Be a “best” friend to each other…the kind that points each other to Father God.
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This is love: [a] He loved us long before we loved him. It was his love, not ours. He proved it by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins. [b] – 1 John 4:10 The Passion Translation (TPT)
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a. 1 John 4:10 The Aramaic can be translated “This is how love was born.”
b. 1 John 4:10 The Greek term hilasmos can be described as “a cleansing, satisfying sacrifice that provides a covering shelter.” A form of the word is used for “mercy seat” in Heb. 9:5. God’s love provides the answers for life’s greatest questions:
(1) Why was I created? To receive and experience God’s love.
(2) Does God care about me? God’s love is indiscriminate; he loves everyone and cares about every detail of our lives.
(3) Am I really free to choose or reject God’s love? Yes—love must be a choice, freely and without compulsion.
(4) What is the way of salvation? Love became a man, Jesus Christ, who died as our sacrificial offering and by believing in him we receive the gift of salvation.
(5) How can I really know that I am saved? When we respond with faith to God’s loving invitation and then demonstrate it by loving others, we have the assurance of our salvation.
(6) How can I know that God loves me? His love prompted him to send his unique and beautiful Son to the earth to be our Savior and Redeemer. He offers to everyone the invitation to experience even deeper measures of his love. And he gives us his Holy Spirit as confirmation that he loves and cherishes us and gives us the power to love others. See Eph. 3:14-21.
– Notes from The Passion Translation Bible.
