Today's scripture: 1 John 3:23-24
John wraps up chapter three with some final admonitions:
* Believe in the name of Jesus Christ.
* Love one another.
* Keep His commandments.
* Abide in Christ.
To be part of God's family, we must believe in the name of Jesus Christ. We
must believe that He came to earth to pay the penalty for our sins. That He
died a horrible, painful death to provide forgiveness for us. That He rose
again and now lives. When we believe in His name, when we accept the gift of
salvation, we are forever sons and daughters of the King of kings.
We are to love one another. Because we are so loved, we can't help but love
others. Because we have been forgiven much, we should be willing to forgive
others.
In order to serve God, we need to keep His commandments. We should keep those
Ten we all know about (no idols, no adultery, no coveting), but we also need to
keep those commandments Jesus and His followers gave (loving others, living at
peace with our brothers and sisters, manifesting the Spirit's truths).
Finally, we have the privilege of actually abiding in Christ because He abides
in us. He is with us always. And because we abide in Him, we can be confident
of many things:
We are loved. So very loved. We are forgiven. We are blessed. We are given
grace. We are given mercy.
God is our refuge. Our stronghold. Our healer. Our rock. Our provider.
Jesus Christ walks alongside us. Carries us when we’re weary.
The Holy Spirit convicts us. Affirms us. Encourages us.
What an amazing God we serve!
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