1 John 2:15, 16


Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world ~ 1 John 2:15, 16

In Matthew 6, Jesus said it differently, but with the same meaning, if not more directly. He said, “You cannot serve two masters…you will hate the one and love the other…you cannot serve both God and money.” We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in the life of following Jesus. To love God is to be a servant, to love the world is to believe you are commanding it. Yet, in following and loving the world, people are caught up in its deceitfulness, its anger, its promiscuity of the body, its vulgarness of tongue, its financial calling to buy more, have more, succeed more. In following Jesus and in loving Him, we find our true self, the hidden pearls within each other, the cost of ‘giving ‘til it hurts’ love, and the value of being broken jars which cast the light and love of Christ upon others in need. In following Christ, we find the battle over death has been won. In following Christ, we have an eternal home promised to us, and there we will rejoice and praise Him forever! In following Christ, we have hope and life, and the fullness thereof!
Devotion by Pastor Julia

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