Saturday, June 20th

There are those out there who would seek to take advantage of generous people; those who do not truly need but for whatever reason beg or swindle.  I have been taken in by people like this before, and for a time, it made me less generous.  But I’ve come to think that as people of faith, our default position should be one of love and generosity, and we trust God to sort out the rest.  So let us be generous and loving in all things.

Friday, June 19th

One of the most supreme examples of love is to lay down our lives for another person. But rarely would we ever have an opportunity to literally give our life up to save another. So what can we do? How does John mean this verse? I think it’s a call to sacrifice our rights and the things we want in order to benefit others. Let us think of ways we can do that today and practically demonstrate the love of Christ to others.

Thursday, June 18th

John says that those who do not abide in love abide in death. Think about that – abide (that is live) in death. It’s been said that we become that which we surround ourselves with. When we allow negative emotions to take over in our lives, that has a damaging effect on our soul. One might even say, as John does, that it’s akin to living not in eternal life, but in death.

Wednesday, June 17th

John tells us that we should not be surprised that the world hates us. Sometimes that will definitely be the case, as standing for things that are right and good may not be popular. But it also doesn’t mean that we should hold up verses like this and then seek to be hated, as if that were a badge of honor for faithful living. Let us define ourselves not as being contrary to the values of the world but rather by the positive traits of God.

Tuesday, June 16th

The boys join me today for this devotional about jealousy. You can see I didn’t do a great job prepping them so that they gave the “right” answers, but I think this devotional still gives us a good reminder about the perils of jealousy.

Monday, June 15th

John tells us to love one another. Simple to say; far more complicated to do. So how do we follow this exhortation, when sometimes it can be hard even to like others, much less love them? Perhaps we should channel the advice of CS Lewis, who encouraged us to act as if we loved someone, and then do the things we would do if we did in fact love them, and trust that the emotions later will follow.

Sunday, June 14th

As humans, our natural tendency is to want to be around those who think like us, look like us, and act like us. But as Christians, part of our calling is to invite all those to the table to feast in fellowship with us – particularly those who may not think, look, or act like us. This diversity is critical because there are things God has revealed to others that God has not revealed to us, and we need one another in order to see all God is doing in humanity.

Saturday, June 13th

Can we be perfect in this life, because this section of John sure makes it sound like we’re supposed to be.  In today’s devotional, I explore the idea of perfection in this life and explain what John may mean, since it sure seems impossible to be perfect now.

Friday, June 12th

When I was a single man, I once hired someone to come clean my house, but before she got there, I realized there was a lot of cleaning I could do on my own and not pay her to do.  I needed her to help with the things I couldn’t do!  Not do the things I could!  So, I cleaned before the cleaning lady came over.  It may be a bad analogy, but since we will be remade to be pure when Christ is revealed, John tells us to be pure now – to strive to be like Jesus more and more, knowing that when we see Jesus, the total “cleaning” process will be made complete.

Thursday, June 11th

John makes this amazing claim:  that what we will be in Jesus has not been revealed yet, but that we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.  John is talking about the reality that when we see Jesus face-to-face on the new heavens and the new earth, we will be transformed to be like him.  And then we will be most ourselves, as we will see ourselves without sin and without blemish, as God originally intended us to be.

Wednesday, June 10th

Sometimes you may hear someone throw around the claim that “we’re all God’s children,” in a way that is meant to unite humanity, and give each person an added weight of dignity, but it often comes across as a way that demeans the title. After all, as the movie The Incredibles talks about, if everyone is special then, in a way, no one is.  But that’s not our reality!  Being a child of God is a very special adoption that has been bestowed on us in Jesus Christ, and with this adoption comes a whole new life.

Tuesday, June 9th

John writes that no one who denies the Son has the Father, and those who have the Son have the Father.  Jesus is so central to the Father that without Jesus, it’s impossible to know God.  But through Jesus, we have life eternal.

Monday, June 8th

We shouldn’t tolerate lies.  We don’t from our children, so we shouldn’t from our friends, our leaders, or even ourselves.  John says that lying is the spirit of the anti-Christ.  That’s how important truth is.  And the big truth that John cares about is who Jesus is:  the messiah, the Christ, the one who came from the father.

Sunday, June 7th

Today’s worship service will be led by Massanetta Springs as they have a pastor’s day of Sabbath rest.  I was hesitant to take this day for rest.  For some reason, it can be hard to practice Sabbath, and yet it’s so essential to the human creature to have this time of sabbath.  Not just to be inactive, but to rest in God.  Today, I’m going to try my best to do that, even though it can be difficult for me.  I hope you will too.

Saturday, June 6th

This one is a real struggle for me, because I tend to like all that glitters and shines.  I’ve explored, in my own life, all the reasons why this is, but ultimately the way through it, that I’ve found, is to remind myself that I have enough, but even more than that, because of God, I am enough.  I don’t need material things to add value to my life, or to have others esteem me higher.  In God, I am enough, and I have enough, because God is enough.

Friday, June 5th

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “blind spot.”  It means something that, for whatever reason, someone can’t see, but that others can.  There are blind spots to driving, but also blind spots to our lives.  We may be blind to the bad conduct of our children, seeing them as nothing but precious angels.  We may be blind to the foibles of elected officials with whom we agree.  But we can also walk in darkness, in sin, to the point that we cannot even see our own sin anymore.  And that’s dangerous.  That’s a place we do not want to be.  Ask God to open the eyes of your heart, that you may not walk in darkness but in light.