My Daily Devotion: 1 John 4:1-12

Scripture:
1 John 4:1-12

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Reflection:
- A very important trait that we should possess as Christians is the virtue of discernment. This helps us understand whether the message we hears from someone is from God or from the enemy.
- To test whether the message that we hear is from the spirit of God, we should be able to discern if the spirit acknowledges that Jesus Christ, who is God, became man. If the teaching diverts from this truth, it is not from God.
- If we are from God, we know AND listen to God's voice.
- AS Christians, we should exert effort to be devoted to our fellow believers. We can show this by loving one another. By doing this, we are showing to others how God loves us.

Application:
- As love comes from God, it is just right that we try to love and care for one another. A simple call to a brother or sister in Christ can mean so much,  as he or she might be going through some tough times.