1 John 1.9
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He had known what it felt like...
He knew how he felt...
He knew how others acted and reacted...
He saw the overall effect.... and he never wanted to be without it.
                    the presence of God.
Once you experience it, you really do not want to live outside of it; in part, that is why John wrote his gospel, to tell of his personal experienceÂ
with Jesus.  John was in Ephesus when he then 📷📷
wrote 1 John, another labor of love - but heÂ
wrote so that we would know that Jesus wasÂ
the Christ.
As I mentioned in a Morning Briefing the other day, it was not like John could reach for a piece of paper and one of many different writing instruments in the first century - he was relegated to using papyrus (made from plant reeds) or parchment (from animal skins).  So for an individual to go to the trouble first to recall life with Jesus, as John did for his gospel - and then later to write letters to believers - he was passionately committed to what he was called to do.
After Jesus called John as he was mending
his nets on the shore of the Galilee, (near where the seven streams converge - pictured here),  John began to step into his purpose, his God-give   purpose. 📷Realizing his full purpose happened one step at a time, first responding to the call of Jesus and continuing to say 'yes' to that call.
You see, life changed forever when John was in the presence of the young Messiah who grew up in the little old town of Nazareth some miles away.  John loved being with Jesus, and wherever Jesus was, John wanted to be.  Hence the reason he was the disciple who stayed longest at the foot of the cross as Jesus was crucified. Â
📷📷looking at the Mt. of Olives from the Kidron Valley📷John knew.  John knew when Jesus stood with the disciples - a risen Lord - on the Mt. of Olives, and told the disciples and the few followers to go to Jerusalem and wait, he was trustworthy.  For once, they did not question.  What Jesus had said he would do, he had done, so he could be trusted.  They waited and prayed, and sure enough, 10 days later, the Holy Spirit came, just as Jesus said he would do. Â
Let's think about John in this context - oh how he loved Jesus!  He had to have felt desperate at Jesus' absence, yet he trusted him, and Jesus told him things would be even better after he had gone; they would be able to do even more than Jesus had done!  When the Holy Spirit came and indwelt the followers of Jesus, they felt his presence - all of the time, not just when Jesus was in their same proximal space - not just when Jesus was in the same room.
And now, years later, John writes this letter to believers - some of whom were flagging in their faith.  He wants them - he wants you and me - to know, to experience and to daily have the presence of God in our lives.  And in simple terms, John explains that sin can hamper our knowledge and experience of the presence of God in our lives. Â
'Sin?' You ask '. . . meee?'  Yeah, sorry Sunshine, but compared to a holy God, you do not quite stack up.  I mean, I know you look good next to the jerk you work with, but compared to the righteousness of God, you fall short. Truth. The good news is that the one John spoke of, Jesus, paid the price for that sin.  Further good news:                           Â
  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sin
                  and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1.9
Single White Male sought the presence of one Jesus of Nazareth.
Single White Male sought to remain in Jesus' love and presence all. the. time.
           He wrote so that we might know that once given the Holy Spirit,
          we can live in the presence of God ~ all the time...Â
              redeemed     ~   forgiven   ~    set free    ~   never alone.
MWF seeks presence, the presence of God. Â You too?
Christine