Day 28 Advent Devotional | December 31st
1 John 3:23-24
This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
You have made it to the end of this particular devotional journey. Thank you for your faithfulness. It is our prayer that you have traced the thread of Jesus’ life and coming throughout your holiday season. Perhaps you have received fresh revelation from God’s Spirit this year as you have made you journey. Praise the Lord! Be encouraged to write it down, to mark it in some way so that you can remember that special gift from Him this Christmas to you. Perhaps you have only been reminded of things you already knew. Praise the Lord for that, also! We always stand in need of gentle reminders of God’s faithfulness in our lives. We grow as disciples when that happens.
Today, we close with a two-fold word of commandment. Believe in Jesus and love one another. They go hand in hand, for we cannot truly love each other without Jesus and we cannot believe in Jesus without His love at work in us. The believing part comes when we acknowledge that we are lost and dead in our sins apart from Jesus Christ. To all those who are lost in sin, Jesus says come and be saved by My grace through faith. Accept his forgiveness of your sin and call upon His name. The word of God tells us that all who believe upon His name will be saved.
But, if you have made it this far in the devotional, you might already know Jesus as Savior. Here is a word for you – Love one another. The most noticeable mark of Christ in a believer’s life is his or her love for others. John says that is how we know the Spirit abides in us when we keep His commandments of belief and love. As we begin a new year, may we love well, may we love like Jesus. How great would it be if the new year was known not by all the troubles we might face or the struggles we might endure, but instead by the way we have loved one another? It might be the very best year of your life.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach us to love each other like you love us. It is such a need in our lives and in our world. Help us to be known by your love in us manifested by our love for others rather than any other thing this year. It may be a hard thing to pray, but we nothing in our lives speaks louder of You than our love for others. Show us the way.