September 1
Faithful love
Psalm 106-107/1John 1-2
[About Bible Readingfor the Hungry]
OT
106:13-15Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel! In the wilderness, their desires ran wild, testing God’s patience in that dry land. So he gave them what they asked for, but he sent a plague along with it.
107:1-2 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.
:43 Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD.
NT
1:1-4 The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. This one who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and announce to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was shown to us. We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy will be complete.
:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
2:1-6 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely. He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If someone says, ‘I belong to God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God’s word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.
:15-17 Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.
OT Flash Points
History of disappointment & dishonor
Let all who see & hear this history see the faithful love of the Lord
NT Flash Points
Jesus is the center of our lives
There is no darkness in Him
Don’t say you are His if you refuse to walk in the light He gives you
Perspective
Love one another, your sins are forgiven
Your sins are forgiven, love each other