Author: admin

Everyone needs an advocate. Life is too challenging to do it alone. It is too easy for us to be misunderstood or to face issues too complex for us to adequately handle. How wonderful it is, therefore, to have someone who comes to our aid and pleads our case!

When it comes to transgressions, we are out of our league. Despite all of our willpower and determination, sin is too difficult for us to deal with on our own. That is where Christ comes to our rescue. He is unlike any other friend or supporter, for He is righteous. He can boldly come to our defense because He is the only One to successfully overcome evil and wickedness. An advocate is someone who stands beside us and pleads our case. What confidence that gives us to know that the Holy Son of God ensures that our sins are forgiven and remembered no more!

Perhaps you have been struggling with sin in your life. Maybe you have been burdened by guilt and shame. If so, it is time for you to ask your heavenly advocate to come alongside you, to help you deal with your sin, and to find forgiveness. Your absolution will not come because you tried hard enough but because your Advocate was righteous Christ. Allow Him to do in your life what only He can do.

Life provides us with 1,000 excuses! It is not our fault because: someone else started the argument; I missed my flight; my administrative assistant made a mistake; the economy is a disaster; no one told me; I was tired; I struggle in that area . . . When we say or do something we know to be wrong, our natural instinct is to find an explanation that absolves us from blame. In our society, it is always someone else’s fault.

Christian leaders, however, do not shirk their responsibility. They face it head on. It is a sign of cowardice when we cannot admit we have made a mistake. The path to freedom is confession. It relieves us of the burden of constantly finding someone or some thing to blame. As long as we keep pointing our finger at someone else, we are not growing, or being forgiven.

But, once we confess our wrongdoing, God is quick to forgive and to help us move on. No one expects us to be perfect, but they do want us to be honest. What is it you are presently struggling to admit? Why is it so hard for you to do? Few things bring as much freedom as when we admit our wrongdoing, receive God’s forgiveness, and move on.

Those who walk most closely with God are not people who never sin, but rather, they are the ones who are most keenly aware of their shortcomings before God. Some people are continually justifying their questionable actions. They experience broken relationships but acknowledge no wrongdoing on their part. They participate in questionable moral or ethical practices and yet adamantly claim they have done no wrong. Their church condemns their immoral activities and these people angrily find another church.

There is also a Christian heresy that proclaims that Christians do not sin. Some assert that God, in His grace, loves His children regardless of how they behave. Clearly this is self-centered and deluded thinking.

The revered apostle spoke clearly on this point. Anyone who claims they have not sinned is a liar. Those who walk most closely with God are the ones who grieve most over their offenses. They recognize their sin for what it is, repent of it, and turn away from it. If people put half as much energy into turning from their sin as they do justifying it, they would be wonderful saints of God today! How are you handling the sin in your life?

There are many people today who believe they are a Christians, despite how they are currently living. These people no longer attend church. They never pray or read their Bible. Worse yet, they have sinful habits and blatantly disregard God’s standards and instructions on how to live. Yet they feel certain they will go to heaven when they die. Such people typically look back to a moment in their past, when they prayed a “sinners prayer” or walked an aisle during an alter call, or raised their hand when an evangelist asked who wanted to become a Christian.

Today, there is no evidence, from their lifestyle, that they are followers of Christ, yet these people rest assured that “once saved, always saved.” While it is true that you cannot “lose” your salvation, it is also a fact that those who are born again, act born again. Christians will certainly sin. Being a follower of Jesus does not mean you are perfect, or sinless. But there will be evidence, somewhere in your life that the Holy Spirit dwells within you.

People who have embraced a sinful lifestyle ought to beware. Those who walk in darkness are people who do not dwell in the light. A true Christian cannot embrace a lifestyle of sin without any sense of remorse or conviction. The Holy Spirit dwelling within them would not allow that. We need to stop assuring people who are continually living in sin that they are children of God. If they have rejected God’s ways and are habitually sinning, then clearly any “decision” they made earlier in their life was not genuine. It matters not whether they prayed the “sinner’s prayer” 1,000 times. The key is whether God “heard” their prayer and changed their life.

Can there be anything that brings us greater joy than knowing we are God’s children, He cares for us, and is preparing a place for us for the remainder of eternity? Such confidence enables us to face whatever challenges we encounter in life with confidence. It helps us keep an eternal perspective on our life. It gives us hope for the future. It enables us to face our inevitable decline and death with boldness.

God’s desire for us is that we have joy (John 15:11). He is not content with us being happy. It is not sufficient that we be somewhat joyful, sometimes. Those who truly understand and embrace the Christian life will be filled with joy. To live any other way is for us to resign ourselves to less than God intends. When you are joyless, it ought to alert you that something in your life is not as it should be.

That is why the apostle John wrote what he did. He wanted to provide you a basis for assurance of your salvation, so you might have joy. Have you been immersing yourself in Scripture? Have God’s words provided you confidence in His activity in your life? Have you claimed God’s promises by faith? God has provided His word so we can know we are Christians and so we can have joy. Abide in His word and live your life with joy.

