Burunche’s Blog

2 John 1:1 “The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I alone, but also all who know the truth— because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, will be with us in truth and love.

I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father has commanded us.And now I urge you, dear lady—not as a new commandment to you, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love.”

How many of us have ever belonged to any kind of an exclusive club or society? How many of us view ourselves as being just a little bit more special and a little bit more enlightened than the next fellow? The temptation to snobbery is very real. One of the ways the occult hooks people is by preying on their intellectual pride. Sometimes people refer to “the wisdom of the centuries” without stopping to think that wisdom can be both light and dark!

Things got off to a great start with the early church…..but there are no gardens of Eden without snakes! And Christianity was born in a time when there were already all kinds of gods and philosophies of various sorts. St. Paul, when speaking to the Greeks in Athens, observed that the Greeks were “very religious.” Paul was referring to the huge number of altars and temples of various kinds that dotted the city of Athens. But most other places were the same. Helping the early believers sort out truth from appealing fiction was a full – time job and not an easy one.

One of the groups that was particularly appealing to highly educated Christians was a group referred to as “Gnostics.” The term Gnosticism is a Greek word that refers to those who have special knowledge. Gnosticism was not an organized religion or philosophy, but the term rather refered to a group of teachings that distorted Christianity by trying to merge it with current philosophies. John Dummelow in his Commentary explains it this way: “ this (John’s Epistles) contained three warnings against the dangers of the time. These dangers resulted from the great main problem which lay at the foundation of all Oriental religions—the relation of finite man to the infinite God. How could that chasm be crossed? how had it been crossed in the work of creation? how were spirit and matter related? how did evil enter the world, and what was evil? Almost all early thinkers were driven by these questions into some form of Dualism. There were, they must believe, two Powers in conflict. Since spirit was the higher, matter was evil; it was the work of the inferior god. The material, the natural, was therefore to be fought against; the spiritual man could have nothing to do with it. Indeed, so far as he was truly spiritual, he was already freed from and above it. Hebrew religion, in its moments of clearest insight, set itself against this Dualism. The creation, it declared, was not the work of an inferior deity or deities, but both worlds, those of spirit and matter, were called into being by one and the same infinite God. When teaching about Jesus, these false teachers refused to accept the fact that Jesus was a perfect sinless man and instead had various explanations, none of which would fully acknowledge Jesus as both the Son of God and Son of Man. (For a much more lengthy discussion, check out “Gnosticism” on Wickepedia.)

Why was this teaching so dangerous? Jesus Himself taught that “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) Carried to their logical conclusions, any form of gnosticism would ultimately deny the deity of Christ or His position as both Son of God and Son of Man. And this kind of thinking could in turn cause people to either become caught up with fasting and denying the flesh and pursuing a works – based kind of salvation, or they could turn in the opposite direction and go completely into gross immorality, using this philosophy as an excuse.

Technology may have advanced but human nature remains the same. Many of us want to work out our own philosophies or our own means of salvation. But Paul, that Jewish scholar was right when he said, ” There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:22-24 Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and the Son of God, came and laid down His life as a blood sacrifice for our sins because nothing less would pay that price. And John, who was closer to Jesus than any of the other disciples, was an eyewitness to this.

Don’t fall for the lure of secret rituals or incatations! God is a God of light and truth. Anything that takes you away from the light of God is evil and deadly!

PRAYER: Father God, help everyone who reads this devotional to seek Your truth. Speak to our hearts and give us Your light. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 5:18-21 “We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

The first time I read these verses, I was really confused! Yes, I had prayed to God, confessing that I was a sinner and that I needed salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. But now it appeared that the Apostle John was setting an impossible standard! I was honest enough to realize that the second I opened my mouth, I was likely to sin by saying something unkind. And driving in traffic was another problem. Then there were my relationships with fellow workers. All I could think of was “how am I supposed to keep from sinning? I mess up constantly!”

Pastor John Piper has described the discussion John gives here as a balancing act. Piper puts it this way: “1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins” — he doesn’t specify any particular kind — “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So that’s a very sweeping and glorious and wonderful and precious promise. If you can confess your sin authentically, agree with God that it is sin and that it stinks, hate it, turn from it, and fight against it, you will be forgiven.”

