Having the assurance of salvation is essential for the believer. However, there are times when the believer questions their salvation. Have you ever been there? Questions such as: Am I saved? Or do I genuinely have eternal life? These are all questions that most believers struggle with, including myself.

In the Epistle of 1 John, John wants his readers and us to be assured of having eternal life. He says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13, NIV). In other words, John does not want his readers to second-guess themselves with questions of uncertainty regarding their salvation. John wants them “to know;” he wants them to be confident that they have eternal life.

Therefore, belief in the Son of God is essential for believers regarding our assurance of eternal life. We must know that at the heart of one’s belief in the Son of God is love, love for God, and love for each other (1 John 3:23, NIV). He reminds his readers and us that this is not new. It is the message that they have heard from the beginning: “We should love one another” (1 John 3:11, NIV). Love for each other signifies that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us; when He is present, we have the assurance of salvation, but without Him, we question our salvation (1 John 4:13, NIV).

John also points out another essential ingredient in the assurance of salvation: Knowing God. Thus, knowing God is to have eternal life, and knowing God means keeping his commands to love each other. That is how a person knows they are in Christ and have eternal life (1 John 2:3-6, NIV). When Christ abides in us, and us in him, we have eternal life (1 John 4:16-17, NIV).

All of this is tied to our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; this knowing gives absolute assurance of eternal life. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, which John calls knowing the truth; the one who remains in the Son and the Father will obtain the promise of eternal life (1 John 2:21-24, NIV). You can know you have eternal life if you believe in the name of the Son of God—Jesus Christ (1 John 5:13, NIV). In other words, eternal life has nothing to do with our performance or what we have done; it is all about God, who gave us eternal life in His Son (1 John 5:11, NIV). If we have the Son, we have life; thus, we believe in the name of the Son of God and know that by this, we have the assurance of eternal life (1 John 5:13, NIV).

Devotional Take-Away

Belief in Christ and love for others gives us the assurance of eternal life because God is love, and anyone who lives in Him has eternal life.

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David, in our Psalm today, declared that he will give God thanks, and he will not only give God thanks, but he will do so in the great assembly. In other words, he will publicly give God thanks!

He's thanking God for deliverance and for hearing his prayers. What I love about David is the fact that he knows who to run to when he's having a bad day or when he's having a great day. He always goes to God, and he always gives thanks. No wonder God's hands were upon his life because gratitude releases the hand of the giver. Sometimes, we forget to thank God for all his goodness because we are in a season of testing and temptations. David's been there, but David used praise and Thanksgiving as a weapon against the enemy in his mind.

Worry is an enemy of our progress. Instead of worrying, David was thankful; he worried less because of his attitude of gratitude. He says, "O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: Make known his deeds among the people." Psalm 105:1 KJV. Paul picked up on this attitude of gratitude; he had much reason to complain like we all do today, but instead of being depressed, and overwhelmed Paul says, in everything give thanks..." (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

The best way to always give gratitude to God is to remember: look back over your life and see where he brought you from. David said, "Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; His wonders..." Psalm 105:5 KJV. As I write this devotional and ponder over my life and how God's been good to me, I need to show him more gratitude. God's been consistent all throughout my life, and today, I am thankful. Family, remember and think back at the goodness of God. Give him thanks for all his goodness, and have an attitude of gratitude today; you will have one of the best days ever in your life.

Challenge:

Can you decide today to show gratitude to God and to the people you interact with throughout the day? Even if they show you attitude, remain grateful and see the type of day you'll have. Try it, and it will bless you in tremendous ways.

If you accept the challenge today, please email us and let us know how your day changed when you reflected the best attitude of gratitude to those around you and to God. We would love to hear from you, or simply leave us a comment on how your day changed for the better.

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The children of Israel in Numbers are now free, but in the wilderness, not in the Promised Land yet, but organized; things are different for them from being in Egypt; they don't have the same food and stuff, but they are blessed and separated as God's people. God's presence is with them, and he promised to take them into the Promised Land. Despite God’s goodness to them, the children of Israel complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord’ (11:1). I don't know, but if I'm honest, there are always things that cause me to complain, and at times I forget God's goodness at the moment.

