Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
—1 John 2:7-11

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
—1 John 2:18-23

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Walking in Truth or Deciet
By Jennifer Kane

Love reveals what fear would rather bury—shining gently, yet boldly.
In His presence, we see clearly—not just the path, but each other.
Grace glows in every truth spoken, in every burden shared.
Hearts once veiled by doubt now awaken, beating in rhythm with peace.
Truth is not cold—it is warm like firelight, inviting and unshakable.

Denial dresses in many robes, yet always pulls us away from the Light.
Anger simmers beneath false smiles, choking out compassion.
Reason is twisted; wrong is renamed; the heart grows numb in the fog.
Knowledge without love becomes a lie—lost in shadows that never end.

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Scriptures: 1 John 2:7-11, 18-23

From the very beginning, God’s message has been clear: love one another. Though simple in wording, it is radical in application. In 1 John 2:7–11, the apostle reminds us that the command to love is both old and new—rooted in the heart of God’s law, yet fully revealed in Christ. Jesus not only preached love but lived it, shining as the true Light in a dark world.

To walk in this Light means to love. Love is not merely a sentiment but a signpost of spiritual clarity. If we claim to live in the light but harbor hatred, we are deceived. Darkness isn’t just the absence of physical light—it is a spiritual blindness, a moral disorientation that causes people to stumble through life, lost and confused.

John continues this thought in verses 18–23, warning us of those who walk in deceit. These “antichrists” may have once appeared part of the faith community but revealed their true nature by departing from the truth. Their denial of Jesus as the Christ exposes the root of their darkness. But those who remain—who abide in the truth—have an anointing from the Holy One. We don’t just know the truth intellectually; we are sealed in it spiritually.

The dividing line is clear: those who love, abide in the light; those who deny Christ, walk in darkness. There is no middle ground. Truth and deceit cannot coexist. Light exposes lies. Love dispels hate. Christ is the Light, and in Him, we see clearly—ourselves, our neighbors, and the path ahead.

Ask yourself: Am I walking in the light or wandering in darkness? Is there anyone I’ve been unwilling to love, forgive, or serve? Bring that name before God and ask for His light to shine through you. Also, renew your commitment to the truth—confess Jesus as the Christ, hold fast to His Word, and let no lie distort your faith.

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Lord God, You are the Light of the world. Keep me from the blindness of hate and the shadows of deceit. Help me to love as You have loved, and to walk daily in Your truth. May I never deny Your Son but boldly live in the light that He brings. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

April 25 2025