Devotionals for April 28, 2023
TNLC Family Day is this Sunday at 9:00 and 10:30am! It's a day full of celebrations. Make plans to join us!
READ
1 John 2:1-6
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
REFLECT
There are two dangerous lies from the enemy pervading the church today. The first is that God does not love us and that we must work our way into his love. The second is that God accepts us just as we are. These two lies are responsible for much discouragement and foolishness in the church. God’s love for us is complete. He loves us fully. He does not flinch at our sins, and he is eager and willing to forgive us and “advocate” for us. However, the seriousness of sin is undeniable. Our sin put Jesus on the cross. To say we love God while we actively disobey him is not to fall out of favor with him (as the first lie asserts), but to prove that we do not actually love him. How many people have told you they loved you but did not live up to those words? It is not enough to say “I know him,” in the same way that saying “I love you” does not prove love. Examine yourself, do you obey him? Are you repentant for the sin you commit? Jesus loves you and forgives you. He advocates for you in your weakness. Rest in that assurance today.
APPLY
Q: When John says, “By this, we may know that we are in him,” what does he mean?
Q: Where in your life do you find it hardest to obey? How can you take steps toward obedience?
Q: How can you encourage friends who feel God does not love them? How can you challenge those who feel He does not call them into holiness?
SING
“Scandal of Grace” by Hillsong United
PRAY
"And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one."
Lord, help us to resist the lies of the evil one, no matter how convincing they seem to us.
READ
1 John 2:1-6
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
REFLECT
There are two dangerous lies from the enemy pervading the church today. The first is that God does not love us and that we must work our way into his love. The second is that God accepts us just as we are. These two lies are responsible for much discouragement and foolishness in the church. God’s love for us is complete. He loves us fully. He does not flinch at our sins, and he is eager and willing to forgive us and “advocate” for us. However, the seriousness of sin is undeniable. Our sin put Jesus on the cross. To say we love God while we actively disobey him is not to fall out of favor with him (as the first lie asserts), but to prove that we do not actually love him. How many people have told you they loved you but did not live up to those words? It is not enough to say “I know him,” in the same way that saying “I love you” does not prove love. Examine yourself, do you obey him? Are you repentant for the sin you commit? Jesus loves you and forgives you. He advocates for you in your weakness. Rest in that assurance today.
APPLY
Q: When John says, “By this, we may know that we are in him,” what does he mean?
Q: Where in your life do you find it hardest to obey? How can you take steps toward obedience?
Q: How can you encourage friends who feel God does not love them? How can you challenge those who feel He does not call them into holiness?
SING
“Scandal of Grace” by Hillsong United
PRAY
"And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one."
Lord, help us to resist the lies of the evil one, no matter how convincing they seem to us.