Our annual remembrance of the coming of Jesus Christ as a human baby starts today. This year the words of the apostle John dominate my ponderings. I will explore words he uses to describe Christ—Today, we start with LIFE.
Author: Eva Burkholder
God’s Truth and Love Are Inseparable
I most commonly hear truth and love treated as binary, opposites, or ends of a spectrum. Pastors speak of our tendency to choose one or the other and exhort us to find balance, to hold them in tension. But I'm not satisfied with this. I'm on a quest for clarity.
Abide in Jesus Because His Spirit Abides in Us
Too often I treat my spiritual life like a charging station. I refuel every morning (or at least as often as possible) through a study of the Bible or a devotional reading. But then I act like I’m an electronic device and I unplug, trusting in my fuel to get me through the day. But the Lord Jesus himself has told me to constantly abide in him.
Be Confident in Prayer: Go Ahead and Ask
The apostle John speaks often about confidence, boldness, assurance. He wants believers to know that they know they are in Christ. But he also exhorts us to know that we can come to God with our requests. Because we know that we believe in Jesus and have eternal life, we can approach God confidently.
Everyone Born of God Overcomes the World
Some days all the shiny stuff around me demands my affection and it's hard to resist. But the apostle John says I, as a believer in Jesus, have overcome this world.
The What, Why, and How of Agape from the Apostle of Love
The apostle John is the real expert on true love. He writes about it more than any other author in the Bible. He alone records Jesus's new commandment to love one another in a new way—like Jesus loves us (John 13:34–35). In 1 John 4:7–21 alone, love (agape in Greek) is mentioned 27 times.
Recognize the Spirit of Truth vs the Spirit of Falsehood
Because many false teachers abound, the apostle John teaches us how to recognize the spirit of truth versus falsehood.
God Knows It All and Loves Us Anyway
The apostle John’s first letter focuses a lot on obedience and loving others. It can be a tough message. Just in case we’re condemning ourselves because we know we sometimes sin, or occasionally hate others, or love the world more than our heavenly Father, John wants to reassure us we belong to God and set our hearts at rest.
