Love One Another E-Book

Peter DeHaan

• Herausgeber: WS
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Dear Theophilus
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 122

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Imagine what the world would look like today if Christians learned to radiate the love of Jesus to everyone around them.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER is a devotional for Christians who want to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments of all time: To love God and to love others.

Come inspire your soul and nourish your spirit with this thought-provoking, faith-building devotional from Peter DeHaan, beloved Christian author and founder of the A Bible a Day website.

If you’re searching for a Christian Bible study with lifetime application, LOVE ONE ANOTHER was written specifically for you. In his fresh and insightful manner, Peter DeHaan walks you through the New Testament books of First, Second, and Third John to take you straight to the heart of Christ’s powerful message of love.

Perfect for individuals, families, or small groups, this Bible study offers practical, insightful, and encouraging truths for believers from all walks of life.

Get your copy today.

Leseprobe

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

40 DAILY REFLECTIONS FROM THE LETTERS OF 1, 2, AND 3 JOHN

40-DAY BIBLE STUDY SERIES

BOOK 9

PETER DEHAAN

LoveOneAnother: 40 DailyReflections from the Letters of 1, 2, and 3 JohnCopyright © 2023 by PeterDeHaan.

40-DayBibleStudySeries, book 9

All rights reserved: No part of this book may be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form, by any means, or for any purpose without the express written consent of the author or his legal representatives. The only exception is short excerpts and the cover image for reviews or academic research. For permissions: peterdehaan.com/contact.

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures taken from the HolyBible, NewInternationalVersion®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “NewInternationalVersion” are trademarks registered in the UnitedStatesPatent and TrademarkOffice by Biblica, Inc.™

Library of CongressControlNumber: 9798888090077

Published by RockRoosterBooks, GrandRapids, Michigan

ISBN:

979-8-88809-006-0 (e-book)979-8-88809-007-7 (paperback)979-8-88809-008-4 (hardcover)979-8-88809-040-4 (audiobook)

Credits:

Developmental editor: JulieHarbisonCopy editor: RobynMulderCover design: TarynNergaardAuthor photo: ChelsieJensenPhotography

ToDanDeHaan

Series by PeterDeHaan

40-DayBibleStudySeriestakes a fresh and practical look into Scripture, book by book.

BibleCharacterSketchesSeriescelebrates people in Scripture, from the well-known to the obscure.

HolidayCelebrationBibleStudySeriesrejoices in the holidays with Jesus.

VisitingChurchesSeries takes an in-person look at church practices and traditions to inform and inspire today’s followers of Jesus.

Be the first to hear about Peter’s new books and receive updates at PeterDeHaan.com/updates.

CONTENTS

John’s Letters

JOHN’S FIRST LETTER

Day 1: Word of Life

Day 2: Fellowship

Day 3: Complete Joy

Bonus Content: Parallels between John and 1 John

Day 4: God Is Light

Day 5: Confess Our Sins

Day 6: Our Advocate

Day 7: Be like Jesus

Day 8: Love Your Brother and Sister

Bonus Content: I Write to You

Day 9: Love Not the World

Day 10: Antichrists

Day 11: Eternal Life

Day 12: Holy Spirit Anointing

Bonus Content: Dear Children

Day 13: Children of God

Day 14: Jesus Takes Away Our Sins

Day 15: Destroying the Work of the Devil

Day 16: Love One Another

Day 17: What Love Is

Day 18: Jesus’s Two Commands

Bonus Content: The “One Another” Commands

Day 19: Spirit of God

Day 20: The Greater Power

Day 21: The Love of God

Day 22: Acknowledge Jesus

Day 23: No Reason to Fear

Day 24: He First Loved Us

Day 25: Overcome the World

Day 26: Three Witnesses Give Testimony

Bonus Content: Whoever Has the Son Has Life

Day 27: Ask Anything According to God’s Will

Day 28: The Sin That Leads to Death

Bonus Content: The Issue of Sin

Day 29: The True God

Day 30: No Idols

JOHN’S SECOND LETTER

Day 31: Grace, Mercy, and Peace

Day 32: Walk in the Truth

Day 33: Walk in Love

Day 34: Beware the Deceivers

Day 35: Wicked Work

Bonus Content: More to Write

JOHN’S THIRD LETTER

Day 36: Walking in the Truth

Day 37: Faithful Service to Missions

Day 38: Selfish Diotrephes

Day 39: Esteemed Demetrius

Day 40: Peace to You

What Book Do You Want to Read Next?

