1 John 1:5-7 - This
is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is
light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk
in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from
all sin.
How honored John felt to have walked by Jesus’ side. To have
conversed with him….to have learned from him..to have known him in the
flesh. Jesus was a light to him…so
focused on God that everything he did…everything he said…exposed the sin in
John’s life….caused him to confess to the father…so that after Jesus gave his
own blood to pay the price for our sins…John was able to experience the light
of God too. The light that exposes sin….shines
on the truth…allows us to turn from them and be righteous again….allows God to
use us to disperse his love to others.
This light of God…it calls us all to be truthful…to confess
our own sins and begin to clean up our lives…to change the things we did that
were sinful and begin to share the love that comes from knowing God to produce
service in our lives. John is telling us here that our faith is simply a lie if
we have not allowed the love of God to overflow in our hearts to others. John is telling us here that we must allow
the light of Jesus to expose our sins ...that we must confess them to him and
the believers we worship with so that he can wash them away…forgive us. Then we
will begin to make our joy in the Lord complete as he begins to use us.
I feel sorry for the ones who just don’t get this
concept. The ones John was talking too….they
were Christians in name only…sitting and listening…following the ten
commandments and laws handed down by Moses (sometimes…when it fit their
agendas) maybe even reading the word of God and lifting up random prayers. But they were lying to themselves…God…and the
ones around them. They were living a lie…and someday…after they have lived this
lie long enough…the lie becomes so real in their heart that it destroys their
spirit.
Now don’t start thinking of all the people that you know
that fits this today. John is talking to
me…to you…to every Christian who has walked the isle….been baptized and does
not change EVERYTHING sinful about their lives. If you have been told that
anything you do….or say….or think….is wrong….and the bible agrees with it….you
are living a lie...your relationship with God WILL slowly be put on the back
burner…and you will begin to be tricked into service for Satan. I know…God
identifies new sins in my life every day.
I should not hesitate to put them out of my life…like that refrigerator
I came home to yesterday…full of rotten food and leftovers from 4 weeks ago
when I left to help take care of my mom. I have to go through every jar…carton…to
go box…and make sure I remove anything in my fridge that might make me sick. It might look good…but it contains very
dangerous germs…that can prevent me from being healthy….keep me from doing the
things I know I need to do.
Father I thank you this morning that every day I read my
bible…and write what you have helped me to understand about it…I have to change
something. I thank you that your light
does not depend on Earthly electricity…but is powered forever by your love for
me. Help me to always confess the things
you tell me are sins quickly to you…to my Christian friends…so that you will
remove them from me….and make me a stronger warrior for you. Forgive me Lord
for leaving some sins too long….for allowing them to trick me into thinking
that they were not sins anymore….for allowing the lie to keep me from being as
effective for you. Give me a new strength to act quicker when you expose the
sin in my life. Give me heightened vision to see the sin in my life so
I can confess it and let you wash it out of my life. Amen.
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