Daily Scripture: 1 John 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him — none!
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him while we are walking in the darkness, we are lying and not living out the truth. 7 But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of his Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim not to have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.
10 If we claim we have not been sinning, we are making him out to be a liar, and his Word is not in us.
2:1 My children, I am writing you these things so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Yeshua the Messiah, the Tzaddik, who pleads our cause with the Father. 2 Also, he is the kapparah for our sins — and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
Reflection Questions:
John said, “If we claim ‘We don’t have any sin,’ we deceive ourselves.” Sometimes inner blindness, fear or stubborn pride makes us deny that we need mercy. But when we assess ourselves as honestly as possible, and confess the broken, sinful places in our lives, John assured us that forgiveness is always there. Jesus, he said, “is God’s way of dealing with our sins.”
- Many of us struggle with a sense that, “I can never forgive myself for _________.” John echoed his master Jesus in teaching that God is willing to forgive anything we’re willing to acknowledge as needing forgiveness. If our hearts condemn us, he said, we must trust God rather than our feelings (1 John 3:19-20). Where do you need to trust, to rest in God’s forgiveness today?
- Christian apologist C. S. Lewis wrote, “What we call ‘asking God’s forgiveness’ very often really consists in asking God to accept our excuses.” If every problem is someone else’s fault, if we are always sure we did nothing very wrong, something may be blinding us. Have you ever seen someone else miss out on God’s forgiveness (or missed out yourself) because of reluctance to admit the need for forgiveness?
Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, there’s no darkness in you—but, sadly, there is in me. Give me the courage to honestly face my flaws and weak spots, and to bring them to you for forgiveness. Amen.
Insights from Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group & a men’s group, and serves on the Curriculum team.
I have always loved the old preacher story of the creation of the camel. The story goes that God was getting a bit tired during the creation process & asked a committee of human experts to design the horse. The camel was the result of their ingenuity. Needless to say, God administered the rest of creation Himself.
This idea made me think how blessed we are to worship a loving & merciful God who created such an amazing framework for forgiveness. What if God had let we humans try our hand at absolution? It might have looked like this:
Good afternoon. Sorry to have kept you waiting. My meeting with the Office to Reduce Repetition & Redundancy ran twice as long as scheduled. Go figure! Anyway, welcome to the Departmental Office Of Mercy, Exoneration & Deterging1.
Let’s get started on your form. You have your name, PIN – Personal Identification Number, address, & phone number already filled in. Nice.
The Sins of Commission (SOC/145) section shows an instance of using foul language. I understand. We get a lot of these when folks are visiting the Hoover Dam. Yes, I know you rode the – – – elevator & visited the – – – bathroom. Um. That would be clever, if you were like, maybe, 11 & 13 year-old boys. Anyway, now you have to seek clemency for this infraction. We’ll need a 450-word essay on why you should be forgiven & 3 affidavits from friends or family, notarized of course, attesting to your sincere desire to atone for this violation.
Now the Sins of Omission (SOO/982) section shows an instance where you deliberately & maliciously drank the last of the coffee from the office coffee station & did NOT make another pot. O-k-a-y. You are just lucky the days of vigilante justice are over – I’d have strung you up myself. For a Sin of Omission, meaning something you didn’t do but should have done, you have to apologize in writing to each person you may have impacted by your thoughtless behavior. You will then need to have each of them sign on row 44 on page 18 & provide their PIN. No, you are right. It is going to be hard to figure out whom you may have hurt by your inconsiderate conduct, but as we say, “If you can’t do the PIN, don’t do the sin.” No, I suppose that isn’t so funny.
We do need to ask: Are you one of those Christian types who declare Jesus Christ as their Lord & Savior? No? Oh. Just asking. If you were a Christian the clemency process is quite different. You go to God in prayer. You apologize for your shortcomings- intentional & unintentional. You ask God for His mercy & His forgiveness. You then accept His compassionate gift of grace. Next, you repent – change your life’s routines & habits to help you to avoid that sin again. Now you smile, knowing you can begin anew – a refreshed & rejuvenated child of God.
Anyway, you can fill in the rest of the form at home. If you have any questions, our online website is available from 9:00-4:00 (AEDT) Monday through Thursday. What’s that? Oh, no it’s not one of those fancy-shmancy 24-hour web sites. Huh? Oh, AEDT is Australian Eastern Daylight Time.
Also, remember the form will need to be typed on legal paper & turned in with 3 carbon copies. What’s a carbon copy? Wow. You are like the 4th person to ask that today. A full explanation is on our FAQ page – which, by the way, is accessible only if you have the Windows 3.1 Operating System.
What’s that? Oh my. Looks like we’ll need to fill out another SOC145. Sigh. Thanks for visiting D.O.O.M.E.D.
1 Editor: Deterge is defined as “cleanse thoroughly” as in detergent. You are welcome.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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