What Keeps Us
1 John 1:5-7
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Sometimes we think what keeps us from fellowship with God and with each other is our darkness. The stuff that we still do, say, and hold that we can’t seem to let go of. The words, actions and circumstances of the past that prevent us from experiencing forgiveness, cleansing and the mutual support of community.
Well, according to John, the follower and friend of Jesus who wrote the letter above, what keeps us from the light of God (i.e. in our darkness) is our unwillingness to admit the truth. Claiming what is not.
Lying to ourselves, to God, and to each other keeps us in the darkness and out of the light.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines lying as:
“to create a false or misleading impression”
Truth is, we sometimes don’t like who or what we are so we try to make it seem that we’re something we’re not. It is this game of charades, of costumes and cover, that keeps us from experiencing the beauty, the joy, the freedom that comes from walking in the light.
As Kathleen Norris says,
We want life to have meaning, and want to be fulfilled, and it is hard to accept that we find these things by starting where we are, not where we would like to be.
So…let’s start where we are.
In our mess… in our unwillingness to forgive, to let go, to move on… in our bitterness… in our pain… in our jealousy.
There we find Jesus whispers,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
– 1 John 1:9
The promise is for all of us. The promise is for you. The promise is for me.
Come into the light.
Find freedom… forgiveness… fellowship… hope… grace… a new life, walking in the light of God.
– Pastor Tara VinCross
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Sometimes we think what keeps us from fellowship with God and with each other is our darkness. The stuff that we still do, say, and hold that we can’t seem to let go of. The words, actions and circumstances of the past that prevent us from experiencing forgiveness, cleansing and the mutual support of community.
Well, according to John, the follower and friend of Jesus who wrote the letter above, what keeps us from the light of God (i.e. in our darkness) is our unwillingness to admit the truth. Claiming what is not.
Lying to ourselves, to God, and to each other keeps us in the darkness and out of the light.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines lying as:
“to create a false or misleading impression”
Truth is, we sometimes don’t like who or what we are so we try to make it seem that we’re something we’re not. It is this game of charades, of costumes and cover, that keeps us from experiencing the beauty, the joy, the freedom that comes from walking in the light.
As Kathleen Norris says,
We want life to have meaning, and want to be fulfilled, and it is hard to accept that we find these things by starting where we are, not where we would like to be.
So…let’s start where we are.
In our mess… in our unwillingness to forgive, to let go, to move on… in our bitterness… in our pain… in our jealousy.
There we find Jesus whispers,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
– 1 John 1:9
The promise is for all of us. The promise is for you. The promise is for me.
Come into the light.
Find freedom… forgiveness… fellowship… hope… grace… a new life, walking in the light of God.
– Pastor Tara VinCross
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