To live as God’s Children is to have faith in Jesus and to do the things Jesus does. When we do, we have confidence and power and eternal life.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell what is true and what is not, what is right and what is wrong, because evil loves to disguise itself as something good. To help us know and do what is right, God the Father gives us His Son, Jesus, who lives within us by the Holy Spirit.

Just like with our human parents, God’s children grow up to look like Him. And just like human children often struggle to obey their parents, we can struggle to obey our Heavenly Father … but that doesn’t stop Him from loving us and calling us back to Him and to who we truly are.

As God’s Children, we are filled with His love, which covers over all of our sin and fills us with His light. It only makes sense, then, for us to love one another, just like Jesus has loved us.

Life. True Life. Eternal Life. John, the Disciple whom Jesus loved, invites us to explore the beauty and power of Life with the Father, as he learned it firsthand from Jesus, God’s Son, and now shares it with all of God’s children.

Do you ever wonder if what you are doing really makes a difference? In such a big world with so may people around us and so much going on, it’s easy to feel insignificant. Foolish as it may sound, Jesus promises us that every one of us is stunningly unique and has a part to play in God’s work in the world. When we embrace that promise, we have confidence that we really can make a lasting difference by what we do.

You may have heard it said, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Maybe you believe it’s true…especially when it comes to you. Foolish as it may sound, Jesus says that we CAN actually change, no matter how old we are or how set we are in our ways.

We all tend to avoid suffering at all costs.  And that makes sense.  Yet some people seem to thrive despite amazingly difficult circumstances.  Some even claim they would not change a thing after a time of suffering because of the change that suffering brought into their life.  As foolish as it sounds, we believe that God can actually transform our suffering into blessing both for us and for those around us.

Everyone has made mistakes and carries around the scars to prove it.  Most of us, however, are pretty good at hiding them, even from ourselves.  Eventually, feelings of regret, shame, and guilt will catch up with us, causing us to wonder if we will ever find healing.  Foolish as it may sound, Jesus promises that we can find freedom and healing through His free gift of forgiveness...no matter what we've done in the past.

Central to the Christian faith is the belief that Jesus proved that He was who He claimed to be by rising from the dead.  Without this miracle Jesus is just another false messiah -- deluded into believing He was the son of God and foolishly giving His life to save the world.  But the resurrection proves that Jesus' death rescued us all and that His mission to restore God's creation is accomplished.  Best of all, Jesus taught that, because He lives, we shall live also!  He is the first fruits of all who believe.  We too will one day rise again!