RSS

Category Archives: 1 John

1 John 4:9-10

30 Nov

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

1 John 4:9-10

Dear God, I was reading something by Charles Stanley this morning on how this decision on your part to have Jesus come and do what he did was a turning point in our timed history. I think he’s right. I mean, it literally reset how the world counted years, after all. What you did in the incarnation is amazing. What you did through the incarnation is amazing. What you continue to do through the incarnation is amazing.

I’ve had a surprisingly hectic couple of days since I got back from vacation. One thing I’ve done is committed myself to doing the Advent thing with Parents of the Bible that I hadn’t really planned to do, but it made sense to do it. The number of journals and the days until Christmas just added up too well. But it is going to take a lot of focused time on my part. Help me to work that in with everything else I have going on this time of year (especially at work).

I also want to take a moment to pray for those I love during this Advent. My children. My nieces, nephews, and siblings. My parents. The boy I’m mentoring. My friends and coworkers. Those I don’t even know. I pray for all of them that you would be with us as we walk through this time of year. Let it be a time when we can all lay down our pride and fear and accept and give love from and to you, and then from and to each other. I pray for mercy. I pray for healing of souls as well as bodies. I pray that the world will go according to your plan.

Father, I am here because Jesus came 2,000 years ago. You entered the world and showed us your true nature. The Old Testament was a bit convoluted with a lot of weird commands and decisions you were having to make to try to protect your promise to us. But Jesus removed the veil and showed us how you think. How you love. How you correct. How you teach. How you see the laws you gave us. Help me to embrace all of this and live it out so that others might find healing in you as well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 30, 2025 in 1 John

 

Tags: , , , ,

1 John 3:1-3

01 Nov

3 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3

Dear God, when I read this passage this morning, I thought of the Amy Grant song, “The Now and the Not Yet.”

No longer what we were before,
But not all that we will be.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our compromising,
When He appears,
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

We will be like Him,
For we shall see Him,
As He is.

No longer what we saw before,
But not all that we will see.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our disbelieving,
When He appears (holy, holy),
Our view will clear,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

But I’m caught in between
The now and the not yet;
Sometimes it seems like
Forever and ever,
That I’ve been reaching to be
All that I am,
But I’m only a few steps nearer,
Yet I’m nearer….

No longer what we were before,
But not all that we will be.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our disbelieving,
And He appears (holy, holy),
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

When He appears (holy, holy),
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

Source: LyricFind

I can tell I’m different than I used to be. I can tell I’m growing. But I also know what I’m “not.” And I am at least aware enough to know that there are parts that I’m “not” that I can’t tell that I’m “not.” It feels like a number that approaches zero without ever reaching zero. I’m closer, and it feels good to be closer. It feels great to be closer. But the closer I get the father away I sometimes feel because I get a clearer picture of the “not yet.”

Father, draw me one step closer to you today. I’m about to spend at least 12 hours with a good friend. Help us to sharpen each other and grow closer to you through our time together. Minister to him through me. And minister to me through him. And I have some people on my heart this weekend. Please be with them. Be in their hearts. Reveal yourself to them. Help them to choose the narrow gate. You know the specifics of what I’m vaguely saying here. Lead us, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, closer to the “not yet.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 1, 2025 in 1 John

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

1 John 5:1-12

19 Aug

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. 7 So we have these three witnesses[c]— 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

1 John 5:1-12

Dear God, my wife and I were talking yesterday morning about how to reconcile the impetuous, sometimes selfish and vindictive John described in the gospels with the author of these later letters/books. I told her it was pretty easy in my mind: Age. The John in the gospels was young and he still didn’t really understand what Jesus was teaching them. I think he only began to understand it after the resurrection and ascension. He grew. He suffered. He lost (his brother was the first martyr). He lamented. He celebrated. He experienced life and had you, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, to walk him through it all. It shaped him and he because an elder from whom we could learn.

So at this point he has lived a life and seen the difference in people when they come to really know Jesus. He has seen selfishness and self-pity lead to misery. He has also seen grace, mercy, worship, and service lead to life. He has seen the difference Jesus’s and the Holy Spirit’s presence makes in lives. In his own life. The verse of the day from Bible Gateway is actually verse 12. It sums up the argument made in the first 11 verses.

Father, the roots of my life need your living water. Help me to soak in your river this morning. I love you. I worship you. I thank you. You are my God, and I am very grateful for your love, your mercy, and the idea that you will use me however you will to accomplish what you want to accomplish. Help me to be the man you have for me to be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 19, 2025 in 1 John

 

Tags: , , , , ,

1 John 5:13-15

02 May

13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

1 John 5:13-15

Dear God, the key phrase here is “according to His will.” According to your will. That’s the trick. There are times when it just feels like my will is so much better. Don’t you see, what I want is good (for me) and therefore must be good for you and everyone else.

There is a great sorrow I carry every day. And most days, I can sit and pray–and really believe–not my will, but your will be done. Maybe this sorrow will lead to something great one day that I cannot see. Maybe this sorrow is bringing about some result that I am blind to. So I can be at peace in this sorrow, with you holding me.

