This Is Love

"This is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." 2 John 1:6

We don't often think of love in terms of obedience and yet obedience was so much a part of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf. It was through obedience to the Father's will that He proved his undying love for Him, as well as each of us. He was willing to walk the road of shame, ignominy and pain to prove his love for both His Father and for every human being on this earth. It was through obedience to the Father's plan that he proved his love. So it is with each of us. If we are to be made into the image of our risen Savior, we must walk in obedience to the commands of the Father. By obedience to His will in our lives, we show Him how much we love Him. We prove that our love for Him will take us anywhere and sacrifice anything for Him. If we take this a step further; our love for our families, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and even our enemies will sometimes take us where we would not normally wish to go. Ultimately, love is obedience to the will of the Father. It means sacrifice for the good of others, it means laying down our lives, it means doing whatever is asked of us. Jesus held back nothing to prove his love for us; let us follow in his footsteps and walk in love. We have the opportunity to make an impact for Christ by expressing our love to others through sacrifice. May we never lose that opportunity, but remain obedient to the Father's will.

Activity - "What Is Love?"

Source : sermons4kids

What Manner of Love

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John 3:1 KJV

Love: what manner of love is this, a father’s love? It is a love that watches and waits and never gives up on a wayward son. It is a love that chooses the most worthless children and makes them sons and daughters of the King. It is a love that gives that which is dearest to Him, His Son, that He might call us His children. This is a love that we can now taste, a love beyond anything we have ever known or experienced on this earth. It is unmatched; priceless; and it is ours!

Precious Father, how in awe we are of you and your love for us! You have everything, and yet you desired that we would become your children. You left no stone unturned to gain us as your children and you spared no expense, even though it cost you the life of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. You adopted us because you wanted to and for no other reason. Thank you, Father, for letting us experience this kind of love, a love without condition. Oh, that we might be worthy of such a Father as you! All we can do is to bow in adoration at your feet and say, "Thank you for loving us so." Amen.

Activity - Word Search

Source : qwchristiandevotions

Walk As Jesus Did

Passage : 1 John 2

"Whoever claims to live in him, must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

Whoever claims Jesus Christ as Lord, whoever professes that they have life in Jesus, must walk in His footsteps. This is a BIG task. His are enormous footsteps to follow, but we are not alone. Christ has promised to live within us. Col. 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory!" The only way to have Christ live within us is for us to open up our hearts to him, and to become one with him. We can only do that if we know him in an intimate way. The obvious question then is, "How did Jesus walk?" Jesus gave us four gospel accounts that shed light on how he walked. It is only by studying these accounts and by spending time with him in prayer that we will begin to understand what his walk was about. Jesus Christ walked in obedience to his Father's will. He never wavered from that course. The Scriptures tell us that he delighted to do the will of his Father, even though it led him to the cross. We will see that Jesus spent many hours in prayer and fellowship with his Father: this was how he maintained his focus. He surrounded himself with godly men, who loved his Father and wished to serve Him. He reached out to a hurting world and gave of himself entirely. He was selfless: sacrificing his own needs for those of others. He laid down his life not only for his friends, but also for his enemies. Indeed this is a big challenge, but with God all things are possible! We have claimed the name of Jesus, which is only the first step; now we must follow in his footsteps.

Source : qwchristiandevotions

The Light

Passage : 1 John 1

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare from you: God is light; in him there is not darkness at all." 1 John 1:5

Light represents what is good and true and holy. Indeed light personifies GOD. In His presence there is no darkness, not even a shadow for He is light! (qwcd). If we are sitting in a dark room we wont be able to see the dust and dirt in that room. But when we turn on a bright light we will start to see all the dust and dirt in the room. And we will start to clean it because we cant live in a room that is filled with dirt and filth. When we go into the presence of the LORD, His light does its work in our lives, it exposes our sins. Thank goodness it does not end there, for once our sins have been exposed, we can confess them and Jesus' blood can be applied on our behalf. And once we have been cleansed and when we kneel in the presence of God and all that His light exposes is the beautiful robe of Christ's righteousness that covers us and our sins. How grateful we should be for His light in our lives! It is a light that brings life! (qwcd).

God is a light of righteousness and when we ask his light to shine in our lives every passing second of our lives. His light will shine so bright that no sin can dwell in us. God is a good and true and holy God. We should ask God everyday to expose to us our sins so that we might confess then and be forgiven and right in relationship with God. Jesus Christ blood that was shed for us and our sins is very powerful. It brings life to all who come to Christ Jesus. Ask and Allow Gods light to shine in your lives and let the Blood of Christ wash you clean and protect it.

By : Ss

Resources : qwchristiandevotions

Patient Toward You

"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you" 2 Peter 3:9

Whether we are worried about God fulfilling a promise to us personally, or are looking toward the promise of His kingdom being fully established, God is not slow to fulfill these promises. We must remember that the LORD has everything planned out and in His due time, all will be fulfilled. Remember, it took thousands of years before Jesus came to this earth to redeem mankind. Yet the redemption of mankind took place at exactly the time that God planned it, not a minute sooner or later. He may seem slow to us humans, but He is working things out according to His plan, not ours. As we look back over our finite lives, we cannot help but reflect upon His perfect timing. God's timing would rarely be our timing; we like things done now and are not patient like our Father is toward us. We do not always see the need for patience, because we lack God's wisdom and vision. A day with the LORD is as a thousand years: that is far more than a lifetime to you and me! Let us rest in Him, knowing He will fulfill his promises to us and the entire world in due time. Let us learn patience from the God of all patience. He patiently waited for us that we might find salvation. Imagine how different things would be had God fulfilled all his promises quickly! None of us would be here! If He were to give us what we ask immediately, how would we grow? God has promised that He has a plan, not only for the world, but also for each of us. Our job is to patiently wait and watch as He fulfills that plan for our lives in His own due time.

Source : qwchristiandevotions

The Lord Will Rescue

Passage : 2 Peter 2

"...the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials..." 2 Peter 2:9

There need be no question in our minds that God can rescue godly men from their trials. Peter states plainly that God will do it. The question is, "How will the rescue take place?" God is surely at no loss for the means by which to rescue his people. We only need to look in scripture to see Him, time and again, rescuing His people from trials in a variety of ways. There many other scriptures which plainly state that He will make a way of escape for His children. We need only stand back and watch God work. Let us be careful that in doing so, we listen to His voice and obey. This passage in Peter is telling the story of Lot and the circumstances that surrounded his escape from Sodom and Gormorrah. The Lord commanded Lot and his family to flee to the mountains, but he hesitated. The Lord had made a way of escape, but for whatever reasons, known only to Lot, he did not follow the Lord’s instruction. He hesitated. Fear may have immobilized him: the passage does not say. Regardless of the reason, the angels of the Lord stepped in and moved Lot and his family out of a deadly situation. The angels literally took their hands and pulled them out of the city to their deliverance. Like Lot, and all godly men, we will find ourselves in trials. The Lord’s children are not preserved from trials and temptations, but the Lord will preserve them in those experiences and He will deliver His children out of them. That is the promise given here. Let us take hope in this promise! The deliverer of our souls is in charge and He will rescue us. We can rest assured He will not abandon us in our time of need.

Activity - Bunch It Up

Source : qwchristiandevotions