Daily Bread

1 John 4:13 - "By this we know that we abide in Him and He abides in us because of the Spirit that He has given us."

Jesus dwells in us by the Spirit which He has given unto us (1 John 3:23; John 14:23). And it is through our love one for another that this union with God is revealed. It is by this divine love that all men will know that we are His disciples (John 13:35). The Holy Spirit has poured the love of God into our hearts (Romans 5:5). It is this divine love of the Father that is the evidences or fruits that the Spirit dwells in us. This kind of love does not have a human origin and is not to be placed on the same level as "love your neighbor as your self." The kind of love that the Father commands us to have for one another is the same love that Jesus has for us (John 13:34). This love is only manifested as we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to love through us.

Blessings,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
www.abidingplace.org