Trust the New Ways of Living and doing

From Darkness to Light  God's Promises God Promises to Hear and Forgive Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)  1 John 1 New International Version The Incarnation of the Word of Life 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete. Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 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[b] sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. For Reflection "Apparently, [in the emerging conflicts about what this Jesus was all about]. secessionists have developed such a spiritualized view of Christ that the earthly, material reality of Jesus no longer matters much, nor do their own earthly, material actions. According to John, these people say they know Jesus but live as though they do not (2:4-6). They say they are in the light, but their actions suggest otherwise (2:9). They claim that they have no sin, but their claim is a lie (1:8). At stake for 1 John is not merely (merely!) right doctrine or proper belief. Rather, at stake is whether our actions testify to the truths we confess and whether our lives line up with our beliefs. In the view of 1 John, the truth is not simply something we think or believe, it is something we do. And the “doing” includes confession of sin. Why? Because that confession testifies to the truth that God “will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1:9-10). It opens our lives to the “cleansing” of our actions and new ways of being and doing."* *Audrey West, https://us1.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/wizard/neapolitan?id=10332495 These alternative beliefs are still used today as the conflicting rationale for how Christianity should be practiced.  Pray Pray, and understand how you and others practice your faith reveals damaging inconsistencies. Inconsistency from Christian practice to Christian practice feeds the perception of hypocrisy, one of the leading reasons for the decline in religion. Finally, ask God's forgiveness for your sin so that your repentance opens your life to a new way of living and doing. Forward to a friend Sign up for our mailing list!