But there are other days where I go to you and I simply, selfishly say, “This isn’t fair! I don’t deserve this. I did the best I could. Why do I have this pain?” All about me.

Father, the first thing I need to do when praying according to your will is to take any gains for me out of the equation because as soon as I have even the slightest ounce of selfishness the prayer is tarnished. Like yeast in the bread. The yeast of the Pharisees. So help all of my prayers to be about you, about others, and about your kingdom coming and your will being done, regardless of what it might cost me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 2, 2025 in 1 John

 

Tags: , , , ,

1 John 4:17-19

22 Feb

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.
1 John 4:17-19

Dear God, there are some people I love this much, but somehow I cannot convince them of it. Somehow, they think I’m sitting here, ready to judge them even though I’ve told them my only desire is to cheer them on. I just want the best for them. But it’s like their shame for things I don’t even know about is keeping them from me.

My first thought as I write this is to question whether or not I’ve truly loved them this way because the evidence suggests that they have not experienced that kind of love from me. But my next thought is that we are the same way with you. Going back to the Garden, Adam and Eve hid from you. Not because you loved them conditionally, which you didn’t, but because they were ashamed before you.

Of course, there are others that I do live imperfectly. In fact, I live everyone imperfectly. Even those I was mentioning earlier. But if perfect love expels all fear, then I pray that you will teach me to live perfectly and to accept your perfect love.

Father, I know I’ll never do anything perfectly this side of Heaven. I just want to get better tomorrow than I am today. I want to be better today than I was yesterday. Help me learn to accept your perfect love. And help those who are self-imposing conditional love from me to see that it is really unconditional. That I am a source of unconditional love for them. Take away their fear. Heal their wounds. Be their God.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 22, 2025 in 1 John

 

1 John 4:7-12

19 Feb

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

1 John 4:7-12

Dear God, is your love really brought to full expression through me? I know it should be, but is it? When people see me, do they see you? Am I that tuned into you?

What does loving others look like? Well, what does it look like when you love me? For that, I guess it goes to the story of the Prodigal Son. When the younger son wants to leave, you let him walk away. When he returns you celebrate with no questions asked. When the older son experiences jealousy you console and comfort. In all of these cases, it’s not about you. It’s not about them hitting your standard for the standard’s sake. It is about you wanting what you know is best for them. You know that the younger son is better off when he is at home and not pursuing empty selfish desires. You know that the older son will be better off when he decides to love his brother and accept him.

So when I look to loving others, what I am doing is wanting the best for them regardless of what it might cost me. If it is my wife, I want to love and support her in the things I perceive you are putting into her life. Now, if it is something that I perceive will take her away from you I will say so, but if it seems to bless her then I want that for her no matter what it costs me. Father, help me be willing to pay that price. If my children decide to pursue a path that costs me everything then I want to love them and bless them to pursue that path. If I think it is unhealthy for them and I am asked I will share my thoughts, but if they don’t then I don’t want to get in the way of anything you have to teach them (or me) through the process. Frankly, I don’t know what is your best for them. All I have to offer them is my unconditional love. The same is true for my coworkers, friends, and even just acquaintances or those you put in my path and sphere of influence. Father, help me to see all of this with your eyes. Help me to love each soul I encounter as much as I care about the existence of my own soul.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 19, 2025 in 1 John

 

Tags: , , , ,

1 John 4:20-21

14 Jan

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
1 John 4:20-21

Dear God, I think back to some of John’s actions in his earlier life lake when he wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans and compare it to who he is when he writes this letter, I get encouraged at the idea of how much I can grow in you. Honestly, John had a lot to learn in those three years he walked with Jesus. Then he had more to learn after the crucifixion and resurrection. But he started to figure it out. He continued to learn.

I hope I’m the same way. I hope I’m not the man I was 30, 20, 10, 5, or even 1 year ago. I hope I’m different now than I was yesterday. Than when I woke up this morning. And I hope I’m growing in the right way. I hope I’m better. I need you to grow me. Refine me. Mold me. Fill me.

Father, thank you for answering prayers over the last few days that I didn’t even have that much faith could be answered. Or would be answered. You were good to a lot of people. Now, I’m going back to work and into an environment where we run into a lot of people who need a lot. Help us to be part of your solution for them. Give us wisdom. Move mightily. And move in our lives as well. Do all of this so that we might live as you call us to love, and be loved by others as well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 14, 2025 in 1 John

 

Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 24

24 Dec

7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 

1 John 3:7-8

Dear God, first, when I just sat down and saw the words “Joy to the World” for the title of this collection of daily readings, it made me think of the Keith Green song “Easter Song.” The chorus: “Joy to the world! He is risen. Halleluiah!” This is just the beginning of the bigger story. The plan is in motion. It had always been in motion, but now human eyes are starting to see it take shape. You are coming forth from Mary. The incarnation! And you will die. And you will rise again. And Satan will be destroyed along with his works.

