All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16. When I was a kid, I learned a song about the Bible at church that went like this, "The...
Continue ReadingDear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that...
Continue ReadingAnd this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 1 John 3:23 In her Pulitzer prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee wrote, "You never know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in...
Continue ReadingDear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 1 John 3:18 The Oxford Dictionary defines favoritism as "the practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the expense of another." As I read that definition, the...
Continue ReadingIf someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God's love be in that person? 1 John 3:17 Today, we often say the word "love" flippantly. One minute, we end a conversation on the phone saying "love you," the next, we say that...
Continue ReadingWe know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16 At the root of love, Scripture makes very clear, is sacrifice. You see, Jesus Himself said in John 15:13, "there is no greater love than to lay down...
Continue ReadingIf we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 1 John 3:14 If you have followed along with these daily devotions for a while, you know that when my niece, Collins, was born, my three-year-old...
Continue ReadingThis is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 1 John...
Continue ReadingThose who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them." John 14:31 The words "I love you" elicit a response, don't they? Whether they are said from a parent to a child...
Continue Reading"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 There is a reason why the Bible is often referred to as God's love letter to us. You see, the entire message of the Bible is that a perfect...
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