Igniter Ministries

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love — not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John … Continue reading Real Love Is Shown, Received, and Taught by the Father →

The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.] 1 John 4:8 AMP God Is Love — and That Is the Issue This verse is not … Continue reading Beyond Knowing About God: Rediscovering Intimacy in the Secret Place →

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. I John 4:7 NKJV It's possible to believe all the right things about God and still be far from His heart. John writes 1 John 4:7 like a spiritual X-ray. He is not … Continue reading Love vs. Legalism →

Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 1 John 4:5 NLT Have you ever noticed how false prophets almost always sound current? They track world events. They understand systems. They reference leaders and movements with ease. That alone doesn’t make them false — … Continue reading Who Are You Listening To? →

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. 1 John 4:1 NLT John doesn’t open gently. He opens clearly. Not everyone who says “God told me” heard God. Not everyone who sounds spiritual is Spirit-led. And … Continue reading From Deception to Discernment: Restoring Trust After False Prophecy →

Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 1 John 3:19 NLT 1 John 3:19–24 confronts a quiet instability in modern Christianity: believers who are sincere, devoted, and active — yet governed by how they feel. John does not diagnose this with psychology … Continue reading Faith That Stands When Feelings Don’t →

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. 1 John 3:16 NLT “We know what real love is…”John doesn’t begin with opinion — he begins with revelation. Love is not something we define by culture, preference, or comfort. It is revealed in Christ and demonstrated at the cross. Jesus … Continue reading Loving Fearlessly: Trusting God’s Definition of Love →

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 1 John 3:11 NLT John isn’t introducing a new command. He’s re-establishing a non‑negotiable one. Before sin fractured the human story, love was already written on the heart. Before we learned how to hide, compete, compare, or self‑protect, we were … Continue reading Love & Murder — What Does Your Heart Produce? →

Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 1 John 3:4 NLT There are passages of Scripture that feel like a warm blanket… and then there are passages that feel like a mirror held a little too close to your face. 1 John 3:4–10 is the … Continue reading Discernment Without Stones →

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 NLT See how very much our Father loves us… John doesn’t ease into this revelation. He grabs us by the shoulders and says, Look. Pay attention. Wake up. This isn’t a side … Continue reading See What Kind of Love This Is →

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 1 John 2:26 John isn’t writing to scare the church — he’s writing to steady it. He says, “I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray.” But notice what he doesn’t … Continue reading Remain In Him →

So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us. 1 John 2:24–25 NLT Understanding the Moment John Was Writing Into John wasn’t writing … Continue reading Remain in What You Heard From the Beginning →

Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 1 John 2:18 NLT There’s something about a fire that makes truth easier to hear. No podium. No performance. Just warmth, crackling logs, … Continue reading Riding With Him →

I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus. I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with … Continue reading Moving Up, Not Just Forward →

But anyone who hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:11 John isn’t writing poetry for the spiritually curious.He’s offering spiritual diagnostics for people who think they’re fine. He’s speaking … Continue reading Walk In The Light →

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know … Continue reading Live Like Jesus →

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins — and not only … Continue reading Progress, Not Perfection: Growing Into Christlikeness →

“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves…” 1 John 1:8 NLT Friends, sometimes the Bible speaks straight to our hearts. 1 John 1:8‑10 does exactly that, shining a clear light on something we all wrestle with: our tendency to deny our sin. It’s easy to try to present ourselves as … Continue reading Got Sin? →

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living … Continue reading Step Into the Light →

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… 1 John 1:1 John begins with what is tangible, real, and close. He doesn’t start with theory or clever words; he starts with experience. Faith was never meant … Continue reading That Which We Have Seen and Touched →

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24 Happy New Year! Forget resolutions. Forget “big goals” that feel like mountains too high to climb. Today, let’s do something simpler — and infinitely more life-changing. Let’s embrace each day, every day, with the Lord first thing. … Continue reading No Resolutions — Just Relationship →

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 As the year draws to a close, it’s a natural moment to pause, reflect, and consider where God has been leading us — and where He wants to take us next. For me personally, this year has been a … Continue reading A Sending Out Into the New Year →

Test everything; hold fast to what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Sometimes the Spirit whispers in our hearts, a soft nudge or a subtle unrest. Other times, He moves like a roaring wind, shaking us awake to realities we’ve been ignoring. One of the hardest truths to face is realizing that a church or small … Continue reading When the Spirit Warns: 10 Signs Your Church or Small Group May Be Toxic →

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Ephesians 4:2 NLT Kindness is one of those words that sounds soft — until it costs you something. It’s easy to be kind when people are agreeable, grateful, and emotionally tidy. It’s harder when they’re … Continue reading I Choose Kindness →

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 Forgiveness is not denial. It is freedom chosen on purpose. Forgiveness is one of those words that sounds holy, looks good stitched on a throw pillow, and feels wildly inconvenient when it shows up in real life. We … Continue reading I Choose To Forgive →