December 8, 2022 - 1 John 2:3-5

“And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.” 1 John 2:3-5 NLT

Lord, this verse can be a bit convicting. I hope that it causes us to take a good look at our lives and really evaluate how we are living. Does the life we think we are living match our actions? Do we obey your commands or are there some that we try to ignore or find excuses as to why they don’t apply to us? Lord, we want our lives to be fully lived in your truth. We don’t want to deceive ourselves and live under the lie that we are following you when we are not.

Lord, we do praise you for your grace that makes it possible to live for you without being perfect. We all fall short even when we are trying to obey all your commands. We praise you for your forgiveness. Work on us and help us continue to grow. Help us learn to overcome the areas that we are constantly failing in. Teach us how to grow strong in these areas. Open our eyes to the areas that we need to work on. Grow our desire to obey to the point that it is more than our desire to sin. The key is in our love for you. Reveal more of yourself and your love for us. Teach us how to love you in the same manner you love us. Grow our love for you so that it is our greatest heart’s desire to bless you. We want to do your will out of pure love for you and not obligation. We want obedience not to be something that we force ourselves to do, but something that flows out of our love for you. We want others to be able to look at our lives and see that we live differently than the world around us. Let us be an example of loving you and walking in your kingdom ways.

In Jesus name, amen.