THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 10

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 JOHN 2:1,2

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT: When you fail, turn to Jesus, your advocate, who intercedes for you with the Father.

MY THOUGHTS:

I became acquainted with these verses early on in my Christian walk, and the thought of Jesus being my advocate has always given me pause. The word in Greek is parakletos– That is one who pleads another’s cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate. It’s a point of some interest to me that this is also the name that Jesus gives for the Holy Spirit in John 16:7. That is amazing! We have an advocate, a defender in Heaven before the throne of God….and we have an advocate here on Earth who walks with us and advocates for us brining the heavenly help we need to make it through this earthly life.

Beyond just the fact that we have this ADVOCATE working for us in both the heavenliness and the earthliness, He is working for us and advocating for us even while we are still failing Him in our earthly walk. I have often asked Him why. I think the answer is that He knows something I do not. He not only knows what I currently am, He knows what I am going to become. He advocates for me not because of what I am now, but because of what He sees in me that will one day be plain to all.

Here’s the thing. If Jesus and the Holy Spirit believe in me enough to advocate for me, then that means I can also believe in myself as I walk with Him through this life! Now isn’t that a comforting thought?

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 9

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

SCRIPTURE:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
1 JOHN 1:8-10

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:. God’s forgiveness is complete; once you confess, believe His promise and don’t take the sin back

MY THOUGHTS:

In my preach yesterday I brought up the fact that too often as Christians we let our feelings dictate our faith instead of letting our faith dictate our feelings.” A famous preacher once said Faith follows facts and feelings follow faith.”…or at least that is the way it should work.

When it comes to issues of self forgiveness or self loathing, too often we allow our feelings to dictate what we believe about our spiritual condition. We feel guilty about something we have done so we go to the Lord and confess the sin and ask for His forgiveness. What the Bible tells us is that the moment we confess and ask for forgiveness, Jesus forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. That truth doesn’t often assuage our guilty conscience. This is a perfect example of where we must not allow our feelings to lead our faith. It doesn’t matter how we feel. the Bible is clear. If we have confessed our sin and turned from it to God then we are forgiven no matter what we may feel like.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 8

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

SCRIPTURE:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
1 JOHN 1:8-10

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

Confession is an act of humbling yourself, trusting in God’s promise to forgive and purify you from all unrighteousness.

MY THOUGHTS:

Twice a group at our church meets to pray from 6 A.M. to 6:45 A.M. These are what we call our Jesus 45 prayer meetings. We begin with a Scripture reading and then spend some time worshipping the Lord together. Then we enter a time of confession. This begins as a time where we bring everything in our lives which keeps us separated from God in anyway. We admit our hurts, habits and hangups; We acknowledge our sins, temptations and trials; We confess our fears, failures and anxieties. All these things we bring to the cross believing Jesus will deal with them as He sees fit.

We do not however stop at confessing the negative. I believe in confessing the positive things over our lives as well. So I encourage our congregation to confess over themselves all the good things God is brining into their lives. I believe the former is absolute necessary and the latter is absolutely essential for our walks in the Spirit.

WHAT ARE YOU CONFESSING TO THE LORD TO BE RID OF TODAY? WHAT ARE YOU THANKING HIM FOR BRINGING INTO YOUR LIFE TODAY?

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 7

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

SCRIPTURE:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
1 JOHN 1:8-10

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

Denying your sin only deceives yourself; honesty is the path to spiritual health.

MY THOUGHTS:

I have always wondered why at certain moments I try to hide my sin from God. I mean, He already knows everything anyway so what is the point in trying to keep something from Him. Maybe it is not so much God I am trying to hide from in refusing to confess my sins, but it is me trying to hide from myself because my own psyche is so wounded I cannot face my own truth. I come to it then that I need not only forgiveness but inner healing.

I think it is also I have not totally resolved the doubt that God will never leave me nor forsake me, the sense that a real rejection could be right around the corner.

Here’s the thing I have learned. This battle is not a one and done type of battle. I am not today the same insecure man I was 45 years ago when I came to Christ. I don’t hide from God like I did when I first became a Christian. I am more secure in His promises now. That said I find there is still work to do. So I press on toward the mark of the high calling in Christ.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 6

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son 1 JOHN 1:5-7

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

The blood of Jesus continuously cleanses you as you walk in the light, restoring fellowship with God and others.

MY THOUGHTS:

I am captured by the thought of the blood of Jesus continuously cleansing me as I walk in the light. It is not a one and done application of the blood. It is not that I was once cleansed. It is that I am continually being cleansed by the stream of Christ’s blood that flows into and through my life.

In our morning prayer session one of our staff pastors was relating how she had been meditating on the scripture that declares “The Lord fights our battles” ( Ex 14:14). Our job is to position ourselves be silent and watch what He does. This relates to our Scripture this morning because we get the continuous cleansing only when we position ourselves in the light of God through prayer, worship and the Word of God.

I am struck by the fact that the continuous cleansing is not just forgiveness of my sins; It is also deliverance from my sins.