Doesn’t it feel nice to have friends? Just a few minutes ago, I talked to a dear friend on the phone. She always encourages me and makes me laugh, and I hope I do the same for her. Friendship is a rare and beautiful gift, and when we find it, we must take great care to nurture it and keep it alive and healthy.

John knew the importance of friendship. Even though he didn’t have a telephone, he made it a point to write and let his friends know how special they were. He told them he missed them, and he longed to see them again.

In this age of internet and e-mail, it is very easy to become a hermit. But God created us for relationships! I challenge you, this very week, to pick up the phone and call an old friend. Take someone to lunch. Or even better, invite them over for morning coffee!

Dear Father, Thank you for giving me friends. Help me to be a better friend to others, and show me how to nurture and build those friendships. Thank you for being the greatest Friend of all!

Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I recently had need of an air-conditioner repairman. As my fingers did the walking through our yellow pages, I read the names of various heating and air companies. One in particular caught my eye, for the name rang a bell. I had taught this man’s daughter years ago, and I remembered the family as being upright and honest. The daughter, though just a child, was testimony to her parents’ integrity (Proverbs 20:11). I called that company, for I knew the family had a good reputation – a reputation that had been maintained over many years.

Demetrius is probably the person who carried this letter from John to Gaius. What an honorable description he was given! Although we know little about this man, we know enough. He had a good reputation, and everyone spoke well of him.

It takes years to build a good reputation, but a bad one can be built in a moment. That’s why it is so very important to guard our every step, to always do what is right, to stay faithful to the truth. As Christians, our desire should be that when the world looks at us, they will find nothing bad to say.

Dear Father, Please help me to live the kind of righteous life that will earn me a good reputation.
Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I can hear my mother saying it as if it were yesterday, in response to my teen-aged cry that everybody else is doing it! Her response? If everyone else were to jump off a cliff, would you follow them?

Well, maybe. Sometimes, we follow people just because we think we’re supposed to, and we don’t stop and ask ourselves if they are right or not. But John warned his readers not to follow a leader who isn’t worth following.

John’s still talking about Diotrephes (see yesterday’s study). Sometimes, if someone has a leadership position in the church, we assume we must follow them. But we must always use the wisdom God gives freely to those who ask! Whether we are observing a pastor, an elder, or a Sunday School teacher, we must watch them carefully. Are their actions loving and kind? Do they seek to show love and hospitality? Do they seek to build others up? Or do they sneak around, whispering gossip and slander, seeking to belittle those who hold more power than they do?

Many of our churches are being destroyed because Christians blindly follow someone who is leading them off a cliff! We must love our leaders and pray for them. But if they are not following a path of godliness, righteousness and love, then we must not follow them!

Dear Father, Please help me to imitate what is good, and not what is evil.
Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Diotrephes was a terrible church member! Unfortunately, he is alive and well, and he lives in a neighborhood near you. John tells us that he loved to be first, which means he loved to be in control. He was mean-spirited, and he was a malicious gossip. He did not show hospitality to those outside the church, and he showed much hostility to those inside the church.

People like Diotrephes can be formidable opponents. But they can only control things if we let them. If we see someone who is controlling, mean-spirited, and hostile, we must not allow them to have the control they desire! If we let them have their way, they will eventually destroy everyone around them.

If we take a stand against them for what is right, they will put up a fight. But if we don’t back down, they eventually will. They will probably leave, and go look for another group or person or situation to control. But if each of us will take a stand for the truth, then the Diotrephes of this world will eventually be outnumbered, and will give up.

Let us make sure, however, that in opposing Diotrephes, we don’t become like him. Our words and actions must always be controlled by love, not by a desire to win or to have our way. When we treat others with the kind of love Christ offers, everyone comes in first, don’t you think?

Dear Father, Please help me to be like John, and take a stand against people who are causing damage and disruption. Please keep me from ever becoming like Diotrephes.
Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

This passage is a little personal for me. I am a pastor’s wife, and I’d like to take a minute just to share with you from my heart. Being in ministry is hard! We are normal, regular people, just like everyone else. But sometimes it feels as though the whole world is watching with a critical eye. Encouragement is often sparse, but criticism always seems abundant. The stress of trying to please so many, knowing we will never please everyone, has at times taken a heavy toll on our marriage and our family life.

In our years of ministry, we have known a few like Gaius. I think of Malcolm and DeLain, of Ted and Sherry, of D.L. and Barbara, of Tim and Nancy. These people and others have loved us, prayed for us, and encouraged us. Their simple acts of hospitality and love were often the fuel we needed to continue in ministry, when we otherwise would have given up.

Have you encouraged your pastor and his lately? Have you loved and prayed for him, and for his family? Have you shown hospitality? If you have, good for you! Your kindness has made more of a difference than you will ever know. In so doing, you have partnered with them in doing the work God has set before them.

Dear Father, Thank you for the people that have loved us, encouraged us, and shown us hospitality. Please place more people like this in your churches.
Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I love being a mom. And as a mom, I do things for my children simply because I love them, without expecting any kind of recognition. I clean house, do laundry, prepare meals, provide taxi service, help with homework . . . and it is my joy. But every once in a while, one child or the other will lunge at me with a big hug and say, “I love you, Mommy! You’re the best mom in the world!”

