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“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7-9)

Is it strange to think that blood can cleanse us from sin? If you fall down and cut your knee, you will probably have to put something on it to keep the blood from dripping down into your sock or onto the carpet in your home. Blood stains. And when we think about blood, we usually like to try to “change the subject” and talk about something else. How could something that stains physical things be what washes us spiritually?

But the Bible says that without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission (forgiveness) of sin. Jesus Christ’s blood is the only blood that could ever pay for our sins, because He is 100% God and 100% Man. His sinlessness was the only way to make up for our sinfulness.

Did you know it is only because of Christ’s sinlessness, His death on the cross, His shed blood, and His resurrection that He is able to take away our sin? God looks at Jesus Christ’s blood and sees it as something that washes away the spiritual stains that our sins leave on our hearts. Are you confessing your sins to God? If so, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us because of the blood Christ shed.

God can cleanse away our sins because of Christ’s blood.

My Response:
» Is it hard for me to believe that Christ’s blood is key to God’s being able to forgive my sins?
» Am I trusting in Christ (Who He is and what He has done) for my salvation today?
» How can I show that I believe that God is faithful and just to forgive me when I confess sins?

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)

If you have ever seen two kids arguing on a playground or at a park, maybe you had a desire to go up to them and try to calm them down. Did you wonder what you could say? “Excuse me, Sally and Polly. Don’t you think this is a silly and petty argument to have? Wouldn’t you rather be playing quietly with your dolls and making lemonade for one another?” Or, maybe you have thought about saying something like, “Jimmy and Johnny, would you kindly consider the comfort and well-being of the many other people on this playground? We would all like to play in peace, and all your yelling is disturbing to the rest of us.”

If you tried saying one of those two things, you would probably end up getting slapped or knocked down yourself! When we are upset or angry, usually almost anything someone might say to us will only make us even more upset and angry. It takes a very thoughtful, wise, and meek person to know how to calm people down and help them make peace with one another. It is very difficult to help two “enemies” become “friends.”

Did you know that God is a peacemaker? It says in the Bible that God’s whole plan of redemption is all about glorifying Himself by reconciling us to Himself through Jesus Christ. The verb “reconcile” means to bring together, to put right, to make peace with. Since God is holy, He is against sin. There is absolutely no way for Him to be at peace with sinners – at least, not without Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father, except by coming through the Son.

Because He lived a sinless life, died for sinners’ sins, and rose from the grave, Jesus is qualified (able and allowed) to be our bridge, connecting us to God. Instead of seeing their sin, God can “see” believers as having Christ’s own righteousness, not their own sin. Through Jesus Christ, we can be right with God. Instead of being God’s “enemies,” we can be His “friends” (like Abraham, who was called the friend of God because of His faith in the coming Messiah). Jesus Christ is the reason we can be reconciled with God.

2 Corinthians 5 teaches that we who are now reconciled to God ought to be about the business of peacemaking. We ought to be trying to reconcile other people to God. We are Christ’s ambassadors (representatives, spokespeople), and we are to continue what He started in His time of ministry on Earth. He has promised to help and bless us. Matthew 5:9 shows this promise: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” God is interested in being reconciled to people, and we ought to be serving in the ministry of reconciliation, too.

Through Christ, God reconciles believers to Himself and passes on to them the ministry of reconciliation.

My Response:
» Do I really believe that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?
» Am I trusting in Jesus Christ to reconcile me to God in spite of my sinfulness?
» If Christ has reconciled me to God, how can I be involved in “the ministry of reconciliation,” too?

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

Do you know what a “first responder” is? There are teams of men and women who are trained to be able to come help in an emergency situation. They are supposed to be always ready in case an emergency happens nearby them. They practice, and they stay alert so that they can be the first people on the scene if there is a car accident or another kind of crisis where somebody might be seriously hurt. First responders are trained to give medical help to people right after an accident, so that they are taken care of until they can be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

We can be very thankful for first responders. Paramedics, firefighters, EMTs, and all kinds of people are trained to act in an emergency, when people need help most desperately. If you call 9-1-1, someone will respond to your call for help. They will come right away. They will come as soon as they possibly can. And they will come faster than any other help can get there.

But you know what? They are not already there. Do you realize that God is always already there? The Bible says He is “our refuge and strength,” a “very present help” when we are in times of trouble. To be a “present help” is to be right there already. Even the fastest first responders cannot reach you in an emergency faster than God can. We don’t even have to dial 9-1-1 in order to cry out to God in an emergency. He is already there, because He is always present with us.

What a comfort it is to know that God is always with us! Even when we have to wait for other people to come help, or if we just feel alone and need someone with us – God is already there. Are you living like you believe that God is a “very present help in trouble”?

Because He is always with us, God is already there when we need Him.

My Response:
» Do I feel worried or lonely when my friends and family are not around me?
» Do I forget that I can trust God to be there for me when I need Him?
» How can I show in my own “first responses” that I am trusting the LORD more than anyone or anything else?

“As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God. The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.” (Psalm 18:30-31,46)

Have you ever gone to the store with your parents and seen little tables where the store workers are giving away free samples? If a store is just beginning to sell a special new dipping sauce, for example, they might have a big bowl of chips out, and they might invite anyone to grab a chip and dip it in the sauce. Or maybe a bakery has a new cookie recipe, so they want everyone to know how good their new cookie is going to taste! Everyone is welcome to stop by the table and try a cookie (or at least a bite). If you go to an ice cream shop, and you cannot decide what flavor of ice cream you want, a worker might dip a little spoon into a flavor you aren’t sure about, pull out the spoon with a bite of ice cream on it, and hand it to you. Then you can see (taste!) for yourself whether you really like that flavor enough to get a whole scoop of it.

What did the psalmist mean when he wrote that God’s Word is “tried”? Does that mean some people have tried it out and decided they liked it? Well, in a way that’s true. The Word has been tried, or tested, and proven to be true. It truly is the Word of God. God Himself says so, the Word itself says so, and many people have come to believe by faith that God’s Word is what He says it is.

But God’s Word does not need the approval of human beings. Even if everyone read the whole Bible through – and even if every human being alive were to decide that the Bible was just another storybook – the Bible would not be any less true, