Thursday... Here is a simple test of our faith.

Thursday... Here is a simple test of our faith and we are today really being tested.

1 John 4:20 - 21 (NLT) says, "If someone says, 'I love God,' but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has give us the command: Those who love God must love their fellow believer."

And what we have been going through this past year has really been a test of that truth. I mean they were for Trump, they were for Biden, they wore masks, they didn't, they kept us away from meeting together, they wanted to meet together, they are black, they are asian, they are white. So many different things have come up to test us in our love.

So how are we doing? And this is so important for us.

Now we don't need to agree but we do need to love.

Verses 16 & 17 says, "We know how much God loves us, and we put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them and as we live in God our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgement, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world."

So we need to be tested for our own sake. We need to see if we align with Jesus' way of life and seeing how we love shows that. I want to have confidence on that day. I don't want to be afraid.

Verse 18 & 19 says, "Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first."

Yes, we are in a time of testing. So how are we doing in our love for our fellow believers? "We love each other" not because we agree, but "because he loved us first." Yes, yes #todaysbeginning

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Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

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