If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 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.
1st John 1:8-1st John 2:1 NLT
Ever had one of THOSE kind of days... you know the one when you're snuggled in so warm and cozy and waking up slowly, contentedly stretching and ready to hit the snooze alarm when all of a sudden in mid-stretch you realize there's a vague recollection of already having whacked the alarm twice. In one svelte move, you're throwing off covers, feet hit the floor and as you grab up the phone to peer incredulously at what time it is, you're already full speed ahead, adrenalin-pumping, throwing the clothes in the dryer, praying the touch-up cycle will suffice in place of ironing, as you race to the shower and pray for God's help in clearing traffic and fixing your hair - all in the same breath...
Then you get to work and the mad dash you made to get there seems as though it may be the high point of the day. Try as you might, there just doesn't seem to be any way to recover and all you hear in your head is the line from Casting Crown's song, East to West I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again... The Bible tells us that satan is the accuser of the brethren. It also tells us, if we will remember, that he's A LIAR and the father of all lies! The first line of our text for today reassures us with TRUTH - If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. We're not stuck there. We don't have to stay there.
Bottom line - if we were never going to need forgiveness, Christ wouldn't have come and laid down His life to purchase our forgiveness. He wouldn't be our Advocate, pleading our case before the Father. Yes, confessing our sin to Him and asking forgiveness is the beginning of our relationship, but it's not all there is. Let's keep moving forward. We have a long way to go - as far as the East is from the West.
Prayer:
Father,
There aren't enough words within my command to properly thank You for all You've forgiven in my life. Or to definitively express what I feel regarding Your mercy and Your grace... To say I love You seems so trite given the way the world has lowered the value of that precious expression, but I know that You, Father, look on the heart. Look on my heart, Lord. Read what is there for You. Remove everything else that does not reflect You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
Ever had one of THOSE kind of days... you know the one when you're snuggled in so warm and cozy and waking up slowly, contentedly stretching and ready to hit the snooze alarm when all of a sudden in mid-stretch you realize there's a vague recollection of already having whacked the alarm twice. In one svelte move, you're throwing off covers, feet hit the floor and as you grab up the phone to peer incredulously at what time it is, you're already full speed ahead, adrenalin-pumping, throwing the clothes in the dryer, praying the touch-up cycle will suffice in place of ironing, as you race to the shower and pray for God's help in clearing traffic and fixing your hair - all in the same breath...
Then you get to work and the mad dash you made to get there seems as though it may be the high point of the day. Try as you might, there just doesn't seem to be any way to recover and all you hear in your head is the line from Casting Crown's song, East to West I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again... The Bible tells us that satan is the accuser of the brethren. It also tells us, if we will remember, that he's A LIAR and the father of all lies! The first line of our text for today reassures us with TRUTH - If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. We're not stuck there. We don't have to stay there.
Bottom line - if we were never going to need forgiveness, Christ wouldn't have come and laid down His life to purchase our forgiveness. He wouldn't be our Advocate, pleading our case before the Father. Yes, confessing our sin to Him and asking forgiveness is the beginning of our relationship, but it's not all there is. Let's keep moving forward. We have a long way to go - as far as the East is from the West.
Prayer:
Father,
There aren't enough words within my command to properly thank You for all You've forgiven in my life. Or to definitively express what I feel regarding Your mercy and Your grace... To say I love You seems so trite given the way the world has lowered the value of that precious expression, but I know that You, Father, look on the heart. Look on my heart, Lord. Read what is there for You. Remove everything else that does not reflect You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
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