Tag Archives: and the blood of Jesus

This Is The Message

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The Sacramental Life - Day 317 - 1 John 1:5-10 - This Is The Message- Growing As Disciples

The Sacramental Life – Day 317 – 1 John 1:5-10 – This Is The Message – Growing As Disciples

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.    1 John 1:5-10 (NLT)

The Message

You got the message.  The message was declared to you. In me there is no darkness at all. I am light. You cannot live in an intimate relationship with me and go on living in spiritual darkness. Following me required you to turn away from darkness and leave your old life of sin far behind you. It would have been a tragic mistake for you to maintain that there was no sin in you. To think or say that would only be foolishness on your part. The only person being fooled would have been yourself. But that was not what you thought or did. You did not deny your own sinfulness. You did not try to hide your own unrighteousness. You did what you needed to do.  You acknowledged and confessed your sin to me so you could receive forgiveness of your sin and cleansing of your unrighteousness Then you have kept on walking in the light with me. Then you have not turned back. You have kept on moving forward with me, living in daily fellowship with me and with your fellow believers.  You have been and are now allowing me to change your heart and transform your mind. You are allowing me to do my good work in you. And you are a work in progress. Moment by moment and day by day, I am molding and shaping you. I am removing from you what is not pleasing to me. I am making you to be more like me. My work in you will not end in this life, of that you can be certain. When will I complete my work in you? Only when you see me will you fully become like me, because you will see me as I am. In that moment you will be completely changed. How does all this sound to you? Keep on doing your good work in me. Keep on purifying my heart and mind and life. Keep on making me to be like you. I have heard the message. I will walk in the light with you! That is very good.

Lord, I have turned away from darkness and confessed my sin to you. Thank you for forgiving my sins and cleansing my unrighteousness. Help me to walk in the light with you. Help me to live in an intimate relationship with you and fellow believers. Amen

Key Question…  How are you making it your decision to turn away from darkness to walk in the light with the Lord?

Living It Out…  Confess your sins to the Lord so you can be forgiven and cleansed of your sins as you walk in the light with Him.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will forgive and cleanse your sins as you confess them, as you walk in the light with Him.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how you are confessing your sins, as you walk in the light with the Lord.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you live in the light as God is in the light.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

The Sacramental Life – Day 321 – 1 John 1-5-10 – This Is The Message – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

God Is Light

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Knowing God - 1 John 1:5-7 - God Is Light - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Knowing God – 1 John 1:5-7 – God Is Light – Growing As Disciples

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 yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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. 1 John 1:5-7 (NIV) 

Walk In The Light

You live in a dark world. What do you mean by that? This world is not how I designed it. This world has been corrupted by sin. There is nothing that you hear or see that has not been damaged by sin that is in the world. Like what? You tell me. What darkness do you see in the world? I see that lust and greed drive the desires of our society. Contentment with what one has is in very short supply. Thankfulness is very scarce. Life is a continual treadmill race to acquire what one doesn’t have or take what isn’t yours. It’s a “me first” world. What is true and honest, right and fair gets little play. Spinning the truth and calling others liars trumps everything else. The real truth really doesn’t matter. Winning at all costs has become the goal. Integrity is bought and sold to the highest bidder. Crushing someone else with a different perspective has become a blood sport. Asking forgiveness and turning away from evil is being replaced with the thought that one might try to “do better” next time. The next time of “doing better” never comes. Instead evil is heaped upon evil. Moral failure is held up and admired and bragged about. Even many of your followers have become indistinguishable from those who savor and breathe in this foul odor of moral corruption. Your followers dare stand on a dung heap of immoral justification for their ungodly behavior. Good is now called evil. Evil is now called good. Is this what you had in mind when you said it was a dark world that I live in? You do see what I mean. It is worse than you describe. It is more alluring and dangerous. It is deceptive beyond your imagination. What hope do I have at standing against the evil in the world? How can I possibly resist its powerful influence over me?

There is only one way for you to walk in the light. There is only one way for you to be able to stand against evil. There is only one way to resist the evil influence and allure of the world. How is that? I am the way. I am the light. Follow me. I will lead you through the darkness of this world. I will make you able to shine as a bright light for me. Will you live and walk in the light with me? Yes Lord, I will follow you.

Lord, you pulled me out of darkness. You led me into the light so that I could receive your forgiveness and cleansing from all my sin. Help me now to live and walk in the light. Help me to live in close fellowship with you as I follow you though life. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Knowing God – 1 John 1-5-7 – God Is Light – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Living In The Light

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Promises - Day 201 - 1 John 1:5-10 - Living In The Light - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 201 – 1 John 1:5-10 – Living In The Light – Growing As Disciples

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.    1 John 1:5-10 (NLT)  

Fellowship With Me

Do you want to live in fellowship with me? Do you want to live in an intimate relationship with me? Do you want there to be no barriers between us? Yes, I want to live in fellowship with you. Yes, I want to live in an intimate relationship with you. I certainly do not want there to be any barriers between us. These are all passionate desires of my heart. I could want and ask for nothing greater than to live my life in an intimate relationship with you. How can this desire be fulfilled in my life? That is a very good question. There will be no mystery in the answer. When you gave your life to me, when you asked me to be your Savior and Lord, you told me that you would leave the darkness of your old life behind you. You said that you wanted to live and walk in the light with me. You said that you would keep your heart and mind and life focused on me. Yes, I did say all these things to you. Yes, and that was and is very good. Keep on leaving your old life of darkness behind you. Keep on living and walking in the light with me. Keep on focusing your heart and mind and life on me. Follow me to where I lead you. Do what I ask of you. I will do all these things with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. I will keep on loving and following and serving you with all that is within me. That is very good.

Now, there is one more thing that I want you to do. Name it, and I will do it. Come and confess your sins to me. Never think that you are without sin. Make it your daily pattern and practice to confess your sins to me so that you can receive the forgiveness and cleansing I have for you. Then you will live in an intimate relationship with me. Then there will be no barriers between us. Then you will live in fellowship with me. It will be my joy to confess my sins and receive your forgiveness and cleansing. That will be very good. 

Lord, a couple things are absolutely certain. One, I am a sinner. I have sinned in my thoughts, words, and deeds. To think otherwise would be foolish, self-deception. Two, you will forgive and cleanse me of my sins as I confess them to you. That I will gladly do. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Promises – Day 201 – 1 John 1-5-10 – Living In The Light – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com