SCRIPTURE: Jer. 33-34; Ps. 74; 1 John 5

1 John 5:12-15
My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

OBSERVATION: ‘Beyond a shadow of a doubt…’ meaning that we who embrace the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ don’t spend our time concerned with our state of salvation. This means that I’m to move into the ministry of a devoted disciple of Christ, recognizing that there will be moments of weakness, when my guard is down, when the comission of a sin is possible–even likely.

APPLICATION: Asking according to his will means that I have to redouble my efforts to understand God’s will on a regular basis so that I may seek and find the object of God’s desiring. The vision for Trinity is becoming clearer, and my personal discipleship sometimes struggles to remain in focus. I must move into the presence of God more often–to recognize those moments when the division between God and me is growing because I am allowing myself to become distracted with stress and temporal affairs.

PRAYER: God, your patience is amazing. Thank you for waiting while chase the things that so often don’t matter. Help me to dwell in your presence and find strength, direction, and purpose in you. Through Christ and for his sake, Amen.