All Access - Day 18 - May 3

Read – 1 John 3:11-17

The chief characteristic of a Christ follower is love. Christians love one another.

John is really clear on this point: you cannot claim to be a Christian and hate your fellow believer. And yet there are many Christ followers who do just that. When they gather with the church on Sunday there are people they deliberately avoid. There is unresolved tension between people who have received forgiveness from God but choose to not forgive their brother or sister in Christ. Rather than work through a difficult season in their small group, they avoid the confrontation and abandon the group. 

This should not be!

John goes so far as to write that an unloving person is really a murderer at heart who does not have eternal life within them. The Christian who hates a fellow believer is no better than Cain, who murdered his brother Abel!

Jesus demonstrates what love is. He gave up his life for his brothers and sisters. His sacrifice wasn’t a one-time martyrdom. Jesus sacrificed daily as he put the needs of others before his own. That might be the most difficult part of Christ-living for us today, the practical, daily sacrificial living that John says marks one as a believer in Jesus:

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

Let that soak in today. Let that shape the way you engage with your fellow Christians.

All Access - Day 17 - May 2

Read – 1 John 3:1-10

Let’s be honest: living a pure life is challenging. There is so much in our culture to lead us astray. It’s easy to read this passage and feel the conviction of God’s Holy Spirit. After all, followers of Jesus contend with sin every day.

When you read verse 6, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning,” if you’re like me you’re left thinking, “I still struggle with sin. Does that mean I am not living in Christ?” The subtle distinction in this verse is between someone who commits a sin and someone who cherishes a sin.

We all commit sins and, when we repent of that sin, confessing it to the Father we receive grace and forgiveness. What John is talking about here is unrepentant sin for which a person is not sorry and does not seek forgiveness. It is sin that is nurtured and loved too much to be rejected in favor of holy living.

The only way to experience victory over the stubborn sin that you struggle to uproot from your life is to 1) rely on the Holy Spirit within you as you read and apply God’s Word, 2) to know what situations tempt you and to stay away from them and 3) to find Christian brothers and sisters who will help you overcome your weaknesses.

That’s why it is so important for us to understand that, when our willpower runs out we have access to God’s

All Access - Day 16 - May 1

READ – 1 John 2:15-29

Even when we know we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, the things of this world compete for our allegiance to Christ. The “…craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions,” all compete for our affection.

John tells us that the things of this world are passing away. All that really matters are eternal things. And yet we chase the possessions, power and pleasure that this world dangles in front of our hungry eyes despite the fact that they’re all temporary and only serve to lead us astray.

The antidote to the allure of worldly affections is to live life according to the Holy Spirit. John writes,

But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

Living in Christ is not automatic. Like any other relationship there has to be ongoing communication and interaction. The only way your relationship with Christ will grow is by spending time with him. When you do, the Holy Spirit’s influence in your life grows, too, giving you confidence, “…so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.”