O Love Me Truly!*

SCRIPTURE



Simon and Jude, Apostles

1 John 4:1-6 (NRSV)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.



DEVOTION

Long ago I learned that it is not just what a person says, but what a person does that matters!

Today’s devotional reminds us that many people will say many things that appear to be good, righteous, and beneficial. But, scripture instructs us to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.

As we interact with people on a daily basis, we know that every human being is in a different place in regard to their walk with God.

We must be very, very careful not to follow people who will lead us off of the path that God has set before us! We must always remember that The Way has been paved for us by King Jesus.

Any path that does not lead us into greater love and greater service to God and humanity is a wrong path!

1 John 4 says that God is love and anyone who does not love, does not know God! We know that this is uncategorically true because God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!

Real love gives itself away in service to others. True love serves without counting the cost! Jesus gave himself away as he died on the cross; Real love then raised him from the dead in victory!

Sometimes false “love” tries to pass itself off as the real thing. But, the litmus test is simple. As the person “loves” do they seek greedy gain for themselves, or do they unselfishly give in service to others.

The Spirit of the Anti-Christ will attempt to fool us, seduce us, and lead us astray. It will pass illicit sex off as love, addiction as an emotional high, and/or thievery as hard work. But, we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free!

Today, I want us to take a hard and prayerful look around. I hope that we will ask God for the wisdom and the understanding to rightly discern real love from the fake stuff.

I want to love and be loved in the most authentic way possible! Real love is a gift from God. Real love is JESUS…

Who can you love into the arms of Jesus today?

Let’s pray:

Holy God, thank you that you are Love. If I am looking for love, I need look no further than Jesus! Help me to become more aware of your real and true love for me so that I will recognize the fake stuff when I see it. Today, I am reminded that your Love is more than enough to meet my every need. Please forgive me for looking for love in all the wrong places. I want to be so filled up with the Holy Spirit that your Love will overflow into the lives of all those people around me! You are a caring God and I want to share your care with others. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.


*Title comes from a John Keats poem by the same name.




THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @

http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html