Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

One of the common attacks used against the Christian faith is that Christians are hypocrites. They say one thing and then do something else. They tell everyone they should act a certain way, but they themselves break those very rules. In many cases, this is just a poor excuse for people to not attend or become involved in church. It provides an outlet for people to live their lives however they choose. But for Christians, this is something each person should weigh in their own life. Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” Our lives should look different from the ways of the world.

In 1 John 2:4-6, John says, “Whoever says I know him but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.” John was writing this to early Christians and those words are just as true today. Of course, we will sin, but we should not live in it. If we live in perpetual sin, we are no different than anyone else. John continues to say, “But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them.” We are called to be obedient to God. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit is present in us to help us flee from sin. We will surely fail on our own. The evil one is present on Earth and working hard every day. We must pray and lean on God every single day in order to resist temptation. Our obedience will lead to a closer walk with Him and make us better prepared and equipped to lead others to know, love and follow Jesus.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection: 

• Are you struggling with sin today? Does is seem as if the evil one is working overtime in your life? Pray this intentional prayer today.
• Prayer: Lord, I am incapable of fleeing sin without your help. Give me the strength daily to be obedient to you and to live my life as your will and not mine. In Jesus' name, amen.

Family Devo: 1 John 2

By: Tina Bryant

When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.   

Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset  

In the Bible, the writers of the different books sometimes use "light" as a word to describe God and Jesus. They also use darkness to describe sin or evil. We see that in today’s Bible passage. Read 1 John 2:10-11 aloud. These verses say that whoever loves his brother abides in the light but whoever hates his brother is in the darkness. It also says that whoever hates his brother doesn’t know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.  

Try closing your eyes really tight. It’s dark, isn’t it? Do you think you could walk around like this with no tools or no one to help you? It wouldn’t be very easy and you’d probably end up bumping into furniture or walking into walls.  

When we choose to hate others it’s like walking around with our eyes closed. God does not want us to walk in the dark like that. He wants to be the Light for us to see by. In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This is a good promise, and we have a responsibility to live like Jesus lived so we can walk in the light with Him. 

Prayer: Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be the Light for us to live by. Help us to live like Jesus did so we can shine so others can find Jesus too. In Jesus' name, amen.