1 John – Chapter 4

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16 – Maybe you know that God has love for the world, but do you believe that it’s for you? It’s pretty difficult to study scripture and miss the truth that God loves the world. So for you, maybe you have this head knowledge that scripture says God loves you, but do you actually believe that? Meaning this idea that God loves you is something your leaning on and living life by. It’s changes how you exist in this life whether God’s love for you is something you just know or it’s something you also believe. I pray it becomes the very thing that you live life by because God really, truly does loves you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 752

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11 – How did God so love us? He is willing to look at us in our brokenness and have compassion rather than distain. He was willing to step into our world and into our mess to offer the help we needed. He was willing to die and did die for us so we wouldn’t have to bear the weight of death. This is just a small amount of all the ways scripture tells us how God so loved us. Now, seeing His example, we ought to so love others. Let’s have compassion on their brokenness rather than distain. Let’s be willing to step into their mess to help them. Let’s be willing to sacrifice for the sake of their life. Love spurred God to do great and wondrous things for us, we too should let our love spur us to great things for others. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1717

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 – John begins this chapter with a warning, that every spirit that seeks to teach them and guide them in this life isn’t always from God. There will be false teachers teaching false things to cause us to chase after false truths. While scary to think that there would be such spirits in this world, God wants us to remember a powerful truth. He is greater than anything in this world. Yes, there will be the enemy, and his forces are seeking to attack you relentlessly as you follow after Jesus. This enemy will lie to you, steal from you, and seek to kill you. This enemy will alter the truth in such ways that it seems so legitimate, but it will be a lie to carry you away from a faithful life after God. As terrifying as that can be to be made aware of, God is calling us to look to Him now. When we do, we see just how greater He is than anything our enemy has. God’s hands are big enough to hold us safe and God’s love for us is greater than any fiery dart the enemy may shoot. We have a very real enemy, but we also have a very real God that is closer, stronger, and better than our enemy. With all that in mind, never fear this enemy and never fear his moves. If God says walk, we walk as He directs, and we’ll trust our all-powerful God will protect and provide for every step. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2586