04/01 1 John 1:1
We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning,[a] whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.
JESUS
Jesus always has been, always is and ever shall be. He is the eternal Lord. He is pre-existent. Before anything was He was with God and is God. We don’t make Him Lord because He is Lord. We have the wonderful privilege of accepting Him as Lord of our life. Jesus is Lord and Lord of all. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. There is no other way to the Father but thru Him.
04/02 1 John 1:2
This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.
JESUS
If you know Him you trust Him. Jesus is absolutely trustworthy. We can put our life in His hands. Talk with Him about your life. Sit with Him and ask Him what He would have you do. Then obey Him. He will take care of you.
04/03 1 John 1:3
We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
FELLOWSHIP
We have fellowship with each other because of Jesus. Spiritually we are brothers and sisters in Christ. When we see people having problems we can go to them and help them because we are part of the Kingdom of God in Christ. Jesus is our strength and our resource. In Christ we can stand before the Father and talk with Him about our problems. God is good and He loves us.
04/04 1 John 1:4
We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.
JOY
We receive His joy and we can live with real joy no matter what we are facing. Our joy is in Christ. Our joy is in reading His Word. Our joy is in seeing others come to Christ. Jesus is God’s everything. He is our elder brother. He is our life and just as He loves us we love Him.
04/05 1 John 1:5
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
LIGHT
Our lives are often shrouded in confusion and misdirection. We don’t know what is coming next. Then we come to Jesus and He will comfort us, give us wisdom to deal with our situation, whatever it might be, and enable us to see because He is light.
04/06 1 John 1:6
So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.
CHANGED
Christians are different than the world. They have changed the way they see things. Christians see people as important. They spend time with God and the Lord Jesus. Their thinking and acting are in harmony for the Lord is in control of their life. Christians are obedient to the Lord. They care for His people.
04/07 1 John 1:7
But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
LIGHT
God is light. His light enables us to have fellowship with Him in Christ. His light keeps us from stumbling into darkness, indeed it keeps us from walking in the dark. God’s light is available for us through Jesus. His light gives us the direction we need each moment of each hour so that we can fellowship with Him and love one another. We don’t fix people. Jesus fixes people. We are called to love one another.
04/08 1 John 1:8
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
SIN
Sin is pervasive in this world. All have sinned including you and me. Our sin weighs us down. Sin separates us from God. Sin causes us to think wrongly and to do wrong things. We take our burden of sin to Jesus everyday and He forgives us of our sin and removes its burden.
04/09 1 John 1:9
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
FORGIVENESS
What are you struggling with in your heart of hearts? Talk with Jesus about it. Talk with Him about your sin-lying, pride, lust, hate, selfishness and many other things we might do regularly. He will forgive you and give you the strength to get over your sinfulness.
04/10 1 John 1:10
If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
FORGIVENESS
We all need forgiveness. No one is perfect. No one is without sin. We need help and we need it now. His forgiveness will put us on the right path. The tragedy is when we don’t see our sin. If you don’t see your sin you need to talk with the Lord. He will reveal your sin to you.
04/11 1 John 2:1-2
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
ACTIVITY
The way we live our life is important. Do I spend the time each day I need to stay on track with the Lord? We don’t have to worry about catching up. Start today and stay current. Read the Word of God and talk with the Son of God. That will change your life. The Lord is good and all that He does is good.
04/12 1 John 2:3-4
And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
ACTIONS
Actions speak louder than words. Sometimes we may say things we aren’t doing. Be sure that your actions are matching what you say. As a Christian we have to do what we say we are doing. The world is watching and it can spot a hypocrite. Obedience is the activity of a faithful warrior for Christ.
04/13 1 John 2:5-6
But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
CHANGE
When we live for Christ we are in the process of change. To live for Him is to live and become like Him. Jesus loved people. He came that all might know. When we are becoming like Jesus we are doing the things that Jesus did. Jesus glorified the Father and lived under His control. Are you letting the Lord control your life?
04/14 1 John 2:7-8
Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
PEOPLE
People count with Jesus. People count most of all. Do you love people? The command to us is love each other. This is an action and not a thought. Do we treat others as if they are valuable? Do we do for others as we would have them do for us? Pay attention to the people around you. They need your love, respect and attention.
04/15 1 John 2:9
If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.
HATE
We disguise our hate. We use justifications that are carefully crafted to salve our consciences. The truth is that we sometimes hate others. The Lord calls us to be forgiving. This may be hard and even at times seem impossible. We take our emotions and feelings to the Lord and ask Him to move us from our position of sin. He will and we can. Do not hate.
04/16 1 John 2:10
Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
LOVE
Jesus calls us to live in the light. His presence in our hearts is light. We give Him control of our life and we will walk in the light. When we are in the light of God we do not stumble and we do not cause others to stumble. Stay close to Jesus and walk in His light.
