The Daily Devotional Series: 1, 2, & 3 John

By Kristi Burchfiel

“Keep it up!” “Great job!” We all love receiving words of encouragement, especially when those words come from a mentor or someone we admire. When the churches received the letters that are now titled 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John in the Bible, that’s exactly what they saw. These letters of encouragement from the apostle John are full of assurances and encouragement for the believers. We can know that we have salvation. We can walk in love every day. We can overcome the world!

John’s simple messages hold such profound truths that each and every verse is a treasure. As such, this devotional takes each verse day by day and briefly discusses a truth from that verse and a response back to God in prayer to help apply that truth each day. Designed to be read in less than five minutes each, the 112 devotions listed in this book help bring these letters of encouragement alive as readers seek to apply God’s truths from these beautiful letters to their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kristi Burchfiel
• Release date: Oct 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311761750

Kristi Burchfiel

I never thought that the difficult times I found myself stuck in would result in a Bible study. As a young pastor’s wife, I found myself digging deep into the book of Ecclesiastes looking for answers to the questions that overwhelmed my life: How do I prioritize my life? What things should I focus on? What do I do when things don’t work out my way? How do I avoid having regrets later on? Those questions and the answers I learned paved the way for my first book Without Regrets. Since then, I’ve experienced the amazing truths that God has for us in the Bible and I am passionate about sharing those truths with others in a way that they can apply those truths to their lives. I write Christian Daily Devotionals, including a devotional for the day, as well as Bible studies and I love to share and to pray for people through my Facebook Page and on Twitter. I also enjoy the opportunity to speak and encourage others whether it’s a small study group or a large women’s conference. I grew up in Valley Center, Kansas and received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. I’ve been married to my husband D Burchfiel for 16 years and we enjoy our 2 children, Rebekah and Andrew. We currently make our home in Wichita, Kansas where D is the pastor of Southwest Baptist Church.

Book preview

The Daily Devotional Series

1, 2, & 3 John

Kristi Burchfiel

Smashwords Edition

Copyright

© 2014 by Kristi Burchfiel

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.

ISBN-13: 9781311761750

Cover design by Jonna Feavel

Images used with permission

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Unless otherwise identified, all scripture quotations in this publication are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.

Introduction

What is The Daily Devotional Series?

The Daily Devotional Series was born from my own personal devotions. As part of my daily time with God, I wanted to be able to read and study a whole book of the Bible at a time. However, I also wanted to be able to focus on one specific thought or idea that I could hold on to for the whole day.

This particular book is a little different from my other books in the series. While I still just focus on one, or maybe two verses, each day, I go through each and every verse in these three books. Since 1, 2, and 3 John are shorter books, I wanted to study each verse more in depth, while still staying focused on just one truth for that day.

These devotions are not designed to be an in-depth study of a particular verse, chapter, or book. They are intentionally designed to be brief. Because of this, readers won’t get bogged down in lots of theology. Instead, I encourage the reader to take the time to really focus on application in his or her personal life. The Bible is living and active and applicable in our daily lives.

How do I use The Daily Devotional Series?

If you have the time, I encourage you to take the time to read through the entire chapter for each day so you can get the full story and background information. However, realize that is not necessary to be able to follow and learn from the devotionals. Each devotional focuses on one verse, the truth in that verse, and a response to pray back to God.

May you be blessed as you study God’s word and apply it to your life daily.

About 1, 2, & 3 John

I love to receive notes of encouragement; as do most people I know. There’s something special about hearing from a person who recognizes the work you’ve been doing and wants to say great job! John takes that approach in these three letters. He wants to encourage the believers and recognize the wonderful things they have been part of

All three letters were written within a relatively short period of time, probably between the late 80s and early 90s AD. First John was addressed to all Christians. Second John is addressed to a church, although it doesn’t specify a region or area where the church was located. Finally, 3 John is addressed to a person, Gaius, who was probably a preacher or leader over a region of churches. All three books reference the love of God over and over, and that seems to be a recurrent theme for John. John understood the power of the love of God and he sought to have that love permeate every area of his life. Love is so often the focus of every area of his writings, even to the point where he refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved all throughout the Gospel of John.

However, John also uses these books to give warnings as well. Several false teachings about Jesus have been circulating and false teachers were traveling around just like the genuine believers and churches were sometimes having a hard time differentiating between the truth and the lies. John addresses this in each book. He wants the believers to understand how to tell the difference and not be swayed in their beliefs because they know what is true.

It’s an interesting balance between being able to follow and display the love of God and stay on guard against the lies and false teachings. John handles these two issues beautifully and the Holy Spirit uses him to pen some of the most wonderful words of assurance, love, and hope. We can be confident in all areas of our faith, and John reminds us of that as we glean God’s amazing truths through these three wonderful letters.

1 John

Day 1

1 John 1:1—That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

TRUTH:

John, the author, had personally experienced Jesus. He walked with Him and talked with Him, now He is sharing what he knows to be true based on his personal experience. When we ask Christ in our lives, we also have personal experience with Jesus. Our testimony of what we have personally experienced in Christ is powerful. People can call us liars, but they cannot disprove what we say. Do we share with others what we have personally experienced concerning our relationship with Jesus Christ?

RESPONSE:

Father, You touch and impact my life every day. You are faithful beyond measure, and I trust in You in all things. I will not be afraid or timid to share what You have done for me. Your personal impact on my life has made all the difference, and I will share with courage and boldness.

Day 2

1 John 1:2—The life appeared; we have seen