But it doesn't mean God hasn't been good. It doesn't mean he is not good at the moment because God is good at all times, and he is always good. However, forgetting is a human trait, we forget the good when things are not going well for us. You see, the children of Israel were in the wilderness and dealing with hardships. Things were not easy for them. Nevertheless, God had done so much for them to get them to this point.

Don't forget where God brought you from; remember how much God's done for you.

When you complain, God is displeased. He gets angry. Complaining is a disrespect to God. It shows little gratitude for what he's done, and it denies his power, and what he can do next in our lives. I wonder how many times we stopped God from moving in our lives because we complained? It pays to show gratitude, to remember God's goodness, and always to thank him for his faithfulness. Things might not be the way we want it, but that does not mean God is not good. He's still God, and he remains the same. He's a good God. Even in the hardships of life, he remains good.

Challenge:

What has God done for you that you can recall to help you through this season of hardship and trials? Take action; if you can do this, it will give you the courage and strength to see God's goodness in the present.

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God our Father is good. The Bible says to give thanks to the Lord, who is our Father, for he is good. Yesterday, we looked at the fact that we are children of God. And as such, we are created in his image and likeness. He is good. Therefore, we have the capacity to be good. However, because of sin and the fall of humanity, hate and rebellion have become the norm instead of being good.

Nevertheless, our Father remains good. God's not being good, or doing good things, he is good; that's who he is; his very nature is good.

Today, we have fathers killing their own children, fathers abandoning their children, and fathers abusing their own children, but as a child of God, I'm not worried about being abandoned, abused, or even mistreated because my Father—God is good. There's nothing you can do to cause God not to love you. His love is forever. Not just when you are good, but in your worst and lowest sinful state, his love endures. That's enough to make us excited today about our Father—he's good.

Family today might be challenging because we have so much that we are dealing with in this world, such as hurt, hate, violence, and meanness. Remind yourself that your Father is good and you're his child, you have what it takes to also be good.

Challenge:

Be the good that you want to see in the world, Your Daddy is good and you are made in his image and likeness, you have the DNA of goodness in you.

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In our text, Paul reminds us that we are children, sons and daughters of God. He says that the Spirit you received, the Holy Spirit, does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again.

That means, at one time, we were living in fear. The only reason we would live in fear is when we do not know where our Mommy or Daddy are, we start to worry because they make us secure.

Paul is saying to us, you have a father, and you can depend on him, he released us from being a slave to sin that causes us to live in fear. Thus, when we know that we are a child of God, we refuse to live in fear and walk in our freedom and faith because our God is our Father.

Today, we refuse to live as slaves any longer to sin and fear, we have a Father, we are not alone, our Daddy wants us and we can cry out to him by and through the Spirit and say, "Abba Father", help me.

Listen being adopted means that he wanted me, adoption is not haphazardly done, it is intentional and deliberate. God deliberately chose me for this adoption through His Spirit. He wanted me as his child, and he wanted you.

Family, remind yourself of who you are today, and declare, I am a child of God, therefore, I've got access to the Father, and all that he possesses are mine.

Challenge:

We must remember that there are no illegitimate children in the kingdom of God. God wants you, and he chose you, it's time you call him by his rightful name, "Abba" Daddy—Father.

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Love knows no boundaries, no color, no shades; love is love, and love loves at all times. Jesus loves us without prejudice. He loved us while we were still sinners; that's love. Jesus was a friend to the friendless. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

Jesus said love each other as I have loved you. That is a tall order for us to walk out. Truth is, we don't like most people for many reasons. They don't like us; they are black, white, purple, and blue and don't fit our status and lifestyle.

