Monday
I John 2.7-8 “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.”
An old apostle, remembering a long time ago, a new commandment spoken by Jesus, “that you love one another as I have loved you.” It’s old, but it’s renewed every time we obey it. This letter has more about the love of God, and our love for each other than anywhere else in the New Testament. Love isn’t an option; it’s a command. Get on with it!
Tuesday
1 John 2.9 “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother or sister lives in the light and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
Light and darkness, love and hate. In this one area of human relationships there is black and white. To hate is to live in darkness; to love is to live in the light. Every time we act or speak in love “the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
Wednesday
1 John 2.15 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
“The world” in John’s thought isn’t the created world. It’s that way of ordering life in opposition to God. When we make idols of money and possessions, crave for power, live selfishly and competitively. The world is human life organised without reference to God. If we love a world with no time for God, it’s hard to claim we love God. All that the world tries to possess will pass away; doing God’s will has no sell by date.
Thursday
1 John 2.20-21 “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.”
Every believer is anointed by God, set apart for holiness, truth and love. John is urging his people to have confidence in God’s touch on their lives. God is true, and Jesus is the truth. We know it and we know him, and so we live by the truth that sets us free and enables us to see clearly the light and love of God.
Friday
1 John 2.24-25 “As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.”
That word ‘remains’. Another of John’s favourites. It means to abide, to stay, to dwell and make your home. Abide in Christ, make your home in the fellowship of the father and the Son through the Spirit. Eternal life is to share the life of God. Paul’s way of saying this is that we are in Christ, and Christ lives in us. A life of fellowship of fellowship with God is heaven!
Saturday
1 John 2.28 “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”
Stay in Christ, right where you are. Continue in trust, love, prayer and service. In other words, keep going. When it’s tough don’t give up. When tempted don’t give in. The truth of the gospel, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, love for the Father, walking in the light, loving our brothers and sisters, trust and confidence in Christ – stick with these and you will not be ashamed to meet the Lord when he returns is glory.
Sunday
1 John 2.29 “ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.”
As Christians we are known by how we think, speak and act. Righteousness describes a life in which truth, light, love and faith are obvious. The life we live is so transparent that others can see right through us and se Christ. We are God’s children, says John: so act like it. God is Love, so love as you have been loved by God. God is Light, so shine with the brilliance of the Light of the world.
…………….
May the mind of Christ, my Saviour, live in me from day to day,
by his love and power controlling all I do and say.
May the word of God dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour,
so that all may see I triumph only through his power.
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