I have to say, it doesn’t feel like he’s been destroyed yet. My wife and I cried together this morning over a sorrow in our lives. No, his works are not destroyed. They are still causing all kinds of problems. And we seem to hold onto them.

Our small town weekly paper does a page this time of year for local pastors to write something for the community. I think there were six pastor messages this year. I read them all. The one I am holding onto today is the last one. He encouraged us to have the faith of Mary. Mary accepted Gabriel’s charge. And yes, she might have had some buyer’s remorse and fear after the angel left, but she still had faith. She still pressed on. And she lived a hard life. And she suffered. She had sorrow. She had pain. A sword pierced her very soul, as Simeon predicted in Luke 2:35.

Father, I don’t understand how you defeated Satan’s plans or what that looks like from your perspective, but I do not have to understand. As I prayed with my wife this morning: I believe. Help my unbelief. I have faith. Help my lack of faith. I worship you. Help me me to worship you well and sin no more. And may it all be for the sake of your name being made hallowed, your kingdom coming to earth, and your will being done on earth as it is in heaven. You have given me more than my daily bread in terms of material needs, but give me my daily bread of emotional needs and healing. Comfort. Keep me from temptation and deliver me and those I love from Satan’s plans. Deliver us all from Satan’s plans. All glory and honor are yours, now and forever, Father.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 24, 2024 in 1 John, Advent 2024

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 20

20 Dec

7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 

1 John 3:7-8

Dear God, Piper focused on the second part of verse 8 for today’s reading. I have to say, when I first looked at the passage as a whole, I was thinking it was an interesting one to choose for Advent, but then I got to this part and I thought I could see what he was doing. It kind of goes back to what he said the other day about Satan being the one who did not want Jesus to go to the cross because that was when his power was truly broken. It makes me look at the last three years of Jesus’s earthly life as a time of Satan trying desperately to win a game at the last minute. The temptations in the wilderness. The temptation from Peter to not follow through and die. Even the temptation in the Garden to not go through with it. Why? Because that death of a part of you would bring resurrection and then untold power to our ability to be your children.

So here I am, sitting at my desk on a Friday morning. I have things in my life that ae a delight and things that are sorrowful. Then I have other things that are in between. Just responsibilities and opportunities to serve. Thinking about last night and the words I shared. I pray that they were your words. I pray that they found at least one set of ears who needed to hear them. I pray that you might give me ears to hear them as well. What is it I long for? Am I longing for the right thing?

Father, I offer you my worship and my work today. I offer you my love and my service. Give me eyes to see what you need me to see. Give me ears to hear what you need me to hear. I love you, Lord. I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my soul! Rejoice! Take joy, my King in what you hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 20, 2024 in 1 John, Advent 2024

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

1 John 1:5-2:6

25 Sep

5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

1 John 1:5-2:6

Dear God, yet again, here is another example of the accidental separating of a single message by the insertion of chapter breaks. The verse of the day from Bible Gateway was 1 John 2:1. Great. But when I read it, I realized it was a continuation of a thought, not the beginning of one. So, I went back and picked up where the thought started. We have to be so careful when we read modern presentations of scripture that we don’t misunderstand something simply because we didn’t read the whole thing. It’s one thing to misunderstand because of a lack of cultural context or real knowledge of the Bible. I do that all of the time, I am sure. But to miss it simply because of an unfortunate chapter break or subheading translators inserted to make it easier for us to find things is…well, it’s unfortunate, to say the least.

With that said, what does the apostle John have for me these 2,000-ish years after he wrote it? What do you, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, have for me this morning? As I read through this passage, what I see is attitude combined with hope. It’s my attitude combined with the hope you offer through Jesus as my savior and my advocate that give me life. John isn’t saying I have to be perfect to be in fellowship with you, but I do need to have an attitude of wanting to simply do the right-est things that you command I do. While I read this passage this morning, it reminded me of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Then I thought about how John sat and listened to that sermon, maybe multiple times. And while some of it probably sank in, not all of it did at once. I think some of it didn’t really hit him until after Jesus’s resurrection. And now here he is, imploring people, imploring me, that I don’t have to be perfect, but I do have to have an attitude of holiness, humility, repentance, and perseverance. If I can come to the end of myself and submit my life to you, then you can change me into the person you know I can be.

Father, I just prayed with my wife, and I marveled at how you, the God of the universe, are interested in us individually and hear our prayers. You answered a specific prayer for her yesterday. She felt it. She knew you were there are part of it. And there was peace afterward. An atheist would hear that and say it was all in her head, but there is no part of either of us that doubts you heard her and answered our prayers for her. So I know you are here now. You are here, Holy Spirit, advocating for me to the Father. Jesus, you are here, bein my redemption before the Father. And Father, you are here in a mysterious way I don’t totally understand, loving me in your God-ness. Thank you. Help me to see what you need me to see today. Love me and love through me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 25, 2024 in 1 John

 
← Older posts