If We Confess Our Sins

1 John 1:7-9 (ESV)

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 cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 How is it that we who are sinful creatures can walk in the light of Jesus and have fellowship with Him. Despite our best efforts and noble intentions, sin is present in our lives. The way of the new covenant is as follows. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Our salvation depends on our repentance and His mercy. Walking with Him in His light will be according to our confession of sin and His faithful forgiveness. 

Unbind Him, And Let Him Go

John 11:43-44 (ESV)

43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Jesus calls us by name from death to life. We are reborn from above, but we are still wrapped in varying degrees with the grave clothes of our former ways and the desires of our mortal flesh. We are unbound as we grow in His word through our efforts and from those around us in the body of Christ. In the unity of the Holy Spirit, we are unbound over time into the maturity of Christ. With joy we have entered the fellowship of life with God and with those who belong to the body of Christ. 

Love One Another

John 13:34-35 (ESV)

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love is the essence of our relationship with God and with each other in the body of Christ. The Father loves the Son in the fellowship with the Holy Spirit. We are in the Son by the presence of the Holy Spirit and therefore participate in the fellowship of love found in the unity of the Spirit. 

We are the light of the world which is powered by the love of God, for God so loved the world. 

Unbind Him

John 11:43-44 (ESV)

43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Jesus calls us by name from death to life. We are reborn from above, but we are still wrapped in varying degrees with the grave clothes of our former ways and the desires of our mortal flesh. We are unbound as we grow in His word through our efforts and from those around us in the body of Christ. In the unity of the Holy Spirit, we are unbound over time into the maturity of Christ. With joy we have entered the fellowship of life with God and with those who belong to the body of Christ. 

The Light Of Life

John 8:12 (ESV)

I Am the Light of the World

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

A fish has no idea it swims in water, just as someone walking in darkness knows nothing of the light. He has always walked in darkness, though now and then he longs for something more. That’s because we are created for the light. Without the light, something is missing. 

It is the light that provides the more abundant life of God, which is eternal life with the riches of heaven that are beyond our imaginations. 

Whoever Comes To Me

John 6:33-35 (ESV)

33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Jesus is the bread of life. The Israelites would seek the bread from heaven daily, finding it each morning where it had fallen to the ground. It would sustain them during their time in the wilderness. Water would even flow from a rock. 

“Give us this day our daily bread”, we pray when we gather to worship on our wilderness journey. The living waters of the Spirit flows to each one who believes. Their journey foreshadowed ours. The Israelites finally reached their promised land, and so shall we. 

My Food

John 4:34 (ESV)

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

Our daily bread is to do the will of our Father. Collectively we pray, “Give us this our daily bread”. He has prepared the way we should go long ago. Jesus has shown us the way. 

True Worshippers

John 4:23-24 (ESV)

23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Life of a mortal man is found in his breath. When he takes his last breath, his life on earth is finished. When he receives the breath of God, that is the Holy Spirit, his last breath on earth is the beginning of the first breath of eternal life solely in the kingdom of heaven. 

When our spirits are awakened by and to His Spirit, we are ushered into His life. We can then worship the living God in the unity life in His Spirit. This worship continues after our last breath on earth. 

Until The Day Dawns

2 Peter 1:19 (ESV)

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

The word shines in the darkness like a lamp unto our feet. The more we attend to the word, the more we will grow into His nature, putting aside the things of world for the treasures of heaven. As we grow into the maturity of Christ, so will the morning star rise in our hearts. 

Again Entangled

2 Peter 2:20 (ESV)

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

Is it possible to lose one’s salvation? This verse answers yes. In the parable of the seeds sown on the different types of soil we find confirmation. The ground that receives the word with gladness, but puts down no root will wither and die under the heat of the sun. Some were overcome by the thorns of the world. 

Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)

Lights in the World

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

The Son Of God

Mark 15:37-39 (ESV)

37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Matthew 16:16-17 (ESV)

16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

The centurion, like Peter, had a revelation from our Father in heaven. Today it is the same grace from the Father that reveals His Son to those who walk in the darkness of the world. Many will continue to have the revelation until the harvest is ready for the Lord to come for us. 

Ran Away Naked

Mark 14:51-52 (ESV)

A Young Man Flees

51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

This may remind us of Adam fleeing the Lord in the garden after his disobedience. Adam was no longer covered with the life and righteousness of the Lord. He found himself naked and ran to hide and cover himself with the leaves he found in the garden. 

In both cases they are running away from the Lord. 

Whoever Would Be First

Mark 10:43-44 (ESV)

43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

Those who are first shall be last and those who are last shall be first. 

Among You

Mark 10:43-44 (ESV)

43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

Those who are first shall be last and those who are last shall be first. 

Listen To Him

Mark 9:5-8 (ESV)

5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

Jesus is transfigured on the mountaintop and is joined by Elijah and Moses. They begin talking. A

cloud overshadows them and His Father says, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.” Suddenly Jesus is by Himself. This is showing the disciples that Jesus is Lord and His word is the word of God the Father, fulfilling that which came before. Jesus is the light of the world. 

Dwells Bodily

Colossians 2:9-10 (ESV)

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

For in Him the perfection of man is seen that begins with the body of Christ, for we are filled in Him who is the head of all rule and authority. 

Binds The Strong Man

Mark 3:26-27 (ESV)

26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

Satan is bound by the presence of the Holy Spirit. He will remain bound until the body of Christ is taken into heaven. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth until Satan is loosed for the last days. 

Into The Wilderness

Mark 1:9-12 (ESV)

The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

The man Jesus was the first to receive the abiding Spirit that would later come to fill the body of Christ. When we have gone through the waters of our repentance and have our sins washed away, the Holy Spirit descends upon each one of us and we become a beloved son of God. We join Him in the newness of eternal life. 

Immediately the world that was once our home becomes a wilderness as we journey to our new home in the kingdom of heaven. 

My Brother And Sister

Matthew 12:49-50 (ESV)

49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Those in the body of Christ have a new family. Instead of being united by the blood of man, we are united in the spilled blood of The Son of God. Our life is no longer found in the blood of man, but it is found in the Spirit we have received from God. We are brothers and sisters who live life together and worship together, giving praise and thanks to our Heavenly Father. 

Through His Flesh

Hebrews 10:19-22 (ESV)

The Full Assurance of Faith

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

On the day Jesus was crucified, the curtain into the most holy place in the temple was torn from the top to bottom. It was confirmation that a new and living way into the presence of God had been opened to man. Many would draw near in faith and receive the Holy Spirit. The holy of holies could now be found in the abiding place of the Spirit, that is in the hearts of the many. We are bodily cleansed by the waters of our baptisms and the baptism of the Holy Spirit who comes by the hand of Christ brings us into His life to lead us in the way we should go.