Praise the Lord! Trust all of us who are called by God are doing well by the grace of God wherever we are. It is our every day’s testimony that the Lord has been good to us and He has blessed us with everything we need in our life according to His riches and glory. He has also given us very many other privileges like approaching the throne of Grace at anytime, praying to Him however many times we need to pray to Him, enjoying His presence, protection, and provision in our lives, taking refuge under His wings in times of troubles, and so on, in addition to reading, studying, and meditating on His Word for our spiritual nourishment. The Lord God has been good to us in every aspect of our life, which includes meeting our spiritual, physical, material, and emotional needs. Prophet Nahum stated that The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him (Nahum 1:7). Prophet Isaiah stated: You [the Lord] will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you (Isaiah 26:3). There is no one else in heaven above or on earth or in the waters under the earth to redeem and save the righteous from the wicked except the Lord God Almighty (refer to Deuteronomy 4:39; Revelation 5:3).  As king David stated: The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble (Psalm 37:39). As the chosen people of God, it is time for us (i) to seek His face earnestly (Psalm 27:8; 105:4; Jeremiah 29:13); (ii) to draw closer to God more than ever before (Psalm 145:18; Hebrews 4:16; 10:22; James 4:8); (iii) to trust in the Lord who delivers us in the time of troubles (Proverbs 3:5; Jeremiah 17:7-8); (iv) to know Him very personally (Psalm 100:3); so that we will be able to taste and see that the Lord is good, as king David testified: Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him (Psalm 34:8; also refer to 1 Peter 2:3). As we begin our meditation this week on the selected Scripture passage (that is, 1 John 1:5-10), let us examine ourselves and try to find out the answers for these simple but sincere questions: How is our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? How many of us think that we lead a righteous and perfect life? Are we genuinely trying to seek His face? Are we genuinely trying to draw closer to the God more than ever before? Are we genuinely trying to trust Him fully? Are we genuinely trying to know the Lord God Almighty who saved us from death and destruction and promised us eternal life? Or are we just trying to fool everyone around us and flatter God with our mouths and lie to Him with our tongues (Psalm 78:36) thinking He will help us in times of our need/trouble, as Asaph, a Levite singer and seer who served in the court of king David, stated:

In spite of all this [all the blessings], they [God’s chosen people Israel] kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe … they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath (Psalm 78:32, 36-38)

Joshua, Moses’ successor, said to the Israelites If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you (Joshua 24:20). In the light of our discussion above and the questions we asked, let us try to measure out our spiritual maturity on a scale of one (1) to ten (10) [one (1) would be lowest/worst rating and ten (10) would be highest/best rating], and be aware of how weak or strong our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is. Each person must scale their own spiritual standing and not anyone else’s spiritual standing since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and we cannot do justice in judging others. It is a reality that there is not a single person who could measure anyone else’s spiritual standing with Jesus except the person himself/herself. So, the best person to measure your spiritual standing with Jesus is you, yourself. Therefore, you ought to measure your own spiritual standing with Jesus and you alone ought to fix what you are lacking or have fallen short of. If anyone is not in a position to scale their spiritual standing by themselves, use the Bible, the Word of God, as the scale. Now, let us connect all that we just discussed with the Scripture passage we chose for our meditation, that is, 1 John 1:5-10 [mentioned above] and examine/evaluate our life in the light of the Word of God.

As we meditate upon the Scripture passage the Lord God blessed us with, let us know the fact that we are all created by God and He created us in His own likeness and image. As we are created by God in His likeness and image, He created us for a purpose and He wants us to fulfill that purpose in and through our life. The reality is that we cannot hide anything from Him for He knows all about us (Psalm 139:1-5; Jeremiah 17:10; 23:24; Romans 8:27) – He knows all about our past life, He knows all about what is going on in our life at the present time, and He knows all about what is going to happen in our life in the future for He is an Omniscient (all-knowing), Omnipotent (most powerful and authoritative), Omnipresent (present everywhere) God. Above all else, He is a loving and gracious Father who loves unconditionally those who call upon His name. The Lord is close to the broken hearted, as it is mentioned in the Scripture that The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18); and He is very near to those who seek Him earnestly, as king David experienced His presence in His life: The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth (Psalm148:18); and He is willing to remain good to us and everyone else if we continue to trust in Him. In the light such situations, Apostle John is encouraging the believers to be true to God in all life-circumstances. Let us read again the passage we have chosen for our meditation (1 John 1:5-10) and briefly analyze it to understand what exactly Apostle John is trying to tell us:

