Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…

“To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

“To the one who is faithful unto death I will give you the crown of life, and the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”

“I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone with a new name written on the stone.”

“To the one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.”

“And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2:Medley

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”…

✝️ “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever…Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him!”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:5-7‬ ‭

Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 In the book of Jude today we see possibly the most comforting and encouraging doxology (short hymn of praise to God) in the entire Bible, as the blood brother of Jesus invites all believers in the family of God to greatly rejoice in the sovereignty, certainty, and steadfast love of our all-wise Creator and King…

✝️ “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy – To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:24-25‬ ‭

Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 In Third John’s only chapter today we see the earnest prayer and greatest desire of all believing parents, pastors, leaders, and teachers being fulfilled, as the “Elder disciple who Jesus loved” makes every effort to nurture and shepherd young believers toward growing affections for the Gospel…

“Beloved children, I pray that you may succeed and prosper in all of the truth, and that you are in good health, and that all is well with your soul” (vs 2).

Q. Have you ever had the rich experience of watching God miraculously work in the hearts of your children or loved ones, as He methodically draws them to Himself and fills them with a maturing love for Jesus?

❤️ Big-time shout out to the Lord, and to the kids Lisa and Matthias – very proud of you, and love you far more than I can say. Your adventure in Christ has just begun, and the best is surely yet to come!

🙏 Heavenly Father please give us the wisdom, patience, and strength to fervently love, pray for, encourage, admonish, and equip those who you have put in our care, and to “Send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God”, for the good of your people and the glory of Christ…

✝️ “For I rejoiced greatly when they were found testifying and believing in the truth…I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth!”

3 John 1:2-3

Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 In John’s 2nd letter to the “Elect Lady” today we see the smallest book in the New Testament packing a massive message of truth in love, and sending a strong warning regarding false teachers that preach a false Gospel…

“For many deceivers are among us, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh, of such are antichrists and not of the truth” (vs 7).

Q. Does faith in Jesus Christ and the sufficiency His blood alone save us? Or must we add something else such as good works, religious rituals, sacramental ordinances, denominational membership, or obedience to commandments for the salvation of our souls?

Q. Does God love human beings as long as they prove themselves to be worthy of His love? Or is God’s love for us based on another criteria?

🙏 Heavenly Father please keep us from the deception of anti-christian teachers who preach a false Gospel that does not coincide with your Word of truth. And thank you so much that “When your goodness and lovingkindness appeared, you saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to your mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom you poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life!”

🙏 Lord Jesus we praise you today that “While we were still sinners you died for us, and that we have been justified by your blood and saved from the wrath of God!” Likewise we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have now received reconciliation…

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✝️ “Grace, mercy, and peace be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.”

2 John 1:3

Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 In First John chapter 5 today we see the tangible evidence of Spirit-filled Gospel transformation, as John describes proper belief (the head), love for others (the heart), and joyful obedience (the hands), as a threefold cord of assurance for the Christian…

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him…For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome to us” (vs 1-3).

Q. Have you ever struggled with doubt about whether you are truly a born again Christian, and follower of Jesus?

Q. Along with the evidence of the head, the heart, and the hands, what are some other indications that someone possesses genuine and living faith in Christ?

🙏 Heavenly Father thank you so much that we can cry out to you in our times of doubt, and that you hear our prayers and our desire to know for certain that we are yours – Please help us consistently examine our minds for right belief in Jesus, our motives for love toward others, and our manner of life for selfless and joyful obedience to you.

🙏 Holy Spirit please grant us much more than just an intellectual acceptance of Jesus, but rather a wholehearted dedication to Him that leads to a lifetime of growing repentance and faith…

✝️ “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us…And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:13-15,20‬ ‭

Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 In First John chapter 4 today we see many gifts to praise our Most High God for as His called, chosen, cleansed, forgiven, adopted, loved, and born again children! Here are a few sweet Gospel truths to feast on…

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome the world, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (vs 4).

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins, so that we may have life through Him” (vs 9-10).

“By this we know with confident assurance that we abide in God and God in us, because He has given to us His Holy Spirit…The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, and whoever confesses and acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (vs 13-16).

🙏 Heavenly Father thank you so much that by your grace we have been granted the Spirit of truth instead of the spirit of error – Please open our eyes to your innumerable blessings & benefits, and cause abundant gratitude to dwell in our hearts so that we may consistently love others as you have loved us…

✝️ “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God…If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…And love is being perfected within us so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:7,11,17‬

Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 In First John chapter 3 today we see the BEST NEWS EVER for all redeemed orphans who were lost at the fall, as adoption, sanctification, and born again completion in glory is our current and future hope…

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are!…Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is!” (vs 1-2‬).

Q. Do you sometimes stop and consider that as a fully forgiven sinner, and definitively approved of child of God, you are on an irreversible path to Zion, conquering indwelling sin by God’s grace. And in the not-to-distant future you will appear before your loving Father in heaven, permanently waving goodbye and good riddance to the old sin nature forever?!!!

🙏 Heavenly Father thank you so much for your steadfast love and mercy, and for the awesome privilege of being adopted into your forever family with all of its rights and benefits that have been earned for us by the righteous life and precious blood of your beautiful Son Jesus.

🙏 Holy Spirit please continue to mature us in Christ, and stir our hearts to well-pleasing good works in love, making a practice of consistently modeling our Savior for the good of His family and the glory of God…

✝️ “By this we know love, that Jesus laid down His life for us, and we are to lay down our lives for our brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? So let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.”

1 John 3:16-18

Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 In First John chapter 1 and 2 today we see the eye witness account and historical reality of Jesus Christ, the Word of Life…

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, the Word of Life who was with the Father and was made manifest to us, the Son Jesus Christ.”

1 John 1:1-3

And also the very wise warning to put our hope and trust in the Alpha and the Omega instead of the temporary things of the here and now…

“Do not love the world or the things of the world…for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires. But whoever does the will of the Father (and abides in the Son) abides forever.”

1 John 2:15-17

🙏 Heavenly Father thank you so much for all that you have given us in Christ – Please continue your work of molding, shaping, and maturing us into His likeness of Light, and help us avoid the disastrous mistake of trusting in, clinging to, or having misguided affections for the things of this world that do not last and cannot satisfy…

✝️ “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He made to us, eternal life!”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:24-25‬ ‭

Brothers and Sisters 😊

📖 In Second Peter chapter 3 today we see that God’s sovereign and gracious plan of redemption for the entire world is timed perfectly, and any apparent delay is due to His mercy and patience, which flows in great abundance to all who turn to Him for rescue and salvation…

“But do not overlook this one fact beloved, that with the Lord one day is as 1000 years, and 1000 years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (vs 8-9).

🙏 Heavenly Father thank you so much that you (not us) are in full control, and are in the perfectly timed process of restoring, renewing, and fixing everything in the universe that is flawed and broken (including us).

🙏 Lord Jesus we praise you today that you lived and died to save sinners like us, and that you always have (and always will) fulfill your precious promises in due time – We eagerly await your arrival, and by your grace a permanent place in your house, where we will give you Honor & Glory for a Thousand years X eternity!…

✝️ “But according to His promise, we are waiting for the new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells…So grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity, Amen!”

2 Peter 3:13,18