Tag Archives: 1 John 3:16-18

This Is How We Know What Love Is

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Becoming Like Christ - Day 156 - 1 John 3:16-18 - This Is How We Know What Love Is - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 156 – 1 John 3:16-18 – This Is How We Know What Love Is – Growing As Disciples

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)

Love Others

I have not always loved others with my actions. I have not always had my eyes and ears open to see and hear the opportunities that are before me to love others with my actions.  I’m sure that I have walked right on by opportunities to love others with my actions. Forgive me. You are forgiven. What is it that you want? I want to follow your example. I want to love like you loved. I want to do what you did. What did I do? You humbled yourself. You took on the form of a servant. You loved others with your thoughts, words and actions. You laid down your life for others. Yes, that is what I did for others. That is what I did for you. For that, I am thankful beyond what my words could possibly express. That is good.

How will you love others with your actions? I’m not sure. How will you lead me to love others with my actions? You have answered my question with your question. How so? You tell me. I will follow you to where you lead me. I will do whatever you ask of me. I will keep my heart and mind and life attentive to you. I will open my eyes and ears to see and hear the opportunities to love others that you have placed before me.  I will not walk right on by the opportunities you give me to love others with my actions. That will be very good. 

How will you benefit by loving others with your actions? I have not thought of that. Think about that question now. I will have great joy in following your example. I will rejoice that I have been used by you to help draw others to you. I will have great peace in knowing that you have used me to accomplish your purposes and fulfill your plans. I will have satisfaction in knowing that I have been able to shine brightly as your witness in the darkness of the world around me. I will be grateful that you have made me able to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. In addition to all this, I will be thankful that you have allowed me to store up treasure in heaven with you as I love, follow and serve you. That is very good. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, I will not love others only with my words. I will follow your example. I will lay down my life for others. I will do for others what you have done for me. I will love others with my actions. Give me opportunities to demonstrate your love to others in the world. Amen

Key Question… How has loving others with your actions allowed you share the love of God with others?

Living It Out… Follow the Lord’s example by loving others with your actions.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will help you to love others with your actions.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how the Lord has led you to help others with your actions.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you follow the Lord’s example by loving others with your actions.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 156 – 1 John 3-16-18 – This Is How We Know What Love Is– 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Live Sacrificially

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The Compassionate Life - Day 259 - 1 John 3:16-18 - Live Sacrificially - Growing As Disciples

The Compassionate – Day 259 – 1 John 3:16-18 – Live Sacrificially – Growing As Disciples

This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves.  If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.  My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. 1 John 3:16-18 (MSG)

Visible Or Invisible?

That is quite a choice. That will make quite a difference. What is quite a choice? What will make quite a difference? Will I choose to make your love visible or invisible in the world? My choice will make quite a difference to those in need all around me. Let me state what I understand. I’m listening. You love me. Yes, I do love you. You demonstrated your love for me by giving yourself sacrificially for me. There was nothing theoretical about your love for me. You came into this world, humbled yourself as a man, lived and died on the cross for me, as payment for my sins. Your love for me was costly. Your love for me was sacrificial. It cost your life to demonstrate your love for me and for all others who would come to know and love and follow and serve you. Yes, demonstrating my love for you was costly. Giving myself for you was the only way that you could be forgiven of your sins and cleansed of your unrighteousness. Giving myself for you was the only way that you could come to know and love and follow and serve me. My sacrificial giving to you made it possible for you to live in an intimate relationship with me. I made you to be a member of family. For that, I am thankful. Of that, I am certain. That is very good.  Now, there is something else I know without a doubt. What is that? You want me to become like you in my thoughts, and words, and actions. You want me to love like you loved. You want me to serve like you served. You want me to give like you gave. Yes, I do. You want my thoughts and words and actions to make your love visible in the world. Yes, I do. That is the choice I will make. I will sacrificially give of myself to others who are in need all round me. I will follow your example. I will do what you did. That will be very good. 

Lord, I will not have a blind eye to those in need all around me. I will allow you to use me to demonstrate your love to others in need. I will think and speak and act like you. I will sacrificially give to others in need so your love can be made visible in the world. Amen

Key Question…  How will your choices make Christ’s love visible or invisible in the world?

Living It Out…  Allow the Lord to use you to demonstrate His sacrificial love to others in the world.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that the Lord will use you to demonstrate His sacrificial love to others in the world.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how you are demonstrating Christ’s sacrificial love to others.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you practice real love by living sacrificially for others.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Devotional Study Guide click here:

The Compassionate Life – Day 259 – 1 John 3-16-18 – Live Sacrificially – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

What Love Is

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Promises - Day 98 - 1 John 3:16-18 - What Love Is - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 98 – 1 John 3:16-18 – What Love Is – Growing As Disciples

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)

