Daily Devotions with Greg Laurie – Wednesday,
25 December 2013 – “Christ the Lord”
Then the angel said to them, "Do not
be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to
all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord."(Luke 2:10–11)
The angel began that wonderful
announcement to the shepherds with, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy. . . ." Maybe you are suffering today. You
might find yourself wondering, Where is the joy? But what is the joy about? Is
it about an opportunity to go shopping? Is the message of Christmas "Let
it snow?" No, it is, "Let us worship."
The angels' visit to the shepherds became
the first Christmas celebration. It's as though heaven and earth were
celebrating it together, as though a portal to glory had been opened up. These
shepherds saw the supernatural world, the heavenly world. On that first
Christmas, there was a big celebration in heaven and on earth over the birth of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have a Savior: "For there is born
to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord"
(Luke 2:11). That is the most important thing. We have a Savior who came to
save us from the power and penalty of sin. Whatever you are going through in
life, remember this: you have a Savior. He has put your sins as far away from
you as the east is from the west.
Christ means "anointed one."
Another word for that is Messiah. Jesus was the fulfillment of God's promise to
send His Son as the Messiah. This is a simple reminder that God keeps His
promises. God said that He would send a Messiah, and the Messiah came.
Lord means that we have a sovereign God
who is in control of our lives.
So set aside the things you have become
preoccupied with and remember that you have a Savior. You have a Lord. You have
a Christ. And you have His promises.
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Today's Bible Reading:
1: John The Word of Life
1 We declare to you what was from the
beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have
looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 this life
was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the
eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— 3 we declare to
you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us;
and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We
are writing these things so that our[a] joy may be complete.
God Is Light
5 This is the message we have heard from
him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at
all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness,
we lie and do not do what is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is
faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and
his word is not in us.
Christ Our Advocate
2: My little children, I am writing these
things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the
whole world.
3 Now by this we may be sure that we know
him, if we obey his commandments. 4 Whoever says, “I have come to know him,”
but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth
does not exist; 5 but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of
God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6
whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.
A New Commandment
7 Beloved, I am writing you no new
commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the
old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new
commandment that is true in him and in you, because[b] the darkness is passing
away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says, “I am in the
light,” while hating a brother or sister,[c] is still in the darkness. 10
Whoever loves a brother or sister[d] lives in the light, and in such a
person[e] there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates another believer[f]
is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go,
because the darkness has brought on blindness.
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young people,
because you have conquered the evil one.
14 I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
because you are strong
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or the things in
the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; 16 for
all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the
pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 And the world
and its desire[g] are passing away, but those who do the will of God live
forever.
Warning against Antichrists
18 Children, it is the last hour! As you
have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From
this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did
not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with
us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us. 20 But
you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge.[h] 21 I
write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it,
and you know that no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the one
who denies that Jesus is the Christ?[i] This is the antichrist, the one who
denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father;
everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from
the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you,
then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he has
promised us,[j] eternal life.
26 I write these things to you concerning
those who would deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing that you received
from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his
anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just
as it has taught you, abide in him.[k]
28 And now, little children, abide in
him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame
before him at his coming.
Children of God
29 If you know that he is righteous, you
may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him. 3: 1 See what
love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and
that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not
know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet
been revealed. What we do know is this: when he[l] is revealed, we will be like
him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify
themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of
lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed to take away
sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who
sins has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive
you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8
Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been
sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to
destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born of God do not sin,
because God’s seed abides in them;[m] they cannot sin, because they have been
born of God. 10 The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed
in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those
who do not love their brothers and sisters.[n]
Love One Another
11 For this is the message you have heard
from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We must not be like
Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder
him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be
astonished, brothers and sisters,[o] that the world hates you. 14 We know that
we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not
love abides in death. 15 All who hate a brother or sister[p] are murderers, and
you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. 16 We know
love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our
lives for one another. 17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the
world’s goods and sees a brother or sister[q] in need and yet refuses help?
18 Little children, let us love, not in
word or speech, but in truth and action. 19 And by this we will know that we
are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our
hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22
and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and
do what pleases him.
23 And this is his commandment, that we
should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just
as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he
abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he
has given us.
Testing the Spirits
4: Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets
have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every
spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus[r] is not from God. And this is
the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and
now it is already in the world. 4 Little children, you are from God, and have
conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the
world. 5 They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world,
and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to
us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the
spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
God Is Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was
revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we
might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he
loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved,
since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has
ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is
perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him
and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do
testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God
abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love
abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in
this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so
are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out
fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached
perfection in love. 19 We love[s] because he first loved us. 20 Those who say,
“I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters,[t] are liars; for those who
do not love a brother or sister[u] whom they have seen, cannot love God whom
they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love
God must love their brothers and sisters[v] also.
Faith Conquers the World
5: Everyone who believes that Jesus is
the Christ[w] has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the
child. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and
obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his
commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whatever is born
of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our
faith. 5 Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus
is the Son of God?
Testimony concerning the Son of God
6 This is the one who came by water and
blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood.
And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. 7 There
are three that testify:[x] 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these
three agree. 9 If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater;
for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. 10 Those who
believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not
believe in God[y] have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that
God has given concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God gave us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life;
whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Epilogue
13 I write these things to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have
eternal life.
14 And this is the boldness we have in
him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we
know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the
requests made of him. 16 If you see your brother or sister[z] committing what
is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God[aa] will give life to such a one—to
those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that
you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is
not mortal.
18 We know that those who are born of God
do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one
does not touch them. 19 We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole
world lies under the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God
has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is
true;[ab] and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the
true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from
idols.[ac]
Footnotes:
a. 1 John 1:4 Other ancient authorities
read your
b. 1 John 2:8 Or that
c. 1 John 2:9 Gk hating a brother
d. 1 John 2:10 Gk loves a brother
e. 1 John 2:10 Or in it
f. 1 John 2:11 Gk hates a brother
g. 1 John 2:17 Or the desire for it
h. 1 John 2:20 Other ancient authorities
read you know all things
i. 1 John 2:22 Or the Messiah
j. 1 John 2:25 Other ancient authorities
read you
k. 1 John 2:27 Or it
l. 1 John 3:2 Or it
m. 1 John 3:9 Or because the children of
God abide in him
n. 1 John 3:10 Gk his brother
o. 1 John 3:13 Gk brothers
p. 1 John 3:15 Gk his brother
q. 1 John 3:17 Gk brother
r. 1 John 4:3 Other ancient authorities
read does away with Jesus (Gk dissolves Jesus)
s. 1 John 4:19 Other ancient authorities
add him; others add God
t. 1 John 4:20 Gk brothers
u. 1 John 4:20 Gk brother
v. 1 John 4:21 Gk brothers
w. 1 John 5:1 Or the Messiah
x. 1 John 5:7 A few other authorities
read (with variations) 7 There are three that testify in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. 8 And there are three
that testify on earth:
y. 1 John 5:10 Other ancient authorities
read in the Son
z. 1 John 5:16 Gk your brother
aa.1 John 5:16 Gk he
ab. 1 John 5:20 Other ancient authorities
read know the true God
ac. 1 John 5:21 Other ancient authorities
add Amen
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Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, CA 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1(800)821-3300
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