¹³ And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. ¹⁴ Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. ¹⁶ We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ¹⁷ And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

God Is Love

I remember a teacher at Bible College saying to us, “Remember, God is love, not love is god.” At the time, I thought the guy was just being stupid. I mean, really? That’s the best you have?

Now that I’m a little older (a little???) and have a bit of experience under my belt, I think I know what he meant by that statement. It’s easy to get the two confused. Many seem to think that “all you need is love.”

The ultimate goal of a Christ follower isn’t to know love. It’s to know God. We are not called to draw people to love. We’re called to draw them to God. He is our focus. And as we focus on him, we discover what true love is. Because true love is only found within the character of God.

Why focus on this? Because when you make love out to be god, then it’s easy to get misled. Suddenly the ultimate focus is to never offend, never take a stand, never hold another accountable. But none of those things are what love truly is. Love is everything that we find in the great definition of 1 Corinthians 13. And that type of love is only found in God.

God’s character oozes love. But God is more than just love. Love motivates God, but doesn’t define him. Hope that makes sense.

My prayer: Lord, you have not called us to love …love. You have called us to love you and others. Help me to understand the difference and to focus my energy in loving you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

⁷ Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. ⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

This Is Real Love

I’m sure the members of Bikers’ Church are getting a little sick of this whole “Love God and love others” thing. After all, we’ve been focusing on that statement for over a month on Thursday nights. In fact, last night, we talked about what it means to love others (you can view the video here once it’s available).

We just cant get away from the idea that God is calling us to love others. But loving others will require sacrifice on our part. It will cost us something. It will not be easy to do. And John drives home that point by telling his readers what real love is. He uses the perfect example of God loving us so much that he sends his son to die on our behalf.

I can’t imagine the depth of that kind of love. Sure, there are a small group of people for whom I would sacrifice my own life. It’s a very small group of people. However, I can’t think of anyone that I would sacrifice one of my girls for. I’m sorry, but if it’s your life or my daughter’s life? I hope it’s not a painful death for you.

And yet, God sacrifices his son for us. And John suggests that the depth of our love for others should be equal. That we should be willing to sacrifice everything we are for the sake of another. Wow.

I guess that’s why they call this a journey. Most of us readily admit we’re not at that level. We need to look at where we are and continue to allow ourselves to be challenged by real love. Do you love others? Can you love others more? I know I can. I know I must.

My prayer: Lord, I don’t know if I will ever be able to love others to the same degree that you love others. However, help me to continue to journey in loving others more. May I always see people the way you do: people needing love. And may I always be willing to give of myself in order to meet that need for love in their life. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

⁴ But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. ⁵ Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. ⁶ But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

He Is Greater

It’s easy to forget, isn’t it? God really is in control. He really is greater and more powerful than any force at work in this world. Sometimes we can look at all the evil, the wrong doing, the false teachings, the moral and ethical failures even among those who claim to know Christ, and we can wonder who really is “winning.”

He is greater. The Spirit of God … the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and lives inside of you … is greater. He overcomes. He stands true at the end of the age. No matter how it may seem or what is going on in the world around you or even in your life personally. God is greater than all of it.

When we see that, hope is discovered. We become confident in his ways. At least I do. I look out around me and I realize that my role is to simply continue to trust God. I am called to be his servant. I am called to love him and love others. The rest is his problem, his job, his duty.

Don’t lose sight of the one who lives inside of you. Don’t become discouraged because of your surroundings. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that evil will win. God is greater. He will lead us to victory.

My prayer: Lord, in the midst of my day, as I face all the challenges that may come my way, help me to keep my eyes fixed on the greatness of who you are. May I never lose sight of the one who is greater than anything in this world. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

It was in August of 2007 when the idea of writing a daily devotional came to me. I figured it would be a lot of fun and a great way of helping those who were a part of Bikers’ Church learn about the Bible is a simple, non-threatening way. The first Oil Change was sent out on September 1st of that year, and little did I know that the thirty or so people receiving it would grow to literally hundreds of people from around the world.

By the time the study on 1 John is completed, I will have written 813 pages and 257,456 words. Incredible. I didn’t know I had so much to say!

However, I believe it is time to take a break from doing these devotionals.

During my road trip, God challenged me about all the things I was doing. I felt in my heart that I needed to focus on the “main thing.” What was it that he had called me to do? I believe that “main thing” is Bikers’ Church. He has called me to shepherd this amazing group of people and journey with them into discovering more and more of what it means to love God and love others.

As some of you can imagine, writing The Oil Change takes a lot of time and effort. I spend a full day each week in order to stay ahead. By the time I’ve written six or seven devotionals, my creativity and ability to focus on other deeper stuff (like sermon preparation) is limited. A pastor friend pointed out to me this past week that I spend approximately 20% of my work time writing The Oil Change. It’s simply too much.

At the same time, I’ve neglected my personal blog. www.robdale.ca was intended to be a place where I could tie together my love for riding and my passion of God and share thoughts along the journey. However, by the time I’ve finished writing The Oil Change, there is little left for me to put into that blog. I want to change that. I want to enjoy sharing random thoughts on my personal blog that will still impact and touch the lives of others.

