“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1jn.1.7.NLT
The Apostle John is sharing his firsthand, face-to-face experience with Jesus. He wants everyone to come to know and live in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Reflection
Listen to John: “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you:
- God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
- So, we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.
- But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
- If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
- But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
- If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”
1 John 1:5-10 NLT
Encouragement
Take time to sit and read this passage a few times. Read it silently. Read it out loud. Read it with a friend or family member.
Take note of what stands out to you from this message of Jesus. Pay attention to what the Holy Spirit wants you to focus on.
Living in the light, fellowship with each other, and the ongoing cleansing and forgiveness of sin by Jesus through confession and repentance are a few of the things that stand out to me.
Jesus said something else as recorded by John: “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:21 NLT.
We can experience the richness of fellowship with God that Jesus promises by accepting and obeying his commandments with the love that comes from God through Christ.
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for giving this message to John to share with all of us.
Help us to live in the light, just as God is in the light.
Thank you for cleansing and forgiving our sin.
Thank you for reminding us to accept and obey your ways (commandments) of life.
Thank you for making yourself known to anyone who believes in you as the living son of God.
In your name, Jesus, we pray,
Amen
Ed McDowell