1 John 4:1-21
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First John chapter 4 verses 7 through 21 are incredible verses on LOVE! A fun Bible fact for you here - the word love appears 43 times in First John overall - and 32 times in the short section of 4:7 through 5:3. We're in the Christian love section here! :) Certainly verses 9 & 10 here are well worth each of us reflecting upon: "God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." Do you believe these verses to be true? Do these verses maybe remind you of a similar verse John wrote in his Gospel? John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." It is awesome that we have these verses to reflect upon - along with Daniel chapter 12 verse 2 above. See any ties between these verses from the Old & New Testaments regarding eternal life?
First John chapter 4 verse 1 starts us off with quite a warning today: "Dear 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." The interesting thing about this verse for me today is the implication to "see if the spirit they have comes from God." Meaning, that the spirit some have come from the opposite of God - the devil. A bit scary to think about this and realize this. But, it's true. There is good and evil in the world, and good and evil spirits influencing people. It's better if we realize this. It is a fallen world. Do you believe this verse to be true? Do you believe there is both good - and evil - in the world? Do you believe there are many false prophets in the world?
Worship Video: Today's readings in First John remind me of the Third Day song "You Are Mine:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o-JPkq5rvE
Are you His? Click here and hear Jesus say "You Are Mine!"
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." 1 John 4:20-21 (NIV)
Prayer Point: Pray that you love God. Pray that you do not hate your brother or sister. Pray that you love your brother and sister.
Comments from you - What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
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