WHEW! What a relief! As children of God, we are to turn away from sin whenever possible; however, as imperfect human beings, we know that sooner or later, we will sin. God is promising to forgive us! How wonderful! But in addition, God also is promising to give us understanding so that we can know “Him who is true.” God is promising to help us so that we can know Him; in addition, God is promising us eternal life.

Why should we care about God forgiving us and helping us? Well, how many people addicted to alcohol, to tobacco, to drugs, to gambling, or to over-spending have found it nearly impossible to get free from their addictions? All of such things are idols. Anything that controls us has become an idol in our lives. Nothing is simple, and all of us need help from Someone stronger and better than we are. And here is the Everlasting God, our Heavenly Father who loves us offering to help us! That’s an unbeatable opportunity!

PRAYER: Father God, thank you so much for your promises! Thank you that if we confess our sins, you will forgive us. Thank you that you have promised to help us and to guide us and that you have promised eternal life to all who believe in you. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

1 John 5:16- 17 “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin. All unrighteousness is sin, yet there is sin that does not lead to death.”

For years, Bible scholars have argued over the meaning of this passage. At times, churches have issued lists of mortal sins and have tried to qualify sins in various ways. What is the sin that leads to death?

Pastor John Piper (https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-the-sin-not-leading-to-death-in-1-john-5) has an excellent answer to this problem. Here is one of his key statements: The sin that does not lead to death (that is, eternal death or damnation — which is what I think John means) is any sin that we commit that we are, by grace, capable of truly confessing and repenting from. 

Piper continues, “The reason I put it like that is because of what 1 John 1:9 says and what Hebrews 12:16 says. So 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins” — he doesn’t specify any particular kind — “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So that’s a very sweeping and glorious and wonderful and precious promise. If you can confess your sin authentically, agree with God that it is sin and that it stinks, hate it, turn from it, and fight against it, you will be forgiven.

However, Hebrews 12:16–17, when talking about Esau and what happened to him, says “[See] that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”

When it says he sought it, it means he sought repentance. He couldn’t find it. He was no longer capable of repenting. It’s not that he repented and repented and cried over his repentance, and God wouldn’t forgive him. No, no, no. He could not repent. He had sinned to a depth or a degree that God had given him up.

That’s what I think Jesus meant by the unforgivable sin. It’s not a particular sin, like some particular ugly act, but a particular depth or degree or aggravation or persistence in sin to the point where authentic confession and repentance have become impossible.“

Repeat any behavior for a few weeks and it will become a habit. And once formed, habits are terribly difficult to break or to change. Each of us is choosing for better or for worse, for good or for evil, each time we make any choice whatsoever. We can eat healthy food or junk food. We can exercise or zone out in front of the television or on cell phones. In the same way, we can choose to respond in anger and hatred and resentment, or we can love and forgive. One saying has it that “Love is an act of endless forgiveness.” Today what will you choose?

PRAYER: Father God, help us to make right choices. Help us to follow hard after you all the days of our lives. And help us to quickly confess and seek forgiveness. Thank you for loving us, for caring us, and for promising to forgive if we confess our sins. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 5:13 – 15 “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.”

2020 has been the year of COVID and things have been terrible in many parts of the world! Sometimes the measures taken against COVID have seemed far worse than the actual disease itself. Yes, people have died from COVID and some have developed long – term health problems. COVID is real. But many more have lost businesses and educational opportunities. For working parents who have depended on the schools caring for their children for most of the workday, the COVID restrictions have become a nightmare. For workers who must receive a daily wage or see their families starve, COVID restrictions have created havoc. Some families in various countries have even committed suicide rather than slowly starve.

Although it might be tempting to criticize those who were tasked with advising governments regarding COVID measures, we must remember that the situation was an ongoing and ever – developing and changing one. Even now, we are still learning more about how the COVID virus operates and the simple measures that might help protect us. Nothing is easy, and health policy makers have had a difficult time! By this point, it has become difficult to know whose word to trust. Even internationally recognized sources have found themselves changing and revising their stances in key areas.

All of us are aging and all of us one day will die, whether we die from COVID or from something else. But the question is this: what happens after we die? The God of the Bible tells us that if we believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, we will have eternal life, and that this will be a wonderful thing. WE CAN TRUST THE GOD OF THE BIBLE!