And so, once our study of 1 John is complete (it is scheduled to be done on Wed., March 17th) I will stop publishing new devotionals. I hope that many of you will log in at www.robdale.ca and subscribe to my personal blog (you can also get that blog via email) and continue to follow me on this journey.

I recognize that some would still like to have a daily devotional, and so I began following a few in order to find some that I can recommend to you. These three in particular stand out:

Power To Change has two excellent devotionals. One is geared to men, the other to women. Click here for more info.

Rick Warren has a great devotional based on Purpose Driven Life that you can find here.

So, thank you for allowing me to connect with you each day through this simple Oil Change. I hope you understand why I feel I need to move on from writing it and trust that we will continue to journey together over at www.robdale.ca

By the way, I am working on putting the existing Oil Changes into booklets. Once they are available, I will send out a notification through this site. If you currently subscribe to the Oil Change by email, I would suggest you leave the subscription alone so that you can receive any notifications I may send out.

Until some day.

¹ Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. ² This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophetacknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. ³ But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

Test Them

It should be pretty obvious to most of you that I am a strong proponent of grace. I believe that in everything, we should err on the side of showing grace to those we come in contact with. Our role as believers is to extend unconditional love to everyone who crosses our path.

However, many confuse showing grace with letting anything go. As soon as you challenge something, you are accused of judging a person and lacking in grace. But is that accusation fair? It depends on what you are challenging.

You see, the Bible is clear that we are not to judge the heart of a person. Only God sees the heart. In fact, Jesus suggested that we will be judged using the same measuring stick that we judge others.

However, we are called to test the actions of others. Not to judge them as being worthy of God’s love or not (for none of us are “worthy” of God’s love … that’s why it’s grace). We are to test the words and actions of another to determine if what they are saying or doing lines up with what the Word of God says.

I meet a lot of Christians who never question anything. As a result, they buy into whatever someone says. And I think that’s a foolish way to live. There are a lot of popular teachers who are telling people really nice, spiritual things and yet I believe they are not teaching Jesus Christ, Son of God, crucified and rose again. If you don’t teach the truth about Christ, then your words are really just … words.

My prayer: Lord, help me to not just be someone who speaks what is popular. Help me to be someone who speaks what is true. And help me know the difference when I hear another speak. May I never judge a person’s heart, but I may I be wise in discerning what they say. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

²¹ Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. ²² And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

²³ And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. ²⁴ Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us

This Is His Commandment

I know it seems like I’m beating a dead horse. Especially for those who have been following along with our latest video series (either in person or by video). We are called to believe (and love) God and love others. If we’d simply do those two things, everything else would fall into place. Rather than focus on all kinds of do’s and don’ts, just put your energy into loving God and loving others.

It’s incredible to think how often people miss this. I mean, it should be fairly obvious by now, and yet for many, the religious trap is too difficult to avoid. We begin by loving God and loving others and before we know it, we’re adding all kinds of other rules and regulations. It’s as if we want it to be difficult to be successful in our spiritual journey. We want to make it hard so that we can pat ourselves on the back because of our hard work.

And so, religious people continue to miss the point. They want to do a bunch of things in order to be accepted by God. In order to earn God’s approval. So that they may be able to boldly enter the presence of God. And yet, God continues to point us back to the primal commandment: love God and love others. Two things we cannot do without the strength and leading of the Spirit of God. As God opens our hearts to loving the way we were designed to, we suddenly find ourselves able to enter his presence with confidence. God no longer is someone we avoid because of the fear of our own failure. Rather, we enter his presence confidence in the love that he has for us and the love we have for him.

My prayer: Lord, help me to avoid the trap of striving to do things in order to be good enough to enter your presence. May I never lose sight of the value of grace in my life. Because of grace, I can love you and others simply because of a desire to do so, and not a duty to perform. I’m accepted because of what you’ve done on my behalf. Thank you.

Until tomorrow.

¹⁴ If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

¹⁶ We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. ¹⁹ Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. ²⁰ Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Actions

Let me start out by addressing the first part of today’s passage. The fact is that not only do murderers not have eternal life within them, but neither does anyone who has not turned their life over to God. I say that because I know some who like to relegate certain sins to a higher level than other sins. John isn’t doing that here. In fact, he’s doing the opposite. He’s trying to show that hatred is no different than murder. Both are sin because both pull you away from loving God and loving others.

But John is trying to drive home a point here. If you walk by that homeless person and show zero concern or compassion, then are you truly loving God and loving others? When you hear of an earthquake in another part of the world and simply shrug your shoulders and go about your happy existence, are you really loving God and loving others? If you curse that cop under your breath or think something nasty about the person of a different culture, are you really loving God and loving others? If you are only loving God and others on your terms … then are you really loving God and others?

Perhaps those questions help us understand even more what John was talking about the other day when he said that others would hate us in the same way that Cain hated Abel. You see, loving God and loving others requires an action on our part that takes us out of our comfort zone. It requires a willingness to step out and do things that are not always easy or fun to do.

