Welcome to our new project, the Daily Bible Devotional. The goal is to help you understand and apply

scripture as you go through a New Testament Bible read five days a week, Monday through Friday,

as we move from Matthew straight through to Revelation. In under four minutes each morning, we will recap the chapter,

make some application, present thought questions for the day, and offer a prayer together.

I'm excited about exploring God's word with you, so let's get started.

Welcome back. We're in 1 John chapter 4 today. Believers must not accept every spirit,

but should test them to determine if they're from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

The true spirit of God acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in the flesh,

while the spirit of the Antichrist denies him. Believers are from God

and have overcome the world because the one who is in them is greater than the one in the world.

John emphasizes the essential nature of love. Love originates from God, and everyone who loves

is born of God and knows him. God demonstrated his love by sending his son as a sacrifice for our sins.

Since God loved us, we ought to love one another. If we love, God dwells in us, perfecting his

love in us. I think it's so powerful here. All of chapter four is saying there are two requisites

to be children of God. Everything else is built on this,

believing and accepting that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Antichrist denies that,

and loving other people the way God loves you, particularly the brethren. We keep coming back to that.

First John teaches it beautifully. We are to stay alert and grounded in truth. Not everything we hear

should be trusted, so we must

test it against what we know about Jesus. When we center our lives on him, we gain the strength

to stand firm. Love is not just something we talk about. It's something we must live out daily.

If God loved us enough to send his son, then we should reflect that same love to others.

...