Note from Jesus
Dear Beloved,
I came to your world to be God among you and die as the atoning sacrifice for your sins. However, My ministry for you did not end with My death. After I was raised from the dead and ascended to the Father, I began My role as a heavenly intercessor for you and all others who truly follow Me. My atoning death was the last sacrifice needed. My presence at the Father's side ensures that I am your holy advocate forever (Hebrews 7:25). My sacrifice still covers your sin. That sacrifice assures you of both your forgiveness and your cleansing. You can be forgiven and also be made pure. It is as if you had never sinned!
We — Father, Son, and Spirit — do not want you to sin. Some sin is rebellion, some is weakness, some is immaturity, and some is missing your intended target for the character you desire in your life. I want you to be open with the Father about your sin. I want you to confess your sin to at least one other brother or sister in your spiritual family (James 5:16). Be honest about your sin and your struggle with that sin. Come clean about your sin, rebellion, moral failure, and shortcomings. You are not going to do everything perfectly. Only the self-deluded would claim to have never sinned (1 John 1:8). Only someone who does not understand the nature of sin would try to cling to his or her own supposed sinlessness: "You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail" (Romans 3:23). However, if you walk with Me in the open fellowship of My grace, you will confess your sin for what it is. You will want it gone, forgiven, and cleansed so that your sin is purged from any record of wrongs and you are purified from any stain of sin.
Here is what I ask of you. Realize the love and blessings of the grace you have received. Realize this grace came at a very high price. Realize that My sacrifice was given for you, but not just for you: It is for every person in the world! Please, pass this good news of My atoning sacrifice and My gift of new life, overwhelming grace, complete forgiveness, and total cleansing on to those who are lost. So walk with Me... be honest with Me... and share My grace because others need this same forgiveness and cleansing that you have received.
Verses to Live
Read the following verses several times. They are from My beloved disciple John, who wrote them to encourage those who were discouraged with their sin. These verses contain great promises to you about what I am doing right now in the presence of the Father to bless you and bless all who choose to follow Me as their Lord and Savior:
What we are telling you now is the very message we heard from Him [Jesus]: God is pure light, undimmed by darkness of any kind. If we say we have an intimate connection with the Father but we continue stumbling around in darkness, then we are lying because we do not live according to truth. If we walk step by step in the light, where the Father is, then we are ultimately connected to each other through the sacrifice of Jesus His Son. His blood purifies us from all our sins. If we go around bragging, "We have no sin," then we are fooling ourselves and are strangers to the truth. But if we own up to our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done. If we say, "We have not sinned," then we depict God as a liar and show that we have not let His word find its way into our hearts.
You are my little children, so I am writing these things to help you avoid sin. If, however, any believer does sin, we have a high-powered defense lawyer — Jesus the Anointed, the righteous — arguing on our behalf before the Father. It was through His sacrificial death that our sins were atoned. But He did not stop there — He died for the sins of the whole world.
(1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:1-2)
Response in Prayer
O Father, I know that I have sinned and fallen short of Your plan for Me. Thank You Lord Jesus for Your sacrifice. You sacrificed Your comfort, Your security, Your dignity, and Your life to give me grace. Your sacrifice gave me the way to receive the Father's mercy through forgiveness and cleansing. Thank You Holy Spirit for Your work to transform me to be more and more like Jesus. I commit to living for Him as You empower and transform me. I promise to share His grace with others so that they can share in these blessings. In Jesus' name, I offer You my thanks, commitment, and praise. Amen.
Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Thursday, May 2, 2024
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