• • The truthfulness of the gospel message – we heard from Him [Jesus Christ] (1:5a)
  • The transferability of the gospel message – we declare it to you (1:5b)
  • The message we heard is that God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all (1:5c)
  • If we have fellowship with Him we walk in the light (1:6a)
  • If we do not have fellowship with Him we walk in the darkness (1:6b)
  • If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie to Him as well as to everyone else (1:6c)
  • If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we do not live out the truth (1:6d)
  • The Lord God is in the light at all times (1:7a)
  • If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with the Lord God (1:7b)
  • If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another (1:7c)
  • If we have fellowship with Him and with one another, the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin (1:7d)
  • Humanity is sinful from birth (1:8a; also refer to Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 14:2-3; 53:2-3; Romans 3:23; 5:12a)
  • If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves (1:8b)
  • If we claim to be without sin, the truth is not in us (1:8c)
  • If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins (1:9a)
  • If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and He will purify us from all unrighteousness (1:9b)
  • If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar (1:10a)
  • If we claim we have not sinned, His word is not in us (1:10b)

The Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, personally experienced God’s love and compassion ever since Jesus called him to be His disciple and apostle. John along with other apostles lived with Jesus and accompanied Him wherever He stayed or traveled for about three and half years. They all learned directly from Him the words of eternal life (John 6:68) and they all personally experienced His love and compassion and they knew that He will neither break a bruised reed nor snuff out a smoldering wick (Isaiah 42:3; Matthew 12:20). As we have discussed earlier that we are all sinners, but He does not wants us to die/perish in our sin but He prepared a way for us to be redeemed and saved from the power of sin and death. The best way to get released from the grip of the sins that entangle us is to draw closer to God and ask for His forgiveness in our life. Remember, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One (1 John 2:1). According to the Scripture, if we confess our sins before the Lord, He will forgive our sins and He will purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). In the light of the Scriptural truth that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), if we claim to be without sin:

• • We deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8a)
  • The truth is not in us (1 John 1:8b)
  • We make the Lord God a liar (1 John 1:10a)
  • His word is not in us (1 John 1:10b).

Apostle John’s charge to the believers in general is that all those who have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) but received forgiveness from Him through their faith in Jesus Christ His Son and are saved through the blood Christ Jesus (Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; 2:13-14) ought to live their lives the way Jesus lived His life while He was on earth (1 John 2:6). Jesus came to do the will of Him who sent Him (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 8:29), which included seeking and saving those who were lost since mankind was created in the beginning (Matthew 18:11; Luke 19:10; John 3:17). Similarly, we are also called to do the will of God  in and through our lives, and as Jesus set an example for us, we also need to set an example for others who are around us. Let us try our best to follow Christ’s example in our lives …

• • Jesus showed us to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30; also refer to: Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37: Luke 10:27a)
  • Jesus taught us to Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 2:31; also refer to: Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:27b; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8)
  • Jesus taught us to trust in the Lord God for anything and everything in our life, either for this worldly (earthly) needs or the other worldly (heavenly) needs (Psalm 20:7; 37:5; 62:8; Proverbs 3:5-6)
  • Jesus set an example for us to fulfill God’s purpose in and through our lives as king David did: Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation … (Acts 13:36)
  • Jesus set an example not to love the world or anything in the world, including money, which is the root of all kinds of evil (Colossians 3:2; 1 Timothy 6:10a; Hebrews 13:5a)
  • Jesus showed us how we ought to take up the cross and follow Christ by denying ourselves, as Jesus came to fulfill the will of God in and through His life (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; 14:36; Luke 9:23; John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 1 Peter 2:21)
  • Jesus urged us to fulfill the ministry we are called to carry out (Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8)
  • Jesus gave us guidelines to prepare the world for Christ’s second coming (Psalm 22:27; Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10; Acts 13:47; 1 Timothy 2:4)

As the time of Christ’s return is fast approaching, let us prepare ourselves and prepare others to welcome Him as well as to go with Him to be where He is (John 12:26a; 14:3; 17:24). In these last days, let us walk in the light as God is in the light and have fellowship with Him for He is the one who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light, as Apostle John stated: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5b). It is time for us to confess our sins and approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). God is faithful and just and He will forgive us all our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Therefore, let us adore and worship such a Great God who have forgiven us our misdeeds against Him and, hereafter, let us keep His righteous laws and decrees and bless His holy name. Psalm 105:1-4 states that The Lord God Almighty whom we worship is a praiseworthy God:

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!