Spiritual Diary
My Worship Time Focus: No fear in love
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1John 4:12-18
Message of the verses: “17 ¶ By this, love is perfected with us, so
that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also
are we in this world. 18 There is no
fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves
punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” (NASB95)
“17 ¶ So our love for him grows
more and more, filling us with complete confidence for the day when he shall
judge all men—for we realize that our life in this world is actually his life
lived in us. 18 Love contains no
fear—indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always
contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. The man who lives in fear has
not yet had his love perfected.”
(Phillips)
As
I look at the beginning of verse
seventeen I cannot help but going back to what was in verse sixteen, and
in that verse John used the word “abide” three times and then he starts out
verse seventeen by saying “by this, love is perfected with us.” I seems to me that love is perfected by us
abiding in Christ and growing in the knowledge of His love for us. What happens to a believer when he begins to
abide in Christ’s love and understand it more and more? That believer will begin to have more and
more confidence in God, because he knows more and more about God, and
especially His love for believers. The
believer will learn that he need not fear God is such a way that it would bring
torment upon himself for John goes on to say that perfect love casts out fear
because fear has to do with punishment or judgment. Believers need to have a fear of God like a
child has for a loving parent, not a prisoner has for the judge he must face,
for the believer the judgment has already taken place at the cross for
him.
As
believer in Christ we need not fear the past, for Christ died for us, or the
present, or the future, and that is because of the great love that Christ has
for us.
Spiritual Meaning for my life today: One of the things that has haunted me for
most of my life is fear, and one of the things that God has been dealing with
me on this working assignment in Aruba is to deal with this fear by having more
confidence in the wonderful love that He has for me, and as a result of this I
do believe that I am beginning to grow in His love.
The Word of God was convicting to
me as I studied it this morning, and it was also refreshing to my heart.
My Steps of Faith Today:
Continue to grow in the grace and knowledge, and love of God.
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