Seen, Heard, Touched

Seen, Heard, Touched
Words of Faith 5-2-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

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. [2] The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. [3] We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. [4] We write this to make our joy complete.

Have you ever tried to explain Jesus Christ to someone? It is not easy. Volumes are written and still fall short. How do you explain that Jesus was not just an idea or secret concept leading to "enlightenment"? How do you explain truths that defy explanation, like incarnation and the triune deity? Ultimately you can't. So, the best way for John was simple testimony. He also relies on the same poignant and powerful tool in his Gospel.
John is clear; we proclaim what we have heard, seen, and touched! Jesus is real! Why is this so important? It is so that you may have fellowship with God. That simple. I spent a long time in religion before discovering that simple reality: God desires a continuing intimate love relationship with me that is real and personal. God pursues that relationship.
In that relationship, we find fellowship. The Greek word is "koinonia," from which we get "communion" and "community." Something deep within us longs for community-- communion with God and others in God. This gives us a complete joy. It is not something we can really argue or explain. We can only testify to the reality we know.
A good question for us is: Do I really know Jesus? Am I in fellowship with Him? Am I in fellowship with others who belong to Him? We always want to answer those questions with a date or defining moment. But we all know that marriage is much more than a wedding date. Relationships must be maintained. Love must be nurtured. For the next week we will look at that relationship under the scrutiny of the light of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, I want to know You and make You known. I desire to give testimony, not to something I have only heard about but to my personal experience of You. Thank You for pursuing a continuing, real, and personal love relationship with me. Walk with me closely today. In Your name, Amen.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< ><> <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.