For Small Groups, Sunday School, and Classrooms

If You’re New to the Bible

About Peter DeHaan

Books by Peter DeHaan

JOHN’S LETTERS

The apostle John (not to be confused with John the Baptist) is one of Jesus’s twelve disciples and part of Jesus’s inner circle, along with his older brother James and his friend Peter. But there’s more. In his biography of Jesus, John refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved.

Imagine that.

Consider that Jesus has many followers. He picks twelve of them to be his disciples and three of them to be in his inner circle, but beyond that John rises above them all as the disciple Jesus loves. (The word love occurs often in John’s writing, which we’ll cover throughout this book.)

John also wrote five of the NewTestament books. OnlyPaul wrote more.

As far as the NewTestament’s content, John wrote about 20 percent of it. OnlyPaul and Luke wrote more, about 33 percent and 25 percent respectively. This clearly places John as one of the top three authors in the NewTestament and a leading source of our Scriptural understanding of Jesus and our faith.

It’s interesting that Paul wrote only letters (epistles), while Luke wrote only historical accounts (the books of Luke and Acts). John, however, wrote in both of these genres, as well as a prophetic book, making his contributions to the Bible more holistic.

John is best known for his beloved biography of Jesus (his historical book). Many cite it as their favorite gospel for its poetic language and unique content.

John is also well known for his epic vision of the end times, called Revelation (his prophetic book). Its evocative imagery intrigues and perplexes readers.

John’s three letters—1 John, 2 John, and 3 John—however, are not as well known. This is unfortunate as they present valuable insights to help us grow in our faith and understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. This is most true of his longest letter, 1 John.

We’ll dig deep into these three letters to mine simple truths and profound insights to move us forward on our faith journey.

[Discover more about John’s writing in LivingWater: 40 Reflections on Jesus’sLife and Love from the Gospel of John and ANewHeaven and a NewEarth: 40 PracticalInsights from John’sBook of Revelation.]

JOHN’S FIRST LETTER

Some refer to the book of John as the gospel of love because he mentions the word love thirty-nine times, more than Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined and more than any other book in the NewTestament. In all the Bible, only the lengthy 150-chapter book of Psalms uses love more often.

InJohn’s much shorter letter of 1 John, love shows up twenty-seven times (and seven more times in 2 and 3 John). John, it seems, is all about love. And as followers of Jesus, so should we. That is, we should love one another. This is what Jesus tells us to do and what John repeats to us.

Unlike most of the letters in the NewTestament, John doesn’t address 1 John to a specific church or person, with content unique to them. Instead, he gives universal truths for everyone. As such, we can apply 1 John to ourselves to follow Jesus with more intention and greater confidence.

How well do we do at loving others? What can we do to love more fully?

[Discover more about love in John 3:16, John 13:34–35, and 1 Corinthians 13.]

DAY 1: WORD OF LIFE

1 JOHN 1:1

This we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (1 John 1:1)

We notice many similarities between the beginning verses of 1 John and the opening passage of the gospel of John. We don’t know which one John wrote first, but we sense that one informed the other. It could be that John wrote his letter first and then expanded on the opening verses when he wrote his biography of Jesus. Or it could be the other way around, with John penning his gospel first and condensing the first eighteen verses to begin his letter.

In the opening lines of 1 John, the disciple confirms Jesus’s presence at our world’s formation (also consider John 1:1–2). AndJohn confirms Jesus’s presence during the apostle’s lifetime.

Consider other biblical writers. We can applaud Luke for investigating the life of Jesus to write his biography of the Messiah (Luke 1:3–4). We can also affirm Paul’s experience with Jesus who appeared to him last (1 Corinthians 15:7–8) in a supernatural encounter (Acts 9:3–6).

YetJohn reminds us that his knowledge of Jesus is firsthand. He has an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus. Using the pronoun we, John says he’s not alone in his testimony of the Messiah. It was a group encounter.

Along with others, John heard Jesus’s words. John saw Jesus with his own eyes. And after Jesus rose from the dead, John experienced the resurrected Christ, looking at him and seeing his scars (John 20:20).

John writes his letter to tell others of his experience with the Savior. He proclaims what he knows about the Word of life—about Jesus—to his readers then and to us today.

