John is about to lay his pen down. The letter is almost over. Once more he will plea to those, who would read his letter, then and now, to know a relationship with the Son of God is possible, and true, and eternal . “And we know that the Son of God has come andContinue reading “It’s kind of a weird way to end…”
Tag Archives: 1 John
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it.
As John closes his letter, he says, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”Continue reading “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it.”
If you are going to study the Bible, don’t skip past the hard stuff.
Have you ever thought, some passages in the Bible are easier to read, and put into practice, in the day to day, than others? Sometimes, I’ll bump into something that causes me to scratch my head, pray, pull out extra commentaries, and dig deeper for understanding. I want to carefully listen to hear the HolyContinue reading “If you are going to study the Bible, don’t skip past the hard stuff.”
Do you need to remember God hears your prayers?
John is about to end his letter with a powerful punch of truths. John would have his readers remember the confidence they have in Christ, and the confidence they can have in prayer. When John wrote his letter, Christianity was spreading like wildfire, though it was far from easy to be a Christ-follower. False teachersContinue reading “Do you need to remember God hears your prayers?”
Beware—False Prophets abound
He calls himself a Pentecostal worship leader and has garnered loads of attention for a ridiculous tweet where he said, “Jesus was ChristBuddha was Christ.Muhammad was Christ.Christ is a word for the universe seeing itself.You are Christ.We are the body of Christ.” And the thing is, many who think themselves wise, who call themselves spiritual,Continue reading “Beware—False Prophets abound”
Is this world getting you DOWN??
I’m sure every generation of Christians has said it, but this world just seems hard, crazy, to be honest. I turn on the news, or get on social media, and I’m shocked by what I’m seeing. There seems to be an all-out assault on common sense and absolute truth. It is even now frowned uponContinue reading “Is this world getting you DOWN??”
So, how can we tell if someone truly loves God?
So how can we tell if someone truly loves God? John tells us they will love others and keep God’s commands. (1 John 4:20-5:3) And, he tells us, the keeping of God’s commandments won’t seem burdensome (5:3). We will have a holy “want-to”. And Jesus told us, “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” (RecordedContinue reading “So, how can we tell if someone truly loves God?”
Many believe in a Judgment Day, they just aren’t sure how they will end up being judged.
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. (1 John 4:17). Love has been perfected in Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, and only because of Jesus, those who have called on His Name for salvation, can have boldness in the day of judgment. I don’tContinue reading “Many believe in a Judgment Day, they just aren’t sure how they will end up being judged.”
No one has seen God at anytime, however….
No one has seen God at any any time. (1 John 4:12). No one. God even instructed Moses to hide his face in the cleft of the rock, because God knew Moses could only handle a brief glimpse of the glory of the Lord passing by. (Ex 33:19-23) God is so absolutely HOLY that noContinue reading “No one has seen God at anytime, however….”
May THIS never be said of me!
John has been talking about antichrists and testing everything and then, says, “Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God.” (1 John 4:7) It’s as if he is saying, regardless of all the other stuff, you still, absolutely, got to, always, no matter what, love one another because “everyone who loves isContinue reading “May THIS never be said of me!”
Are you susceptible to being deceived?
John has been talking about false prophets and antichrists, then he says, “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.” (1 John 4:4) That’s powerful truth. It’s one of my favorite, keep-you-going, verses. The Holy Spirit inside ofContinue reading “Are you susceptible to being deceived?”
The devil doesn’t care if you know a false Jesus.
“The devil doesn’t care at all if you know Jesus or love Jesus or pray to Jesus – as long as it is a false Jesus, a make-believe Jesus, a Jesus who is not there, and who therefore cannot save.” – David Guzik, Enduring Word App John says in his letter, “Beloved, do not believeContinue reading “The devil doesn’t care if you know a false Jesus.”
So many have misused this verse.
This verse. So many have misunderstood and misused it. I know as a young believer I did. “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” (1 John 3:22) For a long time, I thought if I just do what GodContinue reading “So many have misused this verse.”
Can I be okay if others aren’t okay with me?
John’s short letter is full of powerful truth. He has shared God-inspired wisdom about walking away from sin, forgiving others, and accepting God’s forgiveness so we might walk in freedom. John goes on to say, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God”;(1 John 3:21) While we know we can’tContinue reading “Can I be okay if others aren’t okay with me?”
Sometimes our hearts condemn us…
Sometimes our hearts condemn us, and our hearts are just flat-out wrong. John tells us in his letter, “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything”. (1 John 3:19-20) GodContinue reading “Sometimes our hearts condemn us…”
We shouldn’t be shocked when the world hates us as Christians, but….
John has explained the difference between those who are children of God and those who are not, and goes into great detail about the practice of righteousness and the practice of sin (see 1 John 3:4-10 and yesterday’s post about this). BUT THEN, John, inspired by God, adds a short, but tremendously important, phrase “norContinue reading “We shouldn’t be shocked when the world hates us as Christians, but….”
You can know if you’ve been saved or not.
God is not a god of confusion. I believe He wants to make Himself clear to us. He does not want any of us to be confused as to whether or not we have been saved. God used His servant John to help us know the difference. Let’s read his words: “Everyone who makes aContinue reading “You can know if you’ve been saved or not.”
So, are we all children of God?
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. (1 John 3:1) Stop a minute. Don’t just breeze past those words. Behold what God has done for those those who have been saved by the blood of His Son. God didn’t just save us, HeContinue reading “So, are we all children of God?”
These hard days may get harder, but….
It’s getting pretty tough to live in this lost world where so many deny Jesus is the Christ. They seem to reason ,” If I refuse to believe Jesus is the Christ, then he can’t be “boss” of me, I can reject his ways, and go my own way”. But they are lying to themselves.Continue reading “These hard days may get harder, but….”
There will always be things about God I don’t understand.
There will always be things about God that I don’t understand. Things I can’t explain. Right now, in my life, in the lives of those I know and love, there are hard things happening that just don’t make sense to me. I can’t write the devotional and tell you just how God is bringing beautyContinue reading “There will always be things about God I don’t understand.”
Kim Jaggers Ministry 