Many times, we pray and then wonder if God has really heard our prayers. Does God really care, or is He sitting someplace watching Netflix? The answer is absolutely yes! God does care and God hears every prayer that we pray. There is a series of photos being posted as a single unit on Facebook showing children have temper tantrums after they don’t get their own way and the reason the parents refused. These children were generally demanding something that would be hurtful, dangerous, or impossible. No caring parent would have honored these requests.

Just as good parents refuse to give their children everything they ask for, so God as a good Parent does the same thing. God hears our prayers, and if we are asking something that lines up with His perfect Will, then He will grant our requests. But we also need to realize that God’s timing is perfect. There is a meme that reads, “God, give me patience and give it to me RIGHT NOW!” For obvious reasons, some positive answers to prayer must be delayed until the timing is right. Perhaps you are praying for a different job. Only God knows when and where that job will open up. Trust Him.

“And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.” One of the problems with divine answers is that sometimes they come disguised as problems. Perhaps you want to lose weight and others have been urging you to walk or run; meanwhile, you have a bad knee. But if you will do non – weight bearing exercises such as swinming or cycling, you can take the stress of your knee, improve your cardiovascular system, and lose weight all at the same time. Who knows? You might become the Senior Cycling Champion for your state!

There is one prayer that never fails. It is the prayer Jesus prayed the night before He was crucified. It is very simple. “Lord, not my will, but Your Will be done.” If we ask God to have His Kingdom come and His Will be done in our lives, God will move and do far more than we can possibly imagine. Try it! What do you have to lose?

PRAYER: Father God, let Your Kingdom fully come and Your perfect Will be fully done in our lives. We ask this in the precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 5:9- 12 “Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son. And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

“Oh, if only God would speak to me!” It was 1978 and I was in a prayer meeting in Charleston, WV. Throughout the meeting, people had been sharing things that God had shown them while they were praying. Group members were using phrases such as “God showed me” or “God told me.” Now, these people were not trying to lie. As they were having private devotions throughout the previous week, the Holy Spirit was quietly bringing things into their minds and hearts. In a very real sense, God had told them things. But one group member – call her Linda, although that was not her real name – thought that all of us were hearing audible voices from God! This lady was legally blind and had to wear very thick glasses to see. Despite her visual problems, Linda held down a responsible job in downtown Charleston. Linda’s morning commute involved taking two different buses and making sure that she got off at the right stops each time; in other words, Linda was exhibiting more faith than most of the rest of us twice a day when she commuted to and from work! It took a considerable amount of time and explanation for Linda to grasp the fact that God was actually directing her each day as well and that God was not ignoring her.

We are in an election year and throughout the world, politicians are criticizing the opposition and declaring the wonders their parties have performed or are going to perform. It’s most unfortunate that so many campaign promises are mere puffery, something said to entice voters. Countries are littered with half – completed projects that were begun before the elections four years ago and still that still lack finishing touches to make them functional. After awhile, voters become confused. One cynic has remarked that we know when politicians are lying because their lips are moving!

The question is this: Is God a liar? What does God say about Himself? In Numbers 23:19, Balaam the seer gives a message to Balak, the King of Midian, who hoped Balaam would curse the Israelites for him. “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”

St. Paul says in Romans 3:3-4 “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”

WHAT GOOD IS A GOD WHO LIES? Why worship an imperfect God? If you worship an imperfect being, sooner or later, whatever or whomever you worship will disappoint you. But the God whose Word is written in the Bible is perfect, without any failings of any kind. He is unchanging, all – powerful, all – knowing, always kind and loving. God is not a politician; His Word is true and settled forever.

Psalm 119:89- 91: “Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; You established the earth, and it endures. Your ordinances stand to this day, for all things are servants to You.”

Yes, there are times when many of us wish that God would simply speak to us in an audible voice. But the point John is making here is that God has done better than simply speak to people; He has sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for the sins of all mankind and then to be resurrected and taken up into heaven. And these events were witnessed by hundreds of people. Not only that, but since the time when Jesus walked this earth, those who have believed in Him have testified to the truth of His life, death, and resurrection and to the hope they have found in Him.

“And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” We stand on the brink of eternity, making decisions that will determine where we will spend the rest of eternity after we die. Should we trust earthly rulers who will die just as we will? Should we trust religions without the promise of eternal life? Or should we trust the One True Living God whose words are faithful and true?

