So how do I not love the world, and not fall for false teachers, and not fear things like the antichrists?

I read my Bible.

”Therefore, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 John 2:24-25)

Do you remember? Do I? What did we hear from the beginning?

We heard the gospel.

We were dead in our sins, going our own way, when we stepped from death to life as we believed the message of the gospel.

We believe, and we keep believing. The Word which we heard at the beginning is meant to live daily in us. We don’t need a new thing. We need to nurture the first thing—our first love.

Jesus.

Jesus is called the Word. And Jesus (the Word) lives (abides) in His children.

He is the Spirit of Truth

But, we can quench this Spirt by sin and by distraction.

Just like Martha, we can be worried about many things and forget to nurture the first best thing.(Luke 10:38-42).

My heart is prone to wander, Lord I feel it. I fight distraction from the moment my eyes pop open in the morning.

Some days, I don’t feel like reading my Bible. Some days I don’t feel all I know to be true about God. Some days my devotion requires discipline to set myself down and deliberately take in truth so I can keep remembering the hope I have.

I feel like I need to say this to encourage some of you —everyday is not a hallelujah, “all-the-feels”, Jesus feels close moment.

Some days I read and I’m not sure why I read what I read. But, eventually, I can tell you with all honesty, God uses everything I read in my Bible.

And I can also tell you, that eventually, those “all-the feels”, down on my face, fears-fleeing, raising my hands days, do come again. Oh, they are never every day, but they sure are sweet when they happen.

And so, I’ll abide and I’ll keep abiding so that I can remember what I heard from the beginning, refute those who try to confuse me, and walk in freedom, peace and truth.

whataSavior

Kimjaggers.com

read1John

Note – this is a continuation of my study of 1 John.