Hello Advent Family,

One of the great misconceptions about following Jesus has been the same from the time of the Pharisees to today.  It is so easy to stumble into the idea that we earn God’s favor by being good.  I have had many conversations with people who thought that they were not good enough for Jesus.  The reality is they were right – none of us are.  Thank goodness God embraces us because of Jesus’ goodness not our own.  The thing is once we follow Jesus He begins working in our life and makes us more and more like Him.  Let’s look together at I John 1 today.

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 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.

God is in the forgiveness business.  He forgives us in the midst of our sin but He doesn’t leave us there.  He works through His Spirit to help us walk more and more in the light.  We will always struggle and fail and He is always there to forgive but as we grow in our faith journey He gives us the strength to overcome.  I pray that today and everyday God works in us all to help us walk more and more in the light.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave