize that we are carelessly coming before our holy and righteous God with hearts that are not right with Him; and relationships with the brethren that are broken and do not honor the Lord. I encourage each of us to stop and truly consider whose throne it is we are going before. Then, seriously ponder whether we are loving God, seeking Him and His will (not our own), and loving our brethren as we should; before we start presenting our laundry list of requests. In other words, do we prepare to meet with God, before we meet with God?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).