Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Thursday, January 23, 2025

QT 1/23/2025 1 Jn 2:7-14, You want real change -- commit yourself to the word of God

1 John 2:7–14 (ESV) —

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

12 I am writing to you, little children,

because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

13 I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, children,

because you know the Father.

14 I write to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

because you are strong,

and the word of God abides in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

 

NOTE: John addresses three groups: 1) little children, 2) fathers, and 3) young men. I think he is addressing the spiritual maturity of believers in the church: 1) new believers, 2) mature believers, and 3) growing Christians. Why does it seem out of order? Most people are in the last category and so John defines the end points first. At the beginning, our sins are forgiven, but by the end (mature), we know (really know) the person (God) who forgave us. In the middle (growing), we are fighting the enemy and dealing with life. At the beginning, we know we have a true Father, one who loves us deeply, but by the time we are mature, we really know the God of all eternity.  In the middle, we need to be strong, we need to get the word of God into our lives at all costs, and we need to overcome the enemy who wants to distract us from God's word.

 

The most important thing a person can do this year is immerse themselves daily in the word of God. Are you willing to do the most important thing you can for your spiritual growth?

 

PONDER:

  1. How often do I get into the word of God on my own?
  2. Do I have a plan to get into the word -- listen to it, read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it?

 

PRAYER: Father, there is nothing that can impact us more than a regular intake of the word of God. I pray we would be committed this year to allowing it to change us.

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