Our scripture this morning is 1 John 1:5-10.
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.
God is the source of all good things and sin has no place in His presence. He knows everything about us, including our sin, but He stands ready to forgive when we confess our failure. Even though He is already aware of our mistakes, we must admit our sin in order to be forgiven.
Through Christ’s sacrifice, God made a way for us to be reconnected to Him and made new by His love. When we come to Him in repentance we take responsibility for our actions. Giving up our sin realigns us with Him, and in His mercy we can live fruitful lives.
As we grow in faith, we are given the task to share the joy of salvation with all the world. God has a plan for each of us and gifts for us to use as we spread the Good News. He calls us all to turn from sin and live with Him forever.
Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we have failed to obey Your commandments. Bless us to be Your people, going in Your name to make disciples of all the world. Amen.
