Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: 2 Samuel 10; 1 John 4
Devotional Thought:
One of the greatest encouragements of scripture comes in this fourth chapter of John. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (vs. 4) We are commanded to try the spirits (false teachers), to test them and see if what they are saying is actually what God has said. There was a real problem of false teaching that was luring people away from the faith. They were being led into apostasy. Peter, Jude, and even John were writing to wake people up to the false teachers of the day. John commands his readers to try these individuals to see if they matched the character of God with their teaching. John uses love one more time to help the reader understand the importance of what he is saying. First, love for the brethren has been shown as proof of fellowship with God and is a matter of light and darkness (1 John 2:7-11); then it has been presented as proof of sonship and is presented as a matter of life and death (1 John 3:10-14). But here in 1 John 4:7-16, we get down to the very foundational matter of the Christian life. Here we discover why love is such an important part of the life that is real. Love is a valid test of our fellowship and our sonship because “God is love.” Love is part of the very being and nature of God. If we are united to God through faith in Christ, we share His nature. And since His nature is love, love is the test of the reality of our spiritual life. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. ” (vs. 7-8) As we try the spirits to see if they be of God, the number one way to distinguish truth from error, authentic from fake, and right from wrong is the love test. “Beloved if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” (vs. 11) We are naturally selfish in our flesh; therefore, we will act selfishly if we are not yielded to the control of the Holy Spirit. “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” (vs. 13) Those who claim to love God but demonstrate hatred or anger toward another brother is calling into question the authenticity of their faith in Christ. Christians have the ability to get along, solve problems, and live in unity because of the Spirit of God dwelling within us. When a person claims one thing with their lips and then demonstrates something contrary with their actions, they cause confusion to the cause of Christ and the testimony of His character. Bitter hatred has been a problem in families, churches, and Christian ministries that God says makes people wonder if those people are genuinely born again. Truly born again people will love, because it is part of their new nature in Christ.
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to live yielded to the Holy Spirit of God. Thank you for loving me and please help me to honestly demonstrate true love to those around me.
• Lord, thank you for the opportunity and privilege to show love in order to accurately show people who you are and what you are like.
• Lord, please help me to choose to love and surrender each person and situation to your control as I strive to love people properly.