He Speaks to Me

To my dedicated readers: please forgive my recent absence. Battles with Satan have been wearing me down. I can say that I have missed this time in God's Word. Thank you for your prayers and patience. 2 John 1-3 The Elder, To the elect lady (church) and her children (church body) , whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those (other Christians) who have known the truth (Christ) , 2 because of the truth which abides in us (me) and will be with us (me) forever: 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you (me) from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. When first reading this passage, it may appear to modern man that a special lady and her children have been elevated to a special status and is being blessed. This is not so. The 'elect lady' John is referring to is the church. 'The Elder' is the leader of the church, while 'the elect lady' is the church itself and 'her children' are t...

I John 4:20-21 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we (me) have from Him: that he (me) who loves God must love his (my) brother also. Chapter 4 ends with a commandment from God: if you love God, you "must love" your brother. That doesn't mean only your blood relations, rather all mankind. We must have compassion, and empathy for everyone. I pray today you will set your heart straight with God and your fellow man.

I John 4:17-19 17 Love has been perfected among us (in me) in this: that we (I) may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we (am I) in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We (I) love Him because He first loved us (me) . As I've worked my way through I John, I've found the major theme to be love. It appears 21 times in the book of I John, five in this passage. That doesn't include varients of the word. Makes me think John was trying to convey a message here--God is love. That is a very simple and basic Bible truth that many of us either take for granted or forget. Most of us have heard this from childhood, so why don't we believe it? Why do we question God's motives? All because of sin. It's our nature to ask why. If Eve hadn't questioned what she believed, she would never have tasted that one piece of...

I John 4:12-16 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we (I) love one another, God abides in us (me) , and His love has been perfected in us (me) . 13 By this we (I) know that we (I) abide in Him, and He in us (me) , because He has given us (me) of His Spirit. 14 And we (I) have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever (that's me) confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him (me) , and he (I) in God. 16 And we (I) have known and believed the love that God has for us (me) . God is love, and he (me) who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (me) . This passage explains how God's love flows through us and onto others. It proves His love is unconatainable. When you're filled with God's love, you can't help but to let others see it. You want to do for others, you want to help the down trodden, you want others to see God in you. That's how God's power is. I think of the childre...