How To Be Mature in Christ

I am writing to you, dear children,
   because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
I am writing to you, fathers,
   because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
   because you have overcome the evil one. 
I write to you, dear children,
   because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
   because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
   because you are strong,
   and the word of God lives in you,
   and you have overcome the evil one.
1 John 2:12-14 (NIV)

Where are you at in your relationship with God? John reminds us that knowing that our sins are forgiven is the basis of our relationship and the purpose is to know God, him who is from the beginning. There will be battles along the way and we will need the word of God to live in us and to be strong in the Lord and overcome the evil one. 

Where are you at in your relationship with God? Are you a little child just learning that your sins are forgiven? Are you a young man/ woman learning to be strong in the word of God and, by faith, overcoming the evil one? Are you a father/ mother who knows him who is from the beginning? 

What I get from this is that the basis of my relationship with God is the forgiveness of my sins by Christ's death on the cross. I progress in my relationship with Christ through the study of the word of God and the applications of its' truths applied by faith in the daily battles where I need to overcome the evil one. I mature and rest in my faith as I learn that knowing God and making him known is my true purpose in life. 

Father, help us to press on toward maturity. Reveal you forgiveness to us. Give us strength to overcome the evil one. And help us to know you, the Eternal Sovereign Lord. Praise be to you in us today!

Look At Christ, Not Your Sin

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have on who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole world. 

I John 2:1-2 

John says it pretty much like it is: We don't want to sin, but sometimes (maybe more often than we like) we do sin. That is just the way it is. The good news is that God has even this weakness covered in Christ. 

The goal is to have fellowship with Christ and each other. Christ's blood purifies us, not our management of sin. We were not saved so that we can have another chance at not sinning. This is a truth that we must understand. Christ did not die on the cross for just the sins we committed before knowing him. He died for ALL our sins. Yes. All. He died to purify us from "all unrighteousness". 

Think about this: if you are concentrating on your sin, even it is in an attempt to not sin, you are still focusing on yourself. 

We are called to walk in the light, to have fellowship with Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 

I am not condoning sin or saying we shouldn't acknowledge our sin. But, if we focus on our sin, and dwell on our sinfulness, sin is still controlling us. In contrast to this is the joy and thankfulness of being forgiven and the fellowship of living in the light of Christ. Then we are not focused on ourselves but on Christ and others in Christ.

Father, help us to live in the light as you are in light and to have fellowship with one another. Praise be to you in us today!