In addition to being the Messiah (the Christ) and our Savior, Jesus is the Word of life.

Just as the words he spoke brought forth life during creation, the words he spoke during his time on earth brought forth life to those who followed him then—and to us now. And when we die, the Word of life will bring forth eternal life for us so we can join him and live with him in paradise.

Yes, Jesus is the Word of life.

AndJohn proclaims the Word of life to the readers of his letter so that we can personally experience Jesus. His kingdom is for us now and for eternity. As the Word of life, he guides us in how to live our lives today and guides us into living with him forever.

If we hear Jesus’s words and believe in him, we will have eternal life (John 5:24). Do you believe in the Word of life?

[Discover more about the Word of life in Philippians 2:16 and the words of eternal life in John 6:68.]

DAY 2: FELLOWSHIP

1 JOHN 1:2–3

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. (1 John 1:3)

Building on the phrase Word of life, John continues by saying that the life appeared—that is, Jesus appeared—whom John has seen and testifies about. He proclaims Jesus’s life (eternal life) to us.

Why does he do this? He doesn’t say it’s so we’ll go to heaven when we die, even though eternal life is a sweet outcome of following Jesus.

John’s goal is that we might enjoy fellowship with other followers of Jesus. And this fellowship is also with FatherGod and his Son. This means that as part of Jesus’s church, we can also fellowship with our Creator and our Savior.

Butfellowship is a strange word to me.

As a child, the only time I ever heard fellowship was when churches had “fellowship hour” or “a time of fellowship.” This meant the adults would sit around drinking coffee, making small talk, and laughing at amusing anecdotes. Aside from taking place in a church building, God had little part in our fellowship time.

Butfellowship bored us kids. For our part, we spent fellowship time seeking creative ways to entertain ourselves, with the goal of avoiding getting into trouble.

Though supplying some insight, the dictionary doesn’t offer much clarity into what John means with fellowship either. In defining fellowship, it talks about companionship, friendship, and comradeship. This understanding may explain most churches’ fellowship time, but it falls short of what Christian fellowship could and should be.

The churches’ and the dictionary’s superficial views of fellowship aren’t what John writes about. The reality that God is part of our fellowship suggests it exists, at least in part, on a spiritual level where we enjoy a supernatural connection.

Consider the pair of disciples walking to Emmaus after Jesus’s crucifixion. The resurrected Christ appears to them, but they don’t recognize him. When they at last realize who he is, Jesus disappears. Reflecting on what happened, they say, “Weren’t our hearts burning when he talked to us and explained the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).

Having our hearts burn within us is an example of fellowship.

God-honoring fellowship should cause our hearts to burn when we talk about the things of God, explore the Bible together, and live in authentic Christian community.

And we can also experience this intense, personal fellowship with God. Through the HolySpirit, we can connect with God the Father and God the Son in the spiritual realm.

This fellowship with other believers and with our Lord is why John proclaims Jesus. And when we follow Jesus, we can experience this sincere, profound, and deep connection on a spiritual level.

Is our fellowship sitting around drinking coffee or is there more to it? How can we have fellowship with God?

[Discover more about fellowship in Acts 2:42, 1 Corinthians 1:9, and 2 Corinthians 13:14, as well as 1 John 1:6–7.]

DAY 3: COMPLETE JOY

1 JOHN 1:4

We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:4)

John uses the pronoun we a lot in this letter, over forty times in its short five chapters. Later we’ll see him use we as inclusive language to embrace all those who follow Jesus. Yet other times, especially in the opening, we refers to himself and a group of unidentified others who join him in penning this epistle.

John now says that their purpose in writing is to make their joy complete. On the surface it strikes me as a self-centered reason. It’s as if he’s not writing for our benefit, but for his, quite simply to experience complete joy.

Yet when we’re doing what God calls us to do, joy should be the outcome. As we obey him fully, it’s reasonable to expect that we’ll have complete joy.

The word joy appears in over half of the books of the Bible. John uses it in all three of his letters, as well as in his biography of Jesus.

Joy is more than happiness. Some people are often happy, but they’re not as often joyful. We can think of joy as an immense satisfaction or an intense, ecstatic happiness. We can experience joy in an accomplishment or in a situation.

For example, I feel joy each time I complete a book to share with others. It’s an outcome of being obedient and answering God’s call to do my part to advance his kingdom.