Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17 (NKJV) Jesus already took the judgment for everything you’ve ever done wrong. As a believer, you walk in freedom and peace. When Christians give in to temptation, they often feel condemned. Deep down, they’re concerned for the future because they think that God wants to punish them for their misdeeds, and they find themselves asking, “Am I good enough for God?” While our behaviour on this planet does have earthly consequences, God isn’t out to get us. Today’s verse reveals the reason why we can be confident in our relationship with God: as Jesus …

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 One of the most disempowering things you can do is to focus on your “not enough.” Am I doing enough? Do I volunteer enough? Do I give enough? Help my kids enough? Make my spouse happy enough? Please God enough? This line of thinking is so depressing and demotivating because the answer will always be, “No!” Of course you could be doing more. No matter how much you’re doing, you can always find someone who is doing more in one area or another. When you compare yourself to others this way, you can’t win…because it’s entirely the wrong focus. It’s a me focus instead of a Jesus focus. If you want to be the best …

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 Over the last few days we’ve been talking about how important it is to focus on God’s love for us. In fact, focusing on Jesus and understanding his love has the power to remove fear and anxiety, and it even has the ability to help us overcome addictions. So many people think that to overcome addiction, you just need more willpower. While willpower is important, it’s not the only tool we have. If you only rely on willpower, it becomes a battle of strength. When willpower is stronger, you move away from the …

 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 1 John 4:15 Did you know that you don’t have to love God to go to heaven? It’s true! The Bible doesn’t say you have to love God. Today’s verse doesn’t say, “If anyone loves Jesus and loves God, then God lives in him.” It says we need to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, but it says nothing about loving God. We often get this idea backward. We think that we have to love God first and then be motivated to give our lives to Christ. But that’s not usually how it works. Just as in our relationships, true love at first sight is pretty …

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 We’ve all heard how important it is to love God. Growing up, I’d often watch people worship with tears streaming down their cheeks as they sang, “I love You, Jesus.” It bothered me that I didn’t have those feelings, which caused me to wonder what was wrong with me. I wanted to love God. I even asked him to help me love him more. But what I didn’t realize at the time was that I was going about it all wrong. You see, it’s not about how much you love God. In a love relationship, people are always measuring …