Read 1John 3:23 - 4:13
together.
There are many
‘spirits’ in this world which oppose the Spirit of truth: these
are teachers and teachings which reject Jesus Christ as Lord. We
encounter them frequently, not only in religions and cults which
openly declare that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, but also in
worldviews and ideologies which subtly deny the need for us to
believe on Jesus Christ
- What spirits of error have you encountered?
- In trying to follow the example of the prophets, we will encounter false prophets. Do you ‘test the spirits’ by the Word of God? Are you certain of the truth revealed in the Bible?
We are reminded of
Jesus’ command for us to love one another, the reason being that
love is from God, and because God is love. The hallmark of any
Christian body should be love. If we abide in Christ’s love by
loving one another, we can be sure that the Holy Spirit abides in us
too.
- It is not good enough to know the truth, but we must let our light shine through ‘our acts of love and deeds of faith* ‘. Have we been doers of the Word?
- Do we abide in Christ, and He in us?
God’s love was
manifested when Jesus Christ gave His life so that we might live. He
said, ‘Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his
life for his friends’ and did it! No other religion or ideology has
a founder who did such a thing.
God has given us the
Spirit of truth – we do not have to fear other belief systems.
Elisha only said, ‘those who are with us are more than those who
are with them’. Since the Holy Spirit was given to the church at
Pentecost, John could write, ‘He who is in you is greater than he
who is in the world.’
Note
that only those who belong to God will hear the truth. So let us not
be disappointed if our evangelism appears to be fruitless at times,
as it is only natural for sinful man to reject the truth. Yet they
still need to hear it, because they will not find the love of God
anywhere else in the world.
- Pray that God will send the Spirit of truth to convert hearts, and bring them to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus.
- Pray that our faith may be strengthened.
- Pray for one another.
* Phrase taken from the
song ‘Speak O Lord’.
This is part of a series of prayer guides which was originally written by Timothy for a christian fellowship, to be used when groups of two or three would meet to share and pray. The idea is to hear God speak to us through His word first, and afterwards we speak to God in prayer. It is reposted here in case anybody would like to use it like a devotional, and to encourage us to pray together. Bear one another's burdens in love; cast all your care upon God, for he cares for you.
This is part of a series of prayer guides which was originally written by Timothy for a christian fellowship, to be used when groups of two or three would meet to share and pray. The idea is to hear God speak to us through His word first, and afterwards we speak to God in prayer. It is reposted here in case anybody would like to use it like a devotional, and to encourage us to pray together. Bear one another's burdens in love; cast all your care upon God, for he cares for you.