Love does not boast, it is not selfish. It is not self-seeking. Love sees others. It is said that people die of a lack of friendships and relationships. They develop sicknesses like high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic sicknesses and diseases, cancer, and stress-related sicknesses because they lack relationships. I wonder if when Jesus says love each other as I loved you he was simply saying be a friend to someone else, and in doing so we help them to live a full life instead of one that is filled with loneliness and isolation.

God cares for those who are friendless, do you?

This is what Jesus wanted; my command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Be a friend, others need your friendship... their life might depend on it. Family, love is God, God is love, and we represent and reflect God on earth. Let us love like he loved. Be a friend; by loving others you show love to God.

Challenge:

Look outside yourself today, see someone else, and be a friend. Jesus is counting on you; you're the answer to someone's prayer. Don't be afraid; you've got what it takes to be a friend to the friendless.

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We often prioritize the aristocrats of society, people with high social ranking, the wealthy, and those from whom we think we can receive something. Why would we go out of our way to help others? Why help the poor and needy when they have nothing to give us in return? Instead, we roll out the red carpet for the upper echelons of society, and we scoff at the poor and needy.

Jesus, in this text, is speaking to a rich young man who had such money that when Jesus told him to sell all he had and follow him, he went away sad because he just had too much money. He was not concerned about the poor; he was not concerned about the things of God.

So, too, in our society, we tend to overlook those around us who are in need while we head on to church and never give a second thought to people around us who are in need of our help. Jesus responded by saying it's hard for the rich to make it into heaven. He's flipping the norm, from front to back, back to front, from last to first, and from first to last. We must be careful who we're overlooking because they might be the ones we have to answer to later in life.

We might need them later!

Sometimes, we overlook people who have the blood type that we might later need, the kidney that we might need, but because they are not the aristocrats and the famous (in whatever setting), we don't see them, but God says, watch out I'm flipping things upside down.

Don't forget, we are God's hands and feet on earth. And as we do to others, we do it unto God.

James reminds us to live according to the word of God. He says, "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers." James 2:8‭-‬9 NIV.

The challenge today is to locate someone in need and be a blessing to them. Even if you're in need, you be the blessing you want to receive, and I guarantee you'll be surprised at how God begin to change things in your life.

In this Psalm, David gives God praise in such a way that it is known as the most perfect song of pure praise found in the whole of Scripture. It's a Psalm that comes from a glad heart, and David's heart was delighted when he wrote this Psalm. David declares Praise the Lord, O my soul. Why? He had a sense of being thankful to God for his goodness, and it's as if he felt like his soul was not praising and thanking God enough. He did an introspective by looking internally and commanding his soul to praise the Lord.

Command your soul to give your God the Praise he deserves. O My Soul, praise the Lord for all his goodness and benefits towards me. David went more profound than superficial praise; he understood that everything within him had to glorify God. When we praise God, sometimes it's halfheartedly, like God is begging us to praise. God is complete within himself; the praise is not for him as much as it is for us.

Have you noticed that something changes in your life when you praise God? You're transformed; you have a sense of God's presence. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, then your praise might not be coming from within; it's not coming from a place of gratitude; it's most likely superficial.

Reflect on His Goodness today, and break out in spontaneous praise!

Challenge:

Can you praise God for his goodness even when things are not perfect? Give him the glory, and watch the situations around you change.

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The world is in darkness. There's no way around it. Blindness, or spiritual blindness, is all around us; when we walk in darkness, we stumble because there's no light. Jesus came into the world as God in the flesh to bring light into this world. This light was needed because the world was in darkness. He is the light of the world. As followers of Christ, we will never walk in darkness.

To follow Christ means you believe in him; when you believe in him, he guides you into the truth. Without Christ, we are in darkness and death. Darkness and death go together. Therefore, Jesus says, if you follow me, you will have the light of life.

Following Jesus is a daily walk. When things are up and when they are down. Follow the light that leads to life. Jesus always brings light to those who follow him. He is the eternal light that never goes dim, and if we trust him today, he will lead us to life.

Challenge:

Let's duplicate his light in today's world so we lead others to Christ as we follow him.

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