04/17 1 John 2:11
But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
CHANGE
The only way we can stop hating is to change. The only way we can truly change is to go to Jesus. Lord help us to forgive. Help us to become more like you.
04/18 1 John 2:12
I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.
FORGIVEN
Jesus promised us that if we would ask Him He would forgive us of our sin and cleanse us of unrighteousness and make us a child of God. Christ is our righteousness. He is our Savior. Jesus is Lord. When we become a child of God we belong to Him and He is quick to forgive our sin. Let us be quick to repent.
04/19 1 John 2:13
I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one.
CROSS
The ground is level at the Cross. Each one has equal access to the Lord. When Christ comes into our heart He comes to stay. It is Jesus who gives us success in the life we now live. So whether we are young, middle aged or senior members of the family we belong there because of Jesus.
04/20 1 John 2:14
I have written to you who are God’s children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts and you have won your battle with the evil one.
JESUS
Knowing Jesus is the key to dealing with the battles we each face in our life. Until we begin to grow in knowing Him we are destined to living a life of defeat. Read His Word, talk with Him and do what He says. Life in Christ is for everyone that knows Him.
04/21 1 John 2:15-16
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
WORLD
Set aside the worlds pull. Spend time with Jesus. Let Christ fill you with eternal things and give you a mind that is focused on Him. Do not let the world pull you away with its temporary beauty for it lasts only for a season and then is gone. Give yourself to Christ and let Him build eternal things into your life.
04/22 1 John 2:17
And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
ETERNAL
The things of Christ are eternal. He will focus our life on things that count and last. This world and all it contains is passing away. The things of the Lord last. Build your life on things that count and last. Give your heart and your life to Jesus. Jesus is the way, the Father’s way, and He will never lead you astray.
04/23 1 John 2:18-19
Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.
OBEDIENCE
When we follow Jesus we are called to obedience. Followers of Christ grow in Him and develop a pattern of obedience. Those who are false believers cannot follow Jesus and obey Him for very long. We must be careful not to judge others but we can let the Word of God and the Lord Himself deal with them.
04/24 1 John 2:20
But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies.
FAITHFUL
A person that spends time with the Word of God and in prayer with the Son of God and then puts that to practice in daily life will be faithful. Obedience is the mark of a faithful follower of Jesus. Look at your life. Are you obeying Jesus?
04/25 1 John 2:22-23
And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
DENIAL
A Christian will not deny Jesus as Lord. The world will always deny Christ. Remember that when a person is without Christ they are dead in their trespasses and sin. A person without Christ does not know Him nor will they respond kindly to spiritual things. When we accept Jesus we become a member of the family of God and the Lord God is our Father.
04/26 1 John 2:24
So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.
FAITHFUL
Jesus is more interested in our obedience than He is in our success. Our faithfulness is critical to our daily walk. It is in our best interest to maintain an active, focused Christian walk. Everyday we are called to be faithful in our time with the Lord. Everyday we are expected to submit ourselves to Him so that He can guide us. Be faithful to the Lord.
04/27 1 John 2:25
And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
ETERNAL LIFE
Eternal life is a very difficult concept for us to grasp. It simply means life like Jesus. When we are faithful we are in a growing relationship with the Lord. As we grow in Christ we experience the life of Christ in us. We submit ourselves to the authority of God. As we live this experiential Christ like life we are enjoying eternal life. Jesus is living in us.
04/28 1 John 2:26
I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray.
WORLD
The world, the flesh and the devil will always try to pull you away from the Lord’s control. The only way that you can combat this is to make sure that you are letting Jesus control you. You and I must make sure that we maintain a methodical daily Bible reading. We should have a specific time each day to meet with the Lord and pray. Our prayers would include a time of adoration of the Lord. He is beautiful and majestic and He loves us. Additionally we will take time to confess our sin. He knows what we have done but in confession we are identifying our sin and agreeing with Him that what we have done is indeed a sin. Remember to the thankful. An attitude of gratitude is so important for our growth. When we aren’t grateful for the little things we will miss the blessing of big things. Finally we need to pray for others and ourselves. Others will be the majority of things we are praying about. People count with Jesus.
04/29 1 John 2:27
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
TEACHABLE
The voice of the Holy Spirit will tell you about your sin. It is of the utmost importance that you sit quietly before the Lord each day. Listen and He will tell you about your sin. His holiness will point out to you everything you have messed up today. Be quick to agree and change. Be a teachable student. The Holy Spirit will not debate it with us. Sin is sin. Confess it and stop it.
04/30 1 John 2:28-29
And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
ACTS
We are not saved by our good deeds. God isn’t looking for a few good people. The Lord is interested in our surrender to Him and having faith in Him that He has saved us. Then we live like a child of God and always do the next right thing. Our actions as a Christian are no longer controlled by the world. The Lord Jesus tells us the way we should go.