But you can’t love God and love others without a willingness to get uncomfortable.

My prayer: Lord, I want to go wherever you call me to go and to love whomever you bring across my path. And yet, if I’m honest, there are times I fail miserably at doing just that. So, give me strength and a deeper desire to put action to my love for you. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

¹¹ This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. ¹³ So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

Love Others

This passage starts out pretty good. Love one another. That’s so nice. I mean, really, who could argue with that? Even people who don’t want anything to do with Jesus or God can appreciate a good ol’ “Love one another.”

So, why does John feel the need to toss in that last line? Why did he have to go from “love one another” to “don’t be surprised if the world hates you”? I mean, really John, what gives?

Well, since John is dead (you know, dead as in he’s not here with us but is alive in Heaven), it’s going to be tough for him to explain this passage. Let me give it a shot.

I think the answer lies in the example he uses right between those two phrases. Cain and Abel. Their story is found in Genesis 4. According to the passage, they are brothers, sons of Adam and Eve. The story is told that they both bring an offering to God. However, Abel’s offering is accepted and Cain’s is rejected. We don’t really know why, other than it was clear to God that Cain’s heart was wrong. His motivation for bringing an offering to God was suspect. After the rejection, Cain is jealous of Abel and ends up murdering his brother.

So, here’s my take on why John used this story as an example: It’s one thing to be nice to others. But to truly love them requires a level of self-sacrificing that can be offensive to those who refuse to love that way. As you demonstrate a love for others the way God intends you to love them, you will begin to offend those who do not love to the same degree. They will become jealous and critical. They will be forced to look inward at their own selfishness. And, eventually, some will grow to hate you. All because you have chosen to honour God with your life by loving him and loving others.

When we live life as God designed us to live  it, we force others to examine their own existence. For some, it draws them to want what we have. For others, it eventually offends because they simply will not give their life over to the only one who can turn it into something beautiful.

My prayer: Lord, I pray for those who may hate me simply because I choose to do your will. Open their eyes to the abundant life you offer them. Help them see how incredible and amazing your grace truly is. Soften their heart so that they might find freedom in you. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

⁷ Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. ⁸But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. ¹⁰ So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

Children of God

This is one of those passages that can easily be misunderstood or misquoted if one is not careful. It’s important to know what it isn’t saying as much as what it is saying.

It’s not saying that our good behaviour is what makes us children of God. After all, that would contradict the entire message of grace. Either we can’t earn God’s acceptance or we can. I believe the Bible is very clear that we are accepted by God because of what Christ did for us and not because of anything we’ve done. And so, John is not saying that you have to do good things in order to be a child of God.

What he is saying is that there should be evidence – fruit – that you have turned your life over to God. There should be a difference in those who claim to be followers of Christ. Our lives should show that we are no longer living for ourselves but for God’s purposes. If there is no evidence to point to that change, then has there really been a change?

Of course that leads to the question of what that evidence should be. Are we moving toward that “list of sins” again? No, we’re not. John suggests that the evidence of a life changed by God is a turning away from sin. And, as we discovered yesterday, sin is whatever keeps me from loving God and loving others.

So, a child of God – one who has experienced the transformation that comes from accepting the gift of grace – should demonstrate that change by striving to love God and love others every day. And, there should be evidence of that love for God and others in how we live.

My prayer: Lord, help me to live my life as one who represents what it means to be a child of God. I pray that in every thing, I will bear the fruit of someone who loves you and loves others. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

⁴ Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. ⁵ And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. ⁶Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

What Is Sin?

Defining “sin” is one of those things that we seem to really complicate in many church circles. And yet, I think it should be rather simple to understand. According to this passage, sin is anything that runs contrary to the law of God. Easy, right?

Well, not yet. After all, far too many people then try to define what God’s law is. And so, they make up lists and rules and regulations that one must follow in order to please God. If you follow the Old Testament, you know that there are over six hundred laws to follow. So, sin is anything that runs contrary to those six hundred laws. Of course, in most churches today, we like to mix the Law and Grace together. We end up with a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” that every Christian must follow. Depending on where you live and the type of church you attend, the list will contain different things.

However, didn’t Jesus sum up all the law of God in a simple statement? Of course he did. “Love God. Love others.” That’s the entire law wrapped up in a single statement.

So, what does that mean for our definition of sin? Glad you asked. I believe sin is anything that causes us to turn away from loving God and loving others. Anything? Yup. Anything.

It also means that what is sin for you may not be sin for me. You may be able to enjoy a certain activity and still love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbour as yourself. I may participate in the same activity and find I cannot love God and others while doing it.

I realize that’s a very simplistic way of looking at sin, and perhaps some of you want to challenge my thinking in the comments section, but I do believe that if we simply avoided those things that cause us to love God and others less, and focused on the things that cause us to love God and others more, that we’d be far better off.

Just a thought.

My prayer: Lord, I know that there are things I do that take my attention away from you and others. Those things cause me to look inward, selfishly wanting my will to be done rather than yours. Forgive me when I do that. Help me to turn my attention away from the things that pull me from you. Amen.

Until tomorrow.