First Hand Information

Scripture:
1 John 1:3 — “…what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
 
Observation:
John declared his desire for his readers of this letter to come to faith in his Savior. What he and the apostles were declaring was not a message based upon tradition, hearsay or conjecture, but from that which was personally experienced by sight, touch, hearing and from within their hearts. It was too real not to be shared with those that they loved and those that they longed to see in an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ.
 
Application:
I may not have lived in the Biblical time of Christ’s ministry upon Earth, yet my redemptive salvation experience is just as genuine as that of the apostles. I have seen Him do the miraculous. I have been touched by Him in my heart. I have heard Him speak unto me through His Word. This is not based on the experience of another. It is personal and authentic to me. Today, my faith in Christ must be too real to not share it with another through the life I live and the words my lips may speak, as opportunity arises.
 
Prayer:
Lord, help me to not to treat my knowledge of You as a historical figure. Rather, may You manifest Your presence in amazing ways so others will see You in Your glory. May others see You in me today. Through it all I desire You and You alone to be worshipped and lifted up today.  

— Steve Parten, family pastor, Reservoir campus