SPIRITUAL DIARY F0R 7-08-04
My Worship Time Focus:
Walking in the light
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: 1John 2:9-11
Message of the verse: “9
He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness
until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light,
and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
11 But he who hates his brother
is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going,
because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
(NKJV) “9 If anyone says, "I am living in the
light," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still
living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves other Christians is living
in the light and does not cause anyone to stumble. 11
Anyone who hates a Christian brother or sister is living and walking in
darkness. Such a person is lost, having been blinded by the darkness.” (NLT)
In these three verses John writes
some sobering things about love, sobering because for one thing a persons walk
can determine whether or not he is in fellowship with the Lord, by showing
whether or not he is in fellowship with other believers. John says that if a person says that he loves
God, yet hates his brother in the Lord, he is walking in darkness, because if
he who loves his brother will be abiding in the true light. Hatred blinds a person, while love opens
person’s eyes to see what God wants them to see. It is important to note that true Christian
love has to come from the Holy Spirit, for it is not a natural thing to be
done, because man is selfish. A
Christian brother who is walking in the darkness can, not only stumble himself,
but also he can cause others to stumble.
Spiritual meaning for my life
today: True Christian love can only
come from the Holy Spirit who lives within me.
As I read this passage it has shown me that I still must love those who
have left our church. I believe that it
is all right to be upset with the things that they have done, because I truly
believe that God is also upset with what they have done, and it is God who will
do the work in their hearts to bring them to repentance, an I am only to pray
for them that they will yield to the urging of the Holy Spirit to repent.
The Word
of God was very refreshing to me as I read it and studied it this morning, and
it was also convicting to my heart.
My Steps of Faith Today:
I trust the Lord with the outcome of what is going on in Canada, and I
trust the Lord to work things out with those who have left our church, that He
will call them to repentance.
Memory verses: 1Cor. 13:4-7
Love is
patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not
arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things.
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