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1 John 3:8-9

One of the activities the participants do in confirmation class and in the new member class is to take two magnets and try to push the ends together. If the two ends are the same pole the magnets will not connect. There is an invisible force which pushes the two apart as if there was an object between them.

It serves as a tangible lesson in how we should be with sin. We should be unable to connect with it.

What does John say about those who sin? Why did Jesus come for us? What does John say about people who are born of God? What keeps us from sinning?

John has spoken about the reality of Jesus in Chapter 1. He speaks of how we should live out our beliefs in Chapter 2. Now he presents the results of our faith.

If we are truly children of God, if we accept the reality of Jesus and live out our lives as imitations of who Jesus is, then we are born of God. We are made into pure people, people who truly love our Lord. If we are those people then we cannot continue sinning.

This is the result of true faith. We become different people. As human beings we have the tendency to sin, the likelihood of failing and falling to temptation. But accepting Christ purifies us and drives out sin.

This is why Jesus came, to make us different people. He died so that we might be cleansed of our sins. And then we are commanded to make the goodness and holiness of Jesus part of who we are. If we can allow Christ into our hearts to serve as our spiritual guide then we will be living a life of holiness rather than a life of sin and error.

If we are children of God then sin will not be part of our lives. Sin cannot dwell in our hearts if we have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus and we are living out the love of Christ. If we can embrace the goodness of Jesus and allow the love of God to exist in our hearts to guide us in all that we do we will not be sinful. It will not be part of how we act.

The presence of Jesus inside us can strengthen us to do what is right and resist that which is evil.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you become a child of God?

Repent 5

Psalm 57:1-2

We are having trouble with our photo-copier at church. It appears that some dirt has built up on the roller where the paper comes out of the machine causing the copies to jam up. Although the problem may be more than that I thought about how much trouble a small amount of dirt can cause with copiers.

If even the smallest bit of dirt or ink or paper bits gets into the workings of the copier it will not function properly. If any dirt is on the glass plate then all the copies will have that smudge on them. A little dirt keeps the machine from functioning the way it is supposed to.

Psalm 57 is credited to David, the father of Solomon and one of the greatest of the kings in Jewish history. What does he ask for? What does he plan to do? Why does he cry out to God?

If you think about people who were really powerful in their faith and committed to God, David would have to be up there at the top of the list. He was very devoted to serving God and God blessed him richly.

However, just like everyone else, David made some mistakes along the way. He knew that he was in need of forgiveness and that he needed to repent of his sins. This psalm is one of those expressions of repentance.

David cried out to God and sought mercy. He needed God to be present with him to give him assurance. He wanted the Lord’s mercy, and in describing God he says that God fulfills his purpose.

With God’s forgiveness and grace, with the renewal of spirit that mercy brings, David was able to fulfill his purpose. He was able to live out his faith. He was able to behave as one who is truly devoted to God.

Once the sins were removed and David was cleansed he was able to move forward and be obedient to God.

Like David we must turn to God in repentance. We must turn to our Lord and seek His mercy so that we might be cleansed of all our failings. Thus cleansed, we will then be able to live out the purpose God has for us. We will be able to be obedient to God with a pure heart and soul.

Like the copier, the smallest amount of dirt – sin, selfishness, laziness, disinterest – can prevent us from fulfilling our purpose and functioning as we have been called to do.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What must you do to fulfill God’s purpose for you?

Our Crucifixion 1

Romans 6:12-14

One of the best times in life when I was a child was the end of school. I remember being absolutely giddy with happiness that I no longer was under the strict rules of school nor the strict schedule of classes. I was free to do what I chose.

What are we to avoid? According to verse 13, what type of people are we? What are we to do with the parts of our body? Why is sin not our master?

As with Christmas, the holiday of Easter can lose some of its meaning. We can easily get caught up in the warming weather, the Easter Sunday meal, the egg hunts, the chocolate. And while we can remember that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we can overlook why that is important.

The candy, the eggs, the food, the clothing, even some of the pageantry of Easter are all simply layers that have been put upon the celebration of the resurrection. At the core Easter is all about Jesus rising from the tomb into new life. It was a demonstration – real and tangible – that nothing was impossible for God. It showed that we also have hope beyond death. The grave is not the end for us; just an interruption between this life and the eternal.

But beyond a hope and anticipation of things to come after our death, the resurrection gave us new life and freedom today. Because Jesus assumed the guilt of sin on the cross we are no longer under the law – that is, we do not have to fret and worry over the religious rules and regulations, the hoops and obstacles of faith. It is not through strict adherence to rules that gives us salvation and hope.

Instead we are under the grace of Christ. The crucifixion of Jesus took away our sins if we will accept the sacrifice.

So, under grace, we are free. We do not have to be slaves to sin. Rather we can refuse to do what is not acceptable. We are forgiven and we are empowered by God to do what is good and right. And so, as Paul urges, we do not offer ourselves or any part of ourselves to sinful or wrong activity. Instead, with the freedom of grace, we offer ourselves freely to the service and worship of God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What evil desires do you need to put to an end?

Egkrateia 5

Romans 7:18-20

I have a ritual I go through almost every day.

1. I leave the house intending to go to the post office and then the church.
2. I pull into the church parking lot.
3. I say “Darn it. I forgot to go to the post office.”

You would think that after five years I would remember to go to the post office first, but for some reason I keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

In today’s passage Paul confesses to his own weakness. What struggle does Paul face? What does Paul keep doing? Why does he do this?

Forgetting to go to the post office at the beginning of my day is a nuisance, but really not a big deal. Being unable to break negative habits, on the other hand, is a big deal. Whether it is a strong addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling or pornography, or simply an inability to act in a Godly way when the opportunity arises, we are living in our sinful nature when we fail to do what is right.

Some people have strong addictions that are very hard to break. Some may even require professional (and long-term) counseling to get past. But I believe most people simply fail in small ways on an almost daily basis.

Perhaps you let your temper get the best of you and you took it out on an innocent person. Maybe you had an opportunity to do a good deed for someone but you were too afraid or caught up in your own worries to bother. You may have recognized a needy cause but decided your money is better spent taking care of you and your family.

All failings, big and small, are failings. We may be aware of what is right and good on an intellectual level, but we just can’t get past the inertia that keeps us doing nothing about it.

To get past our failings we need egkrateia – self-control. We need the ability of our souls to overcome the sluggishness and selfishness of our minds and bodies. Through self-control we can see the good and holy things that need to be done and then act on them – carry them out.

But fighting that vicious cycle of always doing what is wrong is difficult to do. How do we overcome the power of the sinful nature? Paul handed his “wretched” self over to Christ, and through the power of Jesus was able to be one of the most powerful and influential believers in history (see Romans 7:24-25). By submitting to Jesus we can gain the true self-control needed to do what is good.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What sinful cycle of yours needs to be handed over to the power of Jesus?