I never cease wanting the people around me to know my heart and my motives to love, protect, and help them in their spiritual journey. The struggle we can face in life is real. Sometimes the Church misses the importance of ministering to believing disciples, because we are more heavily focused on reaching unbelieving hearts. Yet, God clearly wants the spiritual family to have the grace-filled guidance, healing, and help the Holy Spirit administers, as well.
As believers, we must guard our hearts against thinking after salvation we are all set for life. Accepting Jesus is the entry-level; we are assured of eternal life when we commit our lives to Christ. Learning to live and think like Jesus while we follow the Spirit makes us exercise our faith by climbing the transformation ladder toward the glory of the Lord. This exercise takes discernment, trust, and the hard work of Love.
In our passage today from a letter written by John, the apostle reminds us about how God wants believers to know his heart, as well as his motives to love, protect, and help his children who are called to thrive in his Love. John’s first letter is really important, because he reminds believers about the power of light vs. darkness, the love of the Father vs. the love of the world, Christ vs. the spirit of the antichrists, righteousness vs. sin, truth vs. lies, and the Spirit of God vs. the spirit of the Antichrist. In other words, through the apostle John, God wants us to know what is right and what is wrong. The letter has been written to believers, so we will genuinely live out our faith and experience the goodness of God.
Today, many people will be observing Valentine’s Day—a day to celebrate love (romantic, familial, and platonic)—let’s remember God is Love and, no matter how much we love others, nothing and no one should take his place in our hearts. Love is an act of the will, so we have to guard ourselves against worshiping the idols the world has created for people to love more than God. If we love the world more than God, we do not know and belong to Christ. Guard your hearts and remember Jesus is Lord! Blessings for your weekend!
1 John 5:13-21 NLT Conclusion
13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
16 If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.
18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
Prayer: Father, thank you for loving us and pouring your perfect love into our hearts. As well, thank you for the assurance of our salvation found only in Christ. We pray for Christ to remain central in our lives; to rule our lives in righteousness. Help us to cast down sin and make us wise in recognizing the traps of Satan. We live for the glory of your name and the advancement of your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.