Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "A Dangerous Habit" for Saturday, 30 August 2014 - Read 1 John 1:5-10

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "A Dangerous Habit" for Saturday, 30 August 2014 - Read 1 John 1: Walk in the Light
5 This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.
6-7 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
8-10 If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(1 John 1:9 (NRSV))
I spent a week in a village by the sea. The air was fresh and pleasant, the sun and the sea were warm, and the surroundings were peaceful. When I returned home to Moscow, I wanted to cover my nose at the railway station. The smell of car exhaust and drunken people attacked my nostrils. The air in Moscow was terrible. I longed for the fresh air by the sea. However, a week later, I no longer noticed the difference. I got used to the city air that now seemed completely normal, though it was actually harmful.
When we first encounter a sin in our lives, our reaction may be like mine at the railway station. The danger is that as we ignore our own sin, we no longer sense the stench of sin in our life. It seems normal. Failing to see the sin, however, does not remove its harmful consequences. But God promises that if we confess our sins we will be forgiven and made whole.
The Author: Pavel Serdukov (Moscow, Russia)
Thought for the Day: Confession can renew our souls.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your mercy in forgiving our sins. Holy Spirit, bring us the fresh breeze of grace that cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Amen.
Prayer focus: Christians in Russia