A few minutes ago dailylightdevotional.org last verse of the AM verses sent me scrambling to I John 3 for context to better comprehend what v. 21 meant when it said “Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, then have we confidence toward God.” Really now? Is that even possible? For our hearts not to condemn us?
Succinctly, I’ve spent decades being condemned by the flip-flopping of either my conscience or Satan, etc., declaring me “unworthy” in all dimensions, terrorizing and holding me captive in my addictive sins. I am so reminded of the landmark verses in II Cor 7:10-11 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow (merely being sorry) brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.”
So imagine now, after years of being blessed walking empowered by the Spirit, the burst of joy the II Cor 6 chapter provided me Monday morning that I posted Tuesday morning,
And then this morning, while yet basking in these prior occurrences, I encounter v. 21 which opened the gate for the verses below. Amazing truths revealed afresh for me, hopefully for you as well. Give God the Glory!
1 John 3:13-24 (MSG)
- So don’t be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time.
- The way we know we’ve been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead.
- Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don’t go together.
- This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves.
- If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.
- My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.
- This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality.
- It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
- And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God!
- We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him.
- Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command.
- As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.
GO FORTH TODAY WITH JOY FOR AS LONG AS YOU’RE GIVEN BREATH TO LIVE RENEWED & EMPOWERED BY HIS SPIRIT.
True joy comes from our connection with God, not from life’s circumstances. We are called to rejoice even in adversity, trusting His presence. Contemplate Phil 4:4-9.