Every Day Devotion

1 John 2:12 [12] I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. (ESV) Family is a powerful word. To some of us the word family is a word that brings thoughts of comfort, support, encouragement and joy.  To others the word family is almost a foreign word.  It is something that we may long for but have never experienced in a positive way.  The wonderful truth is that no matter what your earthly family experience you can belong to God's family.  The benefits are amazing. John writes that he is writing to those whom he calls little children.  They are clearly children of God, because their sins are forgiven.  The Greek word that John uses in this verse refers to children of any age, even though he uses the term "little children." The term little children is a more affectionate term.  Those who are in God's family experience his wonderful love.  It is an intimate relationship that we have with God the ...

1 John 2:11 [11] But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (ESV) The other day I had my eyes examined.  The eye doctor had a bunch of normal questions that she asks every patient.  One of them was, "Do you have any problems with night vision."  I responded that I did not.  And by my answer I meant that I do not have any more problems with night vision than anyone else would.  The fact is we all struggle with night vision. The darker it is the harder it is to see.  I am no scientist, but I think you can agree with me on this one.  Most of us do not encounter real darkness.  Total absence of light is not something that we get very close to.  We may turn out the lights and go to bed yet still have star/moonlight outside of our window giving some light. If we had to live in complete darkness it would be extremely difficult to ...

1 John 2:10 [10] Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. (ESV) We are living in very tense times.  Several days ago the Press Secretary for the President of the United States went to the Red Hen, a restaurant, with her family for dinner. Instead of being able to enjoy dinner with her family, the owner of the restaurant told her that she and her entire family were not welcome in the restaurant because she worked for the President.  One reporter writes the following: "The owner of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia missed a prime opportunity to live out the framed words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that are on display in the restaurant's window: "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." - Lauren Green, www.foxnews.com I raise this story for one reason.  It is one thing to say that you believe in the force of loving your enemy.  It is quite another thing to accompl...

1 John 2:9 [9] Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. (ESV) I always find it interesting when people suggest that America is a Christian nation.  Don't get me wrong.  I am very thankful for the foundation of this country.  Biblical principles can be seen influencing the founding fathers and the writing of the Declaration of Independence and also our Constitution.  But, here we are in 1 John and are confronted with a harsh reality.  You are not Christian if you hate your brother!  Sadly, our nation displays a lot of hatred. It seems that we have bought into the lie that it is ok to hate certain people.  If people have hurt us, we have a right to hate them.  And there are lists of people that have committed such heinous crimes that we absolutely have a right to hate them.  Murderers, child molesters, communist dictators, and anyone who disagrees with our perfect opinions! John would have remembered...

1 John 2:8 [8] At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (ESV) It is interesting that the false teachers that had infiltrated the church claimed to have "new" and "special" knowledge.   Their so-called new teaching was age old lies from the enemy that denied the deity of Christ and negated their need to love their neighbor which had long been taught in the Scriptures in the Old Testament. John reminds the church that the teaching that would be new would actually be the old commandment with a new look.  Let's look at this a little more closely.  In the Old Testament Law the Jews were commanded to love their neighbor.  But, their practice of loving their neighbor tended to only involve loving those whom they felt like loving, while ignoring others.  In Jesus, we find a new understanding of love, both in what he taught ...

1 John 2:7 [7] Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. (ESV) The Apostle John is writing this letter to a church that was infiltrated by false teachers who were teaching that they had "new knowledge" that was superior to the Gospel taught by John.  This so-called new knowledge taught that the spirit was everything and the body did not matter.  Therefore, they felt that they did not need to worry about how they acted in their body toward one another.  But, John reminds believers that a commandment to love one another is an old commandment that has not been discarded. The Christian faith is all about what Christ has accomplished for us by his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus' perfect life included completely fulfilling the Old Testament Law. Remember, that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.  Part of the Law that the Apost...

1 John 2:6 [6] whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (ESV) Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not always easy.  The ones who truly know Him know that being identified with Jesus can attract persecution.  Not everyone is thrilled to know that you belong to the Savior.  Not everyone enjoys being around you when your lifestyle is so very different from the world.  Those who belong to the world feel conspicuous when they around you.  And this is not because you are trying to make them feel conspicuous, but when darkness is around light it is exposed. John tells us that those who say that they abide in Christ ought to walk in the same way that Jesus walked.  How are you walking?  We are going to look at just two of the characteristics of a walk that looks the same as a Jesus walk.  The Apostle Paul is going to help us with the two characteristics.  Take a look at how he describes the Savior in Phi...