Page 19 - 4-17-15 Friday's Edition

Local
John moves his readers to confession. If you acknowl- edge that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in you and you in God (vs. 15). In the days of John confessing Christ could cause death be- cause as they hated Christ they hated all who confessed Him. It requires boldness to confess Christ. This bold- ness comes as you under- stand God’s true love for you! As you realize how much God loves you through His actions towards you, you will proclaim that surely Jesus is the son of God.
In verses seventeen (17) and eighteen (18) John dis- cusses love and punishment. John pushes to know perfect love and how to recognize it with God and to know that there is no fear in love. God is seen as a big, strong, pow- erful, no non-sense God; this causes some to fear. God does not want you to fear Him and His power; He
wants you to love Him and His power. God’s love shows mercy and compassion; for- giveness and restoration. When you know the perfect love of God you do not have to be afraid of Him when you do wrong, but you can run to Him when you have done so.
We love because He (God) first loved us (vs. 19). You are able to love yourself, each other, and God Himself because He first loved you. Your love is a response to the love that you have seen man- ifested in your life. You can love others because you know that someone has al- ready loved you.
If you say that you love God but hate your brother or sister, you are a liar; for how can you love a God you can- not see and not love those who you can (vs. 20). Loving God will make it impossible to hate others. When you know the true and real love of God in your own life you
will realize that if God can love you then you can love anybody. You demonstrate the love of God by loving others.
God’s Love Is True
This week’s lesson recorded in 1 John 4:13-21 and 5:1-5 continues from last week’s lesson about love. Every believer in Christ must remember that the central theme of God’s relationship to us is love. Love is center and central to our relation- ship with God and it must be the same in our relation- ships with one another.
John writes that God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us (vs. 13). God’s Spirit is the evidence that He is in you and you are in Him. This cohabitation is not a
one-sided deal; God lives in you AND you live in God. God’s Spirit is Him and He has given Himself to you and in your love for God you must give yourself to Him.
John testifies to who Christ is and why He came into the world. He says that Christ is the Son of God and He came to be the Savior of the world (vs. 14). God did not choose anyone else to come and save the world but His Son. This points more to God’s love for you. While you were a sinner in trouble, God sent His Son to save you!
FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 7-B