Ahhhh. It sure feels nice to hear those words. It’s always encouraging to receive a pat on the back, confirmation that you are doing a good job.

What an encouraging letter John wrote! Gaius must have beamed with joy as he read the above words, penned by his good friend and teacher. Everyone needs confirmation, acknowledgment, an “Atta-boy” every now and then. And John was giving just that to one of his  children in the faith.

All too often, we get so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget to encourage those around us. But encouraging words can be a healing balm to those who have worked, who have done well, and who may be getting tired. Sometimes, just a little pat on the back and a few kind words of appreciation, of shared joy and pride over a job well done, can be just the fuel needed for a weary brother to continue in the faith.

Dear Father, Please keep me from self-centeredness. Help me to notice the hard work and  faithfulness of others. Use my words as encouragement to them to keep going.
Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I love to get mail, don’t you? There is something exciting about pulling a personal letter out of the mailbox, and seeing a dear friend’s name in the return address box. Even e-mail is exciting, when it comes from someone you love and care about. But with that cherished letter often comes a longing to see the writer in person. Paper and ink is just no substitute for a real live hug, and for face-to-face conversation!

It is easy for us to get out of the habit of going to church, of spending time with other believers. But reading this devotional, or listening to a preacher on the radio or television can be a little like reading a letter. It’s nice, but it is no substitute for gathering together with like-minded people. When we choose to communicate long-distance or through cyber-space, rather than face-to-face, we miss out on the joy of friendship, of hugs, of the encouragement that God longs for His children to give to one another.

Dear Father, Please help me to make real, live, person-to-person friendship a priority in my life. Please continue to remind me of the joy I miss when I don’t spend time with other people. Help me to be a joy and an encouragement to everyone I see.
Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

John sat with Jesus at the last supper and listened to his Lord talk about love. “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you,” Jesus told his disciples. And dear, sweet John, the disciple of love, took those words to heart perhaps more than any of the other disciples. For it was John who became known as the apostle of love. It was John who carried that love as the centerpoint of his teaching and his life.

As a matter of fact, John referred to himself as “the disciple who Jesus loved.” Many think that was boastful of John, but I don’t think so. I don’t think he was reflecting his pride as much as his gratitude. Jesus loved me. John. Unbelievable.

In 1 John 4:19, John wrote, “We love because He first loved us.” Not, we loved God because He first loved us, but, “We love . . .” God’s love for us gives us the ability to love other people. Unbelievable. Now, we can walk in love, because His love made it possible.

How do we walk in love? We do so by obeying God. And we can only obey Him by living in Him, by making Him the most important part of our lives each day, each hour, each minute. When we live in God, when we obey Him, then He equips us to love with His love.

Dear Father, Please help me to obey You, and to walk in Your love. Thank you for loving me, so that I can love.

Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Have you ever attended a Christian camp or retreat? Those events are often mountain-top experiences, with everyone in attendance determined to live their lives for God. At least, while they are there. On the mountaintop. But when everyone returns to their normal routines, some of us forget our determination. Before we know it, we have slipped away from the path God has laid out for us.

John must have felt bittersweet as he penned these words. His heart rejoiced that some were walking in truth. But what about the others? Why weren’t they all walking in truth? No matter how well grounded in God’s truth we think we are, we are all capable of straying. We are all capable of being gullible and falling for the world’s lies. We are all capable of outright rebellion.

The only safeguard we have against straying from God’s truth is to stay close to Him, to daily spend time in prayer, in meditation, in His Word. We must daily examine our own hearts to make sure what we find there is pleasing to God. We must recognize that the enemy sees our destruction as his goal, and he will forever try new and clever ways to draw us away from God’s truth. We must step carefully, and make sure that with each step, we are walking in truth.

And if we do stray, all is not lost, for our Shepherd will always come looking for us. As a matter of fact, He always close by. All we have to do is say, “I’m sorry. I took the wrong path,” and He will lead us right back to where we ought to be.

Dear Father, I want my life to be a source of joy for You. I want to always walk in Your truth.

Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Oooh. This introduction brings a bit of a lift to my eyebrows. Just who was this chosen lady? Was she pretty? Rich? Matronly? She must have been someone very special to John.

There are different theories about the chosen lady. Was John referring to the church? Was he writing to a specific lady? The truth is, it doesn’t really matter, for regardless of John’s intent, the Holy Spirit’s intent was for us to read it here, now, today. We can think of the chosen lady as the church, and we are her children. This letter is a personal letter of love to you and to me, inspired by God and written by John himself!

John writes to all who know the truth. That’s us! He says that truth will be with us forever, and we are living proof of that claim, for here we are, learning about that same truth. Centuries after John has been dead and his remains have turned to dust, God’s truth is alive and well. And centuries from now, when we are nothing but ashes, God’s truth will remain. It is our job today to pass the torch, to do all in our power to teach our children and grandchildren about that truth, so that future generations can know Him as we know Him.

Dear Father, Thank You for being timeless in Your wisdom and truth. Please help me to do my part in keeping Your truth alive.

Amen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.