Scripture
1 John 1:8-10
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”
Observation
It’s a bit of a paradox. God commands us to walk in light, and not in darkness. He instructs us to keep his ways, and refrain from sin. Sin by it’s very nature are the things that are not ‘of God’.
And yet if we claim to be without sin, we not only lie in ourselves, but make God himself out to be a liar! The only way to walk closer to God, is to recognize my distance from him. The only way to become more like him, is to confess how far I fall short.
Application
I truly fall so far short of God’s perfection. The miracle is that he knows me inside and out, and still loves me regardless! On the days that I look in the mirror and don’t like who I see looking back at me…he still loves the person I see in the mirror. I cannot hide before him. All I can do is say “here I am, God! Real, raw, and ugly. I admit my imperfection, and surrender myself again today to you.”
The truly amazing thing is that when I confess my sins, he doesn’t just forgive me–He also cleanses me from all unrighteousness!
Prayer
God, thank you for your love, your justice, your grace, your holiness, and your forgiveness! Cleanse me again today, as I confess my sin to you. Make me more like you, and help me to walk daily in your ways!
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