PRAYER: Father God, help all who read this to put their trust in You. Send Your Holy Spirit into all of our hearts, that we might completely follow you and acknowledge you as our Lord. We thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins. Help us to believe in your Word and to believe in Jesus and what He has done for us. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 5:5 – 8 “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”

Nothing in Jesus’s life was ever wasted or unnecessary. Even though we have very few details about Jesus’s life between the time He was in the temple at age thirteen and the time He began His ministry, we can rest assured that God was using those silent years to prepare Jesus for three years of intense activity. During those three years, Jesus discipled many who would later go and change the world. At the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, He went to His cousin, John the Baptist, who was baptizing at one of the fords of the Jordan River.

Matthew describes the scene in Matthew 3:13 – 17 “At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” “Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him. As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened,d and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”

Why did Jesus have to be baptized? Couldn’t God have sent the Holy Spirit in some other form? John was baptizing people as a sign that they had repented of their sins and were dying to sin and starting new lives of righteousness. Jesus submitted Himself to baptism as an act of obedience to His Heavenly Father and as a sign to believers that we must die to sin before we can begin a new spiritual life. It is the water of baptism that is referred to in 1 John 5:6. The blood referred to is the blood Jesus shed on the cross at Calvary when He died for the sins of the world. The Spirit referred to is the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Jesus when John baptized Him.

Here John is emphasizing that there are three reliable witnesses in heaven and three reliable witnesses on earth. Why three witnesses? The Biblical principle of witnesses was established in Deuteronomy 19:15 “A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Throughout the rest of the Bible, people are constantly called upon to act as witnesses. Three witnesses was considered a minimum if a man was to be sentenced to death. There are three heavenly witnesses and three earthly witnesses – twice as many as might be needed. But since Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of Man, it is fitting to have witnesses from both heaven and earth.

God is never going to contradict Himself. Some Christians want to neglect studying the Old Testament, forgetting that this was all the Bible that Jesus had. Throughout the Old Testament, God was trying to prepare mankind for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. But even when Jesus came and fulfilled innumerable prophecies, many religious leaders attempted to argue rather than asking God for guidance and enlightenment.

The testimonies are sure and God’s Word is certain. God’s Word is settled in heaven forever. The question for us is simple: will we believe?

PRAYER: Father God, we believe. Help our unbelief! Open our eyes that we might see what You are trying to teach us. And help all who read this experience Your unfailing love. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 5:1 – 4 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.”

There he goes again! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! What is WITH this John character anyway? Why does he keep hammering on these same points? Hasn’t he made things clear already? Well, evidently John doesn’t think so.

Any experienced pastor can tell you of church members with personalities so toxic that entire families have left and joined other churches to avoid repeated confrontations.

Not everyone claiming to be a Christian actually is one. It’s likely that even in the early church, John was already encountering similar problems, hence the need to teach about love.

In an earlier age, we used to watch programs about Superman, a hero who was “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!” Part of the fascination of the program was the idea of someone with super powers. Most of us feel that on a good day, we might trip over our feet! So WHY is John insisting on setting such lofty goals?

News flash: by ourselves, NONE of us is a loving person. It takes the power of God working in our hearts to change us. And in the beginning when we first open our hearts to God, our capacity to love is miniscule. But the longer we go on with God, the more He stretches us and makes us over into His Likeness. God will do what we cannot do for ourselves, if we will only let Him.

Is this process simple? Yes. Is this process easy? No! We want our own way and we are determined to get it, no matter what! But the more we study God’s Word and the more we learn about God’s Son, Jesus, the easier it is for God to change us. In the beginning, our hearts are like rocks. But as God continues to pour his love into our hearts, we change and become more like Him.

The biggest leap of faith we must take is in the beginning when we choose to trust that God is real. Hebrews 11:6 says, “ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

“But I don’t have faith!” you say. “How am I supposed to get faith?” Here is one of the many wonderful things about God. If you will pray and ask God to help you to trust Him and to believe in Him, He will help you. And once you begin to trust, God will give you more proofs of His love and his faithfulness. And the faith you gain in this

fashion will protect you against the onslaughts of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

PRAYER: Father God, please give us the faith to trust you and to believe that you are a good Father who will give us the ability to love you and to love those around us. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins. Lord, come into our hearts and change us s that we will be like You, loving those around us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 4:18-21 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.