Love Is

Do you know what love is? Have I adequately demonstrated what love looks like? Have I given you an example to follow? I don’t want to be overconfident by saying that I know what love is. Why is that? My understanding of what love looks like is growing but is by no means fully developed. Tell me what you do know. Love cannot be expressed by words alone. Thinking and speaking loving words is very important. A lack of love can certainly be demonstrated by thinking and speaking careless and hurtful words. No amount of loving actions will ever be able to overcome unloving thoughts and words. That is true. So, I want my thoughts and words to be consistently loving, with my actions. That’s good. But thinking that my thoughts and words alone can express love is foolish. In fact, it would be a cop out and illegitimate if my love did not include action. That is also true. You have more than adequately demonstrated what love looks like. How so? You left heaven and came into this world because you love me. You were unwilling to see me live a life without you, both now and forever. Your love was costly. You laid your life down for me. You paid for my sins by dying on the cross for me. You made it so I could be forgiven of my sin and cleansed of all my unrighteousness. You made it so I could live my life with you, both now and forever. Yes, I did all of this for you because I love you. So, now I know what love looks like. Love requires me to lay my life down for others. How will you lay your life down for others? I will give of myself. I will share my time and talent and resources with others. When I see a need, I will not pretend I did not see it. When I see a need, I will not walk away. When I see a need, I will give of what is required of me. What will be required of you? Sometimes meeting a need will require my time. Sometimes meeting a need will require my talent. Sometimes meeting a need will require my resources, and to be clear, by that I mean my material possessions including money. All I am and have will need to be available to others, if I am to be able to love like you loved, and give like you gave, and served like you served. Yes, I will lay down my life for others. I will follow your example. That will be very good.

Lord, thank you for laying your life down for me. You have given me an example to follow. Help me to lay my life down for others. Help me to love like you loved and give like you gave. Help me to serve like you served. I will share what I have with others. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Promises – Day 98 – 1 John 3-16-18 – What Love Is – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

What Love Is

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Becoming Like Christ - Day 156 - 1 John 3:16-18 - What Love Is - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 156 – 1 John 3:16-18 – What Love Is – Growing As Disciples

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)

Love Others

I have not always loved others with my actions. I have not always had my eyes and ears open to see and hear the opportunities that are before me to love others with my actions.  I’m sure that I have walked right on by opportunities to love others with my actions. Forgive me. You are forgiven. What is it that you want? I want to follow your example. I want to love like you loved. I want to do what you did. What did I do? You humbled yourself. You took on the form of a servant. You loved others with your thoughts, words and actions. You laid down your life for others. Yes, that is what I did for others. That is what I did for you. For that, I am thankful beyond what my words could possibly express. That is good.

How will you love others with your actions? I’m not sure. How will you lead me to love others with my actions? You have answered my question with your question. How so? You tell me. I will follow you to where you lead me. I will do whatever you ask of me. I will keep my heart and mind and life attentive to you. I will open my eyes and ears to see and hear the opportunities to love others that you have placed before me.  I will not walk right on by the opportunities you give me to love others with my actions. That will be very good. 

How will you benefit by loving others with your actions? I have not thought of that. Think about that question now. I will have great joy in following your example. I will rejoice that I have been used by you to help draw others to you. I will have great peace in knowing that you have used me to accomplish your purposes and fulfill your plans. I will have satisfaction in knowing that I have been able to shine brightly as your witness in the darkness of the world around me. I will be grateful that you have made me able to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. In addition to all this, I will be thankful that you have allowed me to store up treasure in heaven with you as I love, follow and serve you. That is very good. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, I will not love others only with my words. I will follow your example. I will lay down my life for others. I will do for others what you have done for me. I will love others with my actions. Give me opportunities to demonstrate your love to others in the world. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 156 – 1 John 3-16-18 – What Love Is – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Lay Down Our Lives

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Love - 1 John 3:16-18 - Despises His Neighbor - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Love – 1 John 3:16-18 – Despises His Neighbor – Growing As Disciples

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV) 

What Love Is

What is love? What does love look like? How is love demonstrated? When have you seen love fully on display? I can answer those questions. You have made it easy for me to answer those questions. Love looks like you. You are the demonstration of love. I have seen love fully on display through how you lived your life. How so? You came into this world as a man. You emptied yourself of all your rights and privileges. You claimed nothing for yourself. You counted others as better than yourself. You looked not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. You lived your life fully and completely for others. You came into this world as a sacrifice for sin. You laid down your life. You poured yourself out. Why did you do this? You loved your Heavenly Father. You loved those He gave to you to be your followers. You loved all those who would one day come to know and love you through the word of their testimony. I am one of those people. You loved and gave yourself for me. You came into this world to live and die for me. That’s true.

So, you have seen me. You have heard and seen my example. You know what I have done for you. You know that I have lavished you with my love. I have made you to be my very own. You are my child. You are my brother. I am your Savior and Lord. I am your God and King. Yes, you are and for all this I am eternally grateful and thankful. That is very good. What is it that you now want to do? What is the desire of your heart and mind? How do you want to live your life? Will you follow my example? Will you go and do what I did? Yes Lord, I will follow your example. I will love like you loved. I will give like you gave. I will serve like you served. I will go and do the Heavenly Father’s will. With your help, I will accomplish His purposes and fulfill His plans. I will do the good works that have been prepared for me to do. I will lay my life down. I will give myself in service to you and to others that you bring into my life. Help me to love others deeply from my heart with all my thoughts and words and deeds. Use my life to bear fruit for your kingdom. Help me to bring glory to your name. Yes, I will you can be sure of that.

Father, help me to lay down my life in service to you and to others. May I not love in words alone but also in actions that express your sacrificial love to others. Use my life and all that I have to meet the needs of those around me. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Love – 1 John 3-16-18 – Lay Down Our Lives – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com