1 John 2:1-2
My children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
What of Today’s Verse…
John wants to prevent even one sinful event in the lives of those he loves. He is concerned because he knows that even one sinful event can be used by Satan to discourage and defeat us. We need to know that we have a Savior and a defender. He paid the price to redeem us, he sent his Spirit to help us overcome sin’s power, and he will speak to the Father and claim that right to forgive us.
Let us Pray:
Father, I’m embarrassed by my weakness and vulnerability when I sin. Even in those moments of shame, I’m thankful that Jesus provided me the way back into your holy presence. Jesus, I thank you for coming to my rescue and my defense. I will not let Satan discourage me when I fall. Instead, I re-commit myself to live with your character and for your glory. In your name, Lord Jesus, my defender, I pray. Amen.
Words of Wisdom
The Spontaneity Of LOVE
Love is not premeditated, it is spontaneous, i.e., it bursts up in extraordinary ways. There is nothing of mathematical certainty in Paul’s category of love. We cannot say – “Now I am going to think no evil; I am going to believe all things.” The characteristic of love is spontaneity. We do not set the statements of Jesus in front of us as a standard; but when His Spirit is having His way with us, we live according to His standard with out knowing it, and on looking back we are amazed at the disinterestedness of a particular emotion, which is the evidence that the spontaneity of real love was there. In everything to do with the life of God in us, its nature is only discerned when it is past.
The springs of love are in God, not in us. It is absurd to look for the love of God in our hearts naturally, it is only there when it has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we do not love Him. The evidence of our love for Him is the absolute spontaneity of our love, it comes naturally. In looking back we cannot tell why we did certain things, we did them according to the spontaneous nature of His love in us. The life of God manifests itself in this spontaneous way because the springs of love are in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 5:5.)
“Love suffereth long, and is kind . . .” —1 Corinthians 13:4-8
