Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18
John knew Him intimately. He was privileged to be one of His first closest friends and watch Him first hand while He walked this earth. Now at my age that really makes me stop and consider what that must have been like for John. Wow! I love John’s writing so much. There is such power and truth in what John writes to those he loves. John was chosen to receive a heavenly vision that still is referred to today even by those that don’t ‘believe’ it. Many still fight today over the meaning of what John wrote in Revelation. I’ve learned from the Holy Spirit that one cannot truly understand prophecy without the Holy Spirit connecting the dots for the hearer / reader. Intellectual and academic analysis will never hit the true target of the message. We have to humble ourselves before Him and …listen… and agree with Him. That understanding will require our true humility, pride and our human interpretation will block the real message to the heart of the reader every time.
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10b
Real prophecy MUST have the testimony of Jesus permeating it. For God inspired prophecy truly is given from God’s heart of love to the receiver. Often, we are too stubborn to receive it, because of our pride and obstinate ways. Yet … He gives the ‘advice’ anyway… like a loving parent. So many have manipulated ‘prophecy’ for their own … selfish ways. Sigh.
We MUST learn personally and experientially how HOLY God is! This is where the true ‘fear of the Lord’ comes from. Without that healthy DEEP ‘fear of the Lord’ we get SO many things wrong. John understood that revelation of the Holiness of God deeply and personally, because of the personal experiences he had with Jesus. What experiences have you had with Jesus? Have they deeply touched your heart and soul? Do His Words touch you differently now? Do you long even more now to read the scriptures, knowing He will show you more of Himself within them?
Honestly, we can’t really love Him without Him first …giving us that love. Stop and ponder that. Selah. The greatest fruit of the Holy Spirit is His LOVE. John understood that deeply. Those first apostles KNEW personally and experientially that Jesus was the Source of everything they had. We too can know that … if we seek Him with all our heart.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
So don’t seek to be great orators of the Word, seek to be great doers of the Word. James wrote this VERY plainly.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22
So how can you show His love today in actions instead of ‘words’? A touch? A hug? A gift given and rightly chosen? A service for someone with no expectation of return? Have you ever asked the Holy Spirit what He wants you to do … like that?
Go and be Jesus to someone today. Let His actions through you speak of His love for them.