Ready, set... turn on your search lights!

1 John 2: 1 – 2 (NCV) My dear children, I write this letter to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a helper in the presence of the Father—Jesus Christ, the One who does what is right. He died in our place to take away our sins, and not only our sins but the sins of all people.”

1 John is perhaps one of my favorite books of the Bible. Often called the assurance of salvation book, John gives testimony about what he knows to be true about Jesus because he walked closely with Him while He was here on earth. John knew him personally. He was part of Jesus’s inner circle. When I read this book I can close my eyes and see John sharing his heart with all of us; not just the people of his time, but all generations to come.

He has written us a letter in modern-day terms, which says, “Hey__________ (fill in your name to make personal), Jesus is the Word and He gives life! Believe me I know because I walked with Him and saw everything first-hand. You can trust Him… you can believe everything He says.”

Wouldn’t it be cool to receive a letter like this in the mail today? That is exactly what we find in 1 John. The word of God is living and breathing and is as active today as it was over 2,000 years ago. John wrote this so we can be in fellowship with God, with his Son, and with other believers. He also wrote this letter so we can be filled with joy just as the early disciples were filled with joy.

John tells us about the messages he heard from Christ as they were happening. He shares with us that God is light and in Him there is no darkness. He encourages us not to live in darkness; and if we do we are liars and do not follow the truth. Whoa! This means if we continue to live in our sin (sin is darkness) we are liars. Is there any sin in your life you’re not confessing? The “big” ones are easy to detect, but just as bad are the little ones we may not notice so easily – greed, envy, comparison, anger, bitterness, gossip, and other things we do when no one else is looking.

1 John 1:9 assures us that “if we confess our sins, He will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do right. He cleanses us from EVERY WRONG we have ever committed.” So what do you say? Are you ready to join me in pointing the search light on ourselves to reveal hidden areas of darkness in our lives? Bring whatever it is you find into His glorious Light. When we confess all things that are hidden, the One who forgives all sin is faithful and just. He will remember your sin no more.

Go ahead… turn those search lights on!

Additional related reading: 2 Cor. 5:17, Ezek. 36: 25-27, Titus 3: 4 – 6, Romans 8: 1 - 14