There are some things we cannot know with certainty in this life. But there are others we can. The question: “Am I truly a Christian” is an inquiry that demands a definitive answer. Each person, ought to be able to provide clear, compelling evidence of their salvation.

If anyone knew what it took to be a Christian, the aged Apostle John did. He walked with Jesus personally. He was the longest serving and only surviving of the original apostles. His credentials were impeccable.

John also knew how important this issue was. If there was one question people needed the correct and definitive answer to, it was this one. Too much was at stake to get this wrong. This issue could not be consigned to guesswork or chance.

Over the next few days we’ll look at the evidence John said to look for. Interestingly, when John searched for evidence of someone’s conversion, he did not look backward, into the past, as we tend to do. He never said: “If you can remember the day, thirty-two years ago, when you prayed to receive Christ, then you are a Christian.” Rather, John looked to the present. He examined how people were living today, to reveal whether they were children of God. The question is: How far back do you have to look into your past, to find evidence of your conversion? Hopefully there is clear proof in your life from this week that testifies to a divine work of God in your life.

God did not save us from our sin merely to abandon us to struggle and suffer throughout the remainder of our life. He saved us from our bondage so we could live in freedom. He rescued us from death, so we could live abundantly.

God delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt so they could live a blessed life in the Promised Land. Instead, they settled for a miserable existence merely surviving in the wilderness. For forty years God’s people resigned themselves to living far below the level God saved them for.

God redeemed you for a purpose. It certainly was not so you could struggle the remainder of your life in defeat and purposelessness! God had a destination in mind for you. He had a divine purpose for your life. He intends for you to experience abundant life (John 10:10). Anything less is to shortchange you from God’s best.

Having God save you is the beginning, not the end. It introduces you to enormous possibilities. It removes the impediments to God’s will for your life. You may have trusted God for your salvation, but will you trust Him for an abundant life? Don’t be satisfied merely with being saved from Egypt. Keep trusting God until you are fully experiencing everything God saved you for.

At times we may assume that certain forms of immorality or violence are the most dangerous and despicable of sins. But the root of our offenses often can be traced to gods other than the true God.

Our god is whatever controls our devotion and guides our behavior. The world is filled with gods. They include the god of materialism, sensuality, power, fame, success, and pleasure. People spend their lives in pursuit of them. Everyone has a god in their life, whether they acknowledge it as such or not. People tend to follow some thing or some one. It might be an ideology or a worldview or an influential person or book. It might be the all-consuming pursuit of materialism. We are all motivated and influenced by some form of god.

The key is for the true God to use our lives to draw others to Him. As our colleagues, family, and friends see the difference God makes in our lives, they will be drawn to Him too. Unfortunately, too often the opposite is true. The gods of those around us begin to creep into our life as well. The gods around us can be seductive, offering us whatever we desire while placing few if any demands on us. These gods do not require accountability. They want us to be happy. They will gently lead us down the wide path that leads to our destruction.

The pivotal question is whether God is using you to make a difference in the lives of others, or whether the gods of those around you are having a greater impact on you.

When Jesus sought to train His disciples so they would turn their world upside down, He did not rely upon a spellbinding lecture or the writing of a definitive leadership manual. He spent time with them and modeled what He was talking about. He incarnated the truth He was proclaiming.

How is it we will exert the most influence? It will be as we teach and model truth as we go about our daily lives. Some parents think they can impact their children or grandchildren through regular lectures or diatribes. Some leaders think a well-written memo or impassioned speech will turn things around at the office. But those who exert the greatest impact are the ones who live out their convictions hour by hour. Whether they are eating a meal or traveling to their next appointment or walking down the hallway or even resting from their labors, they are communicating truth.

If God’s truth does not permeate every aspect of our life and schedule, we ought not to be surprised if those we lead choose to reject it. We never know when something we say may “click” with someone. It might not be during the staff meeting or the family get-together. It might be over a meal or at the end of a long day. We need to so incarnate God’s truth that to be around us, is to be seeing and hearing God’s word.

It seems ludicrous that our Creator, Savior, and Sustainer should feel the need to ask or command His creatures to love Him. You would think that loving the One who gives and sustains our life would be our natural response. Yet we are an ungrateful, self-centered species. We gladly receive every heavenly gift but then ignore the Giver. We cry out to God when we face a need or problem but then summarily forget Him once the crisis is past.

There are many forms of religion that place various demands on its worshipers. Even in the church, people are often taught that God loves them based on their performance. Some track their sins versus their good deeds, hoping God will be pleased with their piety. But God has been clear about what matters most. It is our devotion. There is no substitute for loving God.

Unfortunately, many professing Christians could readily admit to fearing God, or serving God, or believing in God. But they would be hard-pressed to acknowledge that they truly love Him. Leaders often find it easier to serve God than to love Him. Yet that is what He desires from us most. What is it about your life that clearly reveals your love for God?