November 6: 1 John 5:1-5
 
Key Verse: 1 John 5:5
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
 
Devotion:
Ok, I get it. We need to follow the law. This is the will of God, our communities and of our countries... But... How many of God’s laws have we corrupted because we think we know what God means! We read a few verses and we think we know the will of God! Let’s get real...
 
It takes a whole lot of studying and even more prayer, meditation and even more reading and studying before we can begin to fully understand God’s Word. I believe that is why Christ made sure we have the Holy Spirit to guide us through our lives. The more we try to figure things out, the more we get tied up in the definition of things according to our country ways or our community ways.
 
When Jesus talked about love, it was all inclusive love, loving the people who are around us; not because we think we should, not because we think they know what is right, but because God wants us to love openly! I despair at so called Christians who use their positions to influence others into doing things their way because I must question whether they are listening to God!
 
How do we overcome this? How do we get away from peer pressure? How do we figure out what is right? God has given us instructions, His Word, the scriptures, from which we need to learn how to trust and obey God and obey His ways!
 
I want people to stop using political excuses, social variances, racial prejudice and homophobia to justify rules in their lives which they say come from God. God inspires me to love people, not matter what their background and no matter where they are in life. Yes, it is hard to love people who abuse your trust or your way of life, but we need to allow God to show us how to include them in our love. Believe in Christ and love all people like Jesus does!
 
Points to Ponder:
What do you do when your country imposes hard-to-follow rules?
 
Will you believe and trust God to give you the answers?