1 John 2:12-17 – “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If you love the world, love for the Father is not in you. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful people, the lust of their eyes and their boasting about what they have and do—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Today's Devotional:
God is giving us a new craving for God. Where there is more craving for God, there is less craving for the world because the world is not like God. The world operates on wanting one’s own way, wanting everything for oneself, and wanting to appear above the rest. The world is not here to stay, but will pass away. Nobody builds a house next to a termite mound. Nobody fervently demands to give their entire life savings to a thief. Yet these are like the ones who crave the world, and will pass away with the world. Those who do not pass away with the world, crave something so contrary to the world that they can live forever. These are the people who have received forgiveness on account of God, who hang on to truth, and live vigilantly in loving God. God gives us a craving that He will fully satisfy.
Responding to the Transmitted Message: Let’s pray that God would increase these new cravings. May we not desire the world, but ask for an increased measure of God’s love. Let’s pray that we would be filled with God’s Spirit to believe in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us.