2-23-23 Today in the Word

Sinning Siblings Thursday, February 23 | 1 John 5:16–202-23-23 “We approach God imperfectly,” admitted Gretchen Ronnevik in Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted. “We approach him as sinners wearing the covering of Christ. There cannot be any pretense about it. Pretense is in opposition to intimacy. We are who we are, and God is who he is. Don’t flower it up or try to be impressive.” This is one reason we can and should pray for sinning brothers and sisters in Christ (vv. 16–17). We know where they’re coming from because we’ve probably been there. Our prayer is, of course, that they will confess, repent, and be forgiven (1 John 1:9). But what is the “sin that leads to death” for which no forgiveness is possible? Within the context of 1 John and the New Testament as a whole, this sin is unbelief in Christ, also called blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31–32). The Spirit, after all, testifies to Christ’s redemption (see Feb. 21). To reject Christ and to reject the Spirit’s witness to redemption are practically the same thing. To call God a liar in this way is blasphemy. We can pray for our sinning brothers and sisters in Christ with confidence, because genuine believers don’t and can’t continue sinning (vv. 18–19). If they’re truly members of God’s family, they will return to Him. The new spiritual life inside them cannot be extinguished. Christ Himself “keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.” Even though Satan has dominion over the world, he has no power over the kingdom of light. True believers “know him who is true,” the Father (v. 20). This knowledge and relationship cannot be lost, for it was given to us by the Son Himself. We are “in” both of them, for both are God. >> Spend some time today praying for any brothers and sisters in Christ you know who have sinned or who are living a sinful lifestyle. We can pray with confidence, knowing that repentance is God’s will. Pray with Us Today we pray for once-professing believers who have embraced sinful lifestyles. In Your mercy, convict them of their sin. Remind them who You are and what You have done for them. Restore them to lives that glorify You.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t...
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th...
Read more

9-25-23 The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas

The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas :: By Bill Wilson Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Bill Wilson, General Articles There are a lot of terrible things going on right now in the world. But we are at the time of the year when we, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We can choose to be impacted by the world around us in its dimly lit arena, or we can choose to let our light so shine. I choose the latter. I want to tell you a little about the Christmas that I had growing up on our family farm in Ohio. I was blessed to be born into a horse and cattle farm that has been in our family for some 200 years. And Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, was a wonderful time for our family. December 24 was my Dad’s birthday. And my Dad was well-loved by his neighbors and friends, so we had a lot going on Christmas Eve. I remember one special Christmas Eve. I must have been about four years old. The night was falling, and the wind and snow were whipping across the barny...
Read more