When we were young, we used to say, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But is that true? Lots of us still feel the pain and carry the scars of words others have said to us. One day, a dad came home from work tired and grumpy, and…
Read MoreYour Daily Quiet Time
Do you have any habits you don’t like? Or that are annoying to others? What about habits that are good for you? Here’s one habit that’s beyond good for you and that I hope every believer has — a Daily Quiet Time. What I’m talking about is a regular time each day that you spend…
Read MoreWhat I’ve Read Lately
I like to read. A lot. I’m not sure whether that’s a strength or a weakness, but there it is. I like both fiction and non-fiction, biographies, history, theology, you name it. People ask me about books I like, so I thought I’d share some books I read (or, in some cases, re-read) and enjoyed…
Read MoreComplete Series List 2020-2022
Since in the last post I listed all the blog topics November 2022 through September 2023, I thought I’d list all the topics from March 2020 through June 2022. Blog Series March 2020 through June 2022: Back to the Basics (Discipleship) Victory Over the Trials The Fruit of the Spirit The 23rd Psalm Answers about…
Read MoreSeptember 2023 Update
The calendar has turned to September, and, in Ohio at least, we can feel it in the air. It feels like…football! As we look toward Fall and the beginning of a new season, I want to first thank you for reading this blog over the past year. I truly appreciate you, and I pray that…
Read MoreThe Close of the Letter: Three Things We Know
John has written this entire letter so that his people could know that their salvation is true, so it’s fitting that he closes the letter with three more things that we should know. As he’s done throughout this letter, John packs these little verses full of great theological truth. First, John reminds us that born-again…
Read MoreHaving Confidence in Your Prayers
Did your parents ever tell you something that you believed, and when you got older, you realized it wasn’t true? Like when your mom told you that if you made an ugly face, it would stick that way? I once heard a dad say to his daughter, “No, sweetie, the ice cream truck plays music…
Read MoreThat You May Know…
Remember that famous line in the movie Field of Dreams that goes, “If you build it, they will come”? You have no doubt that line was in the movie. However, the line is, “If you build it, he will come.” Or in the classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, you just know the Evil…
Read MoreGod’s Rules are Not a Burden
We’ve been talking about John’s use of the three tests he gives his readers — the Doctrinal, Love, and Obedience tests. These are designed to help them evaluate the false teachers who have left the church. Now John rolls all three tests together into one paragraph. And, as usual, he gets right to the point: …
Read MoreLoving Others and Assurance of Salvation
Throughout this letter, John provides three tests by which his people can evaluate the teachers who had left the church. Their doctrine differed greatly from John’s, so the readers wondered who was right. Which teaching was the truth? In 4:13-21, John combines the Doctrinal test (see also 2:18-27 and 4:1-6) and the Love test (…
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