And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says "I know Him" but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps His Word, in Him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked. 1 John 2:3-6

Wisk is a laundry detergent.

Some of you, like me, are old enough to remember Wisk's successful TV-commercial campaign, which ran during the 1970s. If not, here is a brief synopsis. The woman of the household has her sense of self-worth destroyed by her inability to remove the dirty "ring around the collar" on her husband's shirts. Nothing works until she applies Wisk directly to the stain. Amazingly, the ring disappears, even as her confidence reappears.

Our family watched that commercial a lot of times.

I remember how, one day, after that ad had just finished, our son, Kurt, stopped his play, looked up at the TV, and commented: "Why doesn't she just tell her husband to wash his dirty neck?" Kurt had cut through to the heart of the matter.

This takes me to the topic for today's Daily Devotion. As of this writing, the FBI has been called in to investigate just how the e-mail and Internet accounts of some Hollywood stars have been hacked. It appears some indiscreet pictures of them have been stolen and made public without their permission.

Understand, this is a serious violation of the law. People who have committed this crime in the past have received a 10-year jail sentence.

On the other hand, if we wish to use Kurt's logic and cut to the heart of the matter, we could rightly say, if you don't want your picture posted, then don't let anyone take that picture. Generally speaking, a criminal can't post that which doesn't exist.

That is a rule which should be learned by all of us and not just the stars of Hollywood.

In our text today the apostle John said the same thing. He wanted God's people to know that when they have been saved by the Redeemer, their lives will change. When we are washed in the saving blood of our Lord, the love of God becomes part of us; it fills us up. Because there no longer is room in our hearts for anything else, we lose the desire to do that which is wrong before God and is offensive to those around us. In truth, the world ought to be able to identify God's people by the good they do and the evil they avoid.

In other words, the world can't accuse us of having "ring around the collar," if there is no ring.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, draw me to that which is right and help me avoid all which is wrong. This I ask so the Savior might be glorified and the world may see the Savior living within me. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

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In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 29-30    Acts 19:21-41

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