May 1: 1 John 1:1-4
Key Verse: 1 John 1:2
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.
Devotion:
And now for something completely different! Just when I was thinking the beginnings of the letters were starting to be too similar, BAM! Although the author does not write his name down, we can assume this is John because of the way he writes – he includes love for Christ in everything he writes or shares! John is known for his love for Jesus and his recognition of His position as being the Son of God. His reference here to the one who was there from the beginning is clear recognition of Christ.
I think I am a lot like John in how I love the Word of God. All my teachers is the past would testify ho bad I was with reading and remembering anything; but reading my bible is more of a love than a chore! Finding out how much God has done for us over time and seeing how His love extends to the furthest corners of the world inspires me to find out more. I think the first book I read from cover to cover and did not want to put it down was one of a handful of books I have actually read cover to cover (yes, just one hand!) That book was a novel based on the reality of metal fatigue in aircraft -it had me engrossed because I just wanted to know more!
This is the way I find myself with my bible – I want to find out more, I want to see what happen, I want to find the roots of why and I am loving every step I take in reading it – no matter how may times I read it! The more I read, the more I find out and the more my love for it grows. I really do think this is how John felt about finding the truth from Jesus and living it out… it just made sense and explained so much!
John wanted people to know everything he felt and so he writes in a unique style which conveys his love for Christ. I used to find it very difficult to work out my feelings, and still do, so I took to writing stuff down – no on paper, but on computers. Much of what I write never makes it to the open because it gets deleted before anyone sees it, but it helps me to begin to understand myself!
Points to Ponder:
How do you cope with your feelings?
How would you go about sharing your feelings for God?
DJ