Isn’t that a weird photo to use for a lesson on love? A small branch breaking off from a larger one, exposing a hollow spot in the process. But ask yourself this: why did the branch break off in the first place? If the branches had been perfectly united, would this smaller branch have broken off? And why is there a hollow space inside?

Many of us have come from families where love was completely conditional: You do this, you achieve this, you become this, and I will love you. But if you don’t live up to my expectations, then you are not worthy of love and I am free to break off relationships with you. These relationships are not based on love but on fear of punishment or rejection. Sometimes parents adapt the “You got an A when you should have had an A+” approach, leaving children to feel that there is no hope of ever pleasing their parents and leaving them feeling hollow inside.

Sadly, this process can even begin when children are infants. An emotionally healthy mother will begin cooing at her baby, who will then respond. As the interchange continues, the mother and baby keep increasing their responses until finally the mother hugs the baby and continues her routine chores. But a severely depressed mother does not have the emotional energy to sustain such an interchange. Instead, a depressed mother may interact once or twice with her infant but then stop. If the baby attempts to get the mother’s attention again, the mother will turn away. After awhile, the baby will learn that interactions with its mother are painful and will cry whenever the mother is around. Rather than realizing that the problem lies with the mother herself, a depressed mother will blame the infant and even label the infant as a “touch me not” baby. Little wonder if later in life such a child will find social situations difficult. Early conditioning can be very good or very terrible!

Sometimes children coming from families where love was based on performance find themselves competing with their peers wherever they go. If you have been taught that there is a limited amount of love, then the only way to earn that love is to out – perform someone else. Corporations are full of such people. Sometimes, so are churches.

Many of us are broken and splintered branches. We want to believe in a God who loves us unconditionally, but our early conditioning and a host of bad experiences get in the way. We might even feel rotten and hollow inside. But praise God, it’s not all up to us!

The first thing to know is that God loved each of us before we were ever created. God chose the color of our eyes, our hair, and our skin. God dictated how short or tall we would be and all the other wonderful things about our bodies. Unlike a depressed mother whose attention cannot be captured by her infant, God is a loving Father who has already given us life and breath and who wants a relationship with us.

The second thing to know is that if we will pray and ask God to come into our hearts and allow Him to guide our lives, He will give us His love immediately. Our biggest problem is our own inability to believe that God would really do something so wonderful. And this is where a simple prayer I have mentioned before becomes so important. The only question you have to answer is this: do you WANT to believe in a loving God? If your answer is “yes,” then take this next step. Tell God you want to believe in Him but that you are having a hard time doing so. Tell God that you are willing for him to make you willing, to change your heart and your mind so that you are able to believe. God will never force Himself on you, but if you give Him permission, He will do exactly as you have asked.

It is impossible to truly love someone else without loving God first. We can LIKE someone, but to truly love them through everything is a different matter. But when God comes into our hearts, He begins to change us and the longer we spend with God, the more loving we become.

“But,” you say, “I know people who claim to be Christians who are some of the most judgmental people going! The operative word here is “claim.” Remember, John has said, “If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” Any of you who are parents know that at any given moment, your kids can do something to embarrass you! Right then, you might like to pretend those are someone else’s kids. You might worry that others will think you are a wretched person because your kids can’t behave well. Guess what? Sometimes God’s kids don’t behave very well either. Don’t misjudge God because some of His kids misbehave.

PRAYER: Father God, we want to believe in your love. Help us to truly believe that you love us. Come into our hearts. We give you permission to clean us up in every dimension – spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Help us to love others as you love us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1John 4:15-17 “If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him. In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him.”

“Abide in love? John, you are crazy!” Many of us reading these verses might be tempted to have this reaction. We know ourselves well, and we know that many if not most of our thoughts are anything but loving. What are we supposed to do with all this love talk anyway?

Here is the thing: if God was asking the impossible of us, He wouldn’t have allowed these verses to be recorded in His Word. But since God has made sure that these verses have stood the test of centuries, then there must be a way for these things to come true. The problem is us!

The whole matter of loving as God loves is a process, and it begins with Jesus. The first thing we must do is to believe that Jesus really is the Son of God and that Jesus really did live as a man and die for our sins and then be resurrected. “But I don’t know how to believe that!” you might say. I want to believe, but I just can’t do it.

I had a disaster recently! My beloved cell phone took a plunge into some water, and now I am trying to dry it out. Meanwhile, I am attempting to transfer data from an older phone to my current one. Most of the transfer programs demand that you give permission for them to access phone numbers, photos, or other material. You can do the same thing with Jesus. You can pray and give Jesus access to your heart and mind.

 Here is the question: do you really want to believe in Jesus Christ? Belief is not a matter of pulling yourself up by your spiritual bootstraps. You can pray a very simple prayer: “Lord Jesus, I want to believe in you, but I am having trouble doing so. I am willing to be made willing. I give you permission to change my heart and my mind. I thank you for loving me so much that you were willing to die for my sins. I turn my life over to you and ask you to guide me. Amen.”

Once you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and your mind, He will do so. And you might be surprised about the things He begins to show you, things that you need to get rid of. My husband was a foul – mouthed factory worker until the day he asked a fellow worker who was a Christian how to get the Lord into his life. And the very first thing that happened was that God cleaned up my husband’s mouth! No more cussing. Not too long after that, God quietly convinced my husband to stop smoking after 22 years of 2-3 packs a day.

Nobody can predict what God will do when you begin to believe in Jesus Christ His Son, but you will begin to see changes. When God abides in your heart, that means He comes to stay forever. And the longer God lives in your heart, the more loving you will become. The speed of light is the speed of darkness; light drives out darkness. And the speed of love is the speed of hate. Love drives out hate because they cannot exist in the same place.

What do you have to lose? Take a chance and pray, asking God to forgive your sins and to help you believe in Jesus. And then invite God to live in your heart. You will never regret it.

PRAYER: Father God, help everyone who reads this to be encouraged and to take the chance to invite you into their hearts and minds and lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 John 4:11-14 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.”

Venture onto social media these days, and the hatred and venom will soon overwhelm you! Insults of all kinds appear to be the order of the day – name calling, labeling, reacting to name – calling and labeling – the cycle appears endless and depressing. There is nothing difficult about hating someone; we begin as small children and continue as we grow. (Notice, I did NOT say “mature.”) Hatred begets more hatred.

But God has a radically approach! God loves us! God loved us from the time we were conceived, and that love has never stopped.

Ever watch a little boy following his dad? If the dad takes big strides, the little boy tries to as well. If the dad has a certain way of walking or certain mannerisms, that little boy is going to copy his dad because he wants to be just like him. In the same way, little girls copy their mothers. Of course, this puts an enormous burden on parents! Do an eye roll once in front of your three year old daughter, and when she’s thirteen and challenging you, all you will see is your eye rolls coming back at you! Children copy their parents, for better or for worse. If you live in a small town, people might even guess who your father or mother are just from the manner in which you behave.

If we know God and if we truly want to follow Him and to be known as His children, then we must love as God loves. Remember, light and darkness can’t occupy the same space at the same time; neither can hatred and love.

“But,” you say, ”I am not a naturally loving person!” News flash: NOBODY is a naturally loving person! Some of us are superficially more cheerful than others, but sometimes that cheer is a cover – up for resentments seething below the surface. That is why we all need God to come into our hearts, to clean us up, and to change us.

Cleaning up a human heart is a lot like cleaning up a toxic waste dump. Eliminating all the hatred and resentment, the pride, the anger, and all the other heart sicknesses is a work only God through the Holy Spirit can successfully do. That’s the bad news. The good news is that God is in the spiritual toxic waste clean up business and He has a long track record of success.

As long as we continue to try to do things on our own, we will continue to struggle under an ever – increasing load of sin and despair. That load can crush us and make life meaningless. But if we will ask God to come into our hearts and change us, He will answer those prayers and will begin a work in our hearts that will continue until we go to be with Him in heaven.

We all have choices: we can struggle under a crushing load of sin and death, or we can turn to God, confess that we are sinners, and beg God to help us. God is a good Father, and He can handle anything we throw at Him. If Jesus could forgive the thief on the cross and promise that man eternal life, Jesus can give us eternal life as well.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us and for sending Jesus to die for our sins. We confess that we are trapped in our sins. Please come into our hearts and lives. Save us from our sins. Fill our hearts with your Love, so that we will be able to love all those around us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.