In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

I am writing to you who are God’s children

because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.

13I am writing to you who are mature in the faith

because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.

I am writing to you who are young in the faith

because you have won your battle with the evil one.

14I have written to you who are God’s children

because you know the Father.

I have written to you who are mature in the faith

because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.

I have written to you who are young in the faith

because you are strong.

God’s word lives in your hearts,

and you have won your battle with the evil one. 1 JOHN 2:12-14

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:Your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake, a foundational truth for all believers.

MY THOUGHTS: I have been in this meditational space lately where I am captured by the thought of how much God loves us and why that love is so solid. Jesus avidly desires the salvation of every man and woman on the planet, because that is who HE is. HE is the Savior of the world. That is HIS name and HE will not deny HIS identity. We are forgiven because HE is a the FORGIVER OF SINS. HE is true to HIS name in a way we have never been true to our own names. The trick in our Christianity is to become like CHRIST and to become as true to the name HE has given us as HE is to HIS own name.

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

Beloved, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This commandment is the message you have heard. 8Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.

9If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:Walking in love is walking in the light; hatred keeps you in darkness, stumbling aimlessly.

MY THOUGHTS: I feel like most of the world is stumbling around aimlessly. We are now in a time when so many are saying, “Love is hate and hate is love.”

That is mostly Because in this world we are not working with an accurate definition of love. Paul the Apostle gives us God’s definition in 1 Corinthians 13.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails.

If it’s not patient, it’s not love.

If it’s not kind, it’s not love.

If it is jealous because it feels insecure in itself, it’s not love.

If it calls attention to itself, it’s not love.

If it is based in self promotion or protection, it’s not love.

If it steals honor from others, it is not love.

If it is about you, it’s not love.

If it is based in an angry attitude, it’s not love.

If it calls up the negative past, it’s not love.

If it is attracted to or motivated by sinful behavior or thinking, it’s not love.

If it denies the truth of Scripture to have its own way, it’s not love.

If it protects self over the needs of the one supposedly loved, it’s not love.

If it doesn’t trust the person to be who they are and can’t love them as they are, it’s not love.

If it doesn’t keep God’s future plans in mind, it’s not love.

If it gives up, it’s not love.

If it’s not all those things together, it’s not love.

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God^[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 1 JOHN 2:3-6

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:Holiness is an unmistakable byproduct of God’s grace in your life.

MY THOUGHTS: Holiness comes from salvation not vice versa. I am shocked by how much I have changed over the course of my life. I am equally shocked by how much more I see needs to be changed as I move forward into the future. When I was a young Christian man I thought I truly knew myself . I truly thought I knew what in me needed changing. The longer I have lived in Christ the more I have seen of myself that God would change. Life experience and Life with Jesus has shown me things in my deepest heart that needed changing. Many of these things I wasn’t even aware were a part of me way back when I was a young man. They were there, but they were hidden… asleep until life circumstances brought them to the surface.

Yet here is something else I have learned. Jesus is still the remedy for all my sin of thought, word, and deed. His mercies are new every morning!