Email from Abiding Place Daily Bread – January 14, 2025 (The Third Day – Genesis 1:9-13) 1 John 2:15 – Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The Contrast Between God & The World Contrary to popular humanism, there is absolutely nothing belonging to the “world” that is of God. The world and all that is in it is opposed to God’s holiness and purity. The world was designed by the prince of the power of the air, the god of this world that works in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2). The demonic design of the world is to appeal to everything belonging to the works of the flesh, also referred to as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life – the actions of all of those who do not walk in the life of Jesus being led by the Spirit of Holiness. The contrast between God and the world couldn’t be more clear, and the proof more certain. If you have a love for the things of the world, the love of the Father is not in you (James 4:4). The love of the Father, which is evidenced by our obedience to Him, is placed within our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and is the foremost proof of the new birth (John 13:35, 14:15, 21, 24, 15:10; Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22; 1 John 2:5, 5:2). If we have His love in us, then we will love those things He loves, and we will obey Him (John 14:15, 23, 15:10; 1 John 3:10, 5:2-3). If we have received the gift of God, then we will never thirst for the world (John 4:10-14). The spirit of the world and its lust will come masquerading as our own desires, but the wisdom we have received from God causes us to see it for what it is. Though the fleshly lusts of the world and the spirit of disobedience war against our souls, we have His overcoming power to withstand it – for greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world (Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 John 4:4). Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 1/14/2025
