He was in the beginning. He was seen. He was heard.
He was touched, fully observed; He is the Life and the Word,
Who was made manifest. Man is not understanding this.
The apostles still proclaimed, imploring you to put your hand in his
For fellowship with the Father and with the Son.
Fellowship with one another, complete joy, being one.
This world has so much darkness, but in God there is none.
If we say we walk with Him and choose the former, the truth we shun.
If we claim to be unstained, it’s like doing the same
As calling God a liar, as if God’s Word never came
To abide with us. Jesus came and died for us.
If we confess our sins, He is the only faithful and righteous Judge
Who can cleanse us from our sin, every shameful situation.
Jesus Christ is our Advocate and propitiation.
We know we have come to know Him if we love and obey.
The true Light is shining now, illuminating Life’s way.
I write to you, Beloved, because your sins are forgiven
And because you know Him who is from the very beginning.
You’ve overcome the evil one who has no truth within him,
But in you God’s Word abides, giving you wisdom.
You are commanded to love your brothers and sisters from the heart.
If you hate them, the light is out, and you are in the dark,
Ready to stumble, walking without knowing where you’re going.
The world will crumble as we love ourselves and stuff, never knowing
The love of the Father as we choose the created
Over the One who made it, taking to heart the lies of Satan.
So many antichrists have gone out, claiming that the sacrificed
Savior really was not the Christ, but they were never about that Life.
They were never of us who abide with Him and He in us.
His anointing tells us all. Liars cannot be teaching us.
Continue in the truth until the day that Jesus comes,
So we can have confidence and not shrink, knowing that He’s the One.
We will see Him as He truly is and instantly be just like Him.
We are God’s children now, Beloved, just like His Son beside Him.
Such love and hope inspires us to purity as we anticipate.
His life is our life now, and our souls confess that this is great.
I write to you, Beloved, because your sins are forgiven
And because you know Him who is from the very beginning.
You’ve overcome the evil one who has no truth within him,
But in you God’s Word abides, giving you wisdom.
Beloved, me ask this: What is your practice?
In or of the world that spins on its axis?
Sin or righteousness? The devil or the matchless
Savior you must confess, who came to attack this—
No, not attack, but destroy—sin? He smashed it.
Do you love your brothers in both truth and action?
Or are bitter thoughts, jealousy, and ambition ever active?
Do you live in such a way to make the Trinity attractive?
Listen, you will either follow lies, or you will follow truth.
Choice one is living hollow lives; choice two is a life full of proof:
Faith and obedience. John keeps on repeating this,
Love for brothers, and we see how much the world is needing this.
It keeps practicing seedy sins and shows no signs of heeding Him
Who came to destroy the devil’s works. Deceived, they’re not believing Him,
But believing in some other Jesus, not the Christ, the life, who frees us,
Not the Son of God. We believe in what we think will please us.
And as a result, we find ourselves walking the way of Cain,
Hating the righteousness of others and clinging to evil. We stay the same,
And it leads to murder. This is the path devoid of life,
But the one who loves his brother, in him Eternal Life abides.
We think we know love and can define it, but Christ gave us the definition.
It’s not a feeling; it’s laying our lives down like He did at the crucifixion.
Love is not a word, but a truth and a deed.
We will know we are alive based on what we believe.
Do we walk in burdensome darkness? Or do we receive
His commands with delight. The Spirit gives us light as we read
The testimonies and the truth with the wisdom to refute
The spirits speaking in the world who love to convolute.
They say “Jesus did not come in flesh. Jesus is not the Son.”
They say, “Jesus is not the Christ. He and the Father are not one.”
I plead with you; believe it’s true that there is no life without Christ.
Believe that the Father in love moved first when He sent His Son to pay our price.
He set His Spirit upon Him when he first came by the water.
The sky was torn open. “This is My beloved Son,” declared the Father.
If we believe the Father’s testimony of Christ, we know we have life
If we pray according to His will, we know He hears us. Yes, that’s right!
He is the Son of God. Believe in His name.
Fellowship with overcomers who believe in Him who overcame.
We know we are from God and are not of the earth.
Faith, love, and obedience are the marks of our birth.
We know the Son of God has come. We know the Son of God gives life.
We keep our lives free of idols and strive on till we see the Christ.
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Josh serves as Resident College Pastor for Faith's college ministry, Doxa. He and his wife, Pam, have three children.
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