1 John 3 (HCSB)
1 Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law. 5 You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins, and there is no sin in Him. 6 Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works. 9 Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how God’s children—and the Devil’s children—are made evident.
The Command to Love
Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
Love in Action
16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need—how can God’s love reside in him?
18 Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action. 19 This is how we will know we belong to the truth and will convince our conscience in His presence, 20 even if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience, and He knows all things.
21 Dear friends, if our conscience doesn’t condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and can receive whatever we ask from Him because we keep His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight. 23 Now this is His command: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He commanded us. 24 The one who keeps His commands remains in Him, and He in him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 13-14): Father, please forgive me for the sin of not loving my brothers and sisters in this world, even when the world convinces them to hate me or sin against me.
PROMISE (verse 8): God, You tell us that the sins we commit are of the Devil, but You have promised us that You sent Jesus to us to combat that sin and to destroy the Devil's works.
ATTITUDE (verses 6-7): Father, help me to change my sinful attitude when I am deceived or sinned against by others. Help me to always have an attitude just like Jesus, one that does not sin and is living righteously.
COMMAND (verses 23-24): God, please help me to follow Your commands. In these verses, You command us to believe in Jesus and to love one another. Help me to follow these commands, so that I may be driven and motivated by You through the Holy Spirit.
EXAMPLE (verses 18-22): Father, the example You give us in these verses is so powerful and the reward You give if we follow this example fully is unfathomable. Help me to follow Your example by showing love to others with truth and action; to always remain in Your presence so that when my conscience is convicted by the Holy Spirit, I immediately turn back to You, Lord. You tell us that if we ever make it to the point that we are sin-free and our conscience is no longer convicting us, that we are truly in You and You in us in all things; and when that happens You will grant us anything we ask!
*DAILY NOTE: I have so much more to learn in my faith journey as I am heavily lacking in my expression of love to others. Please continue to work in me, Father, so that I may be better at glorifying You and expressing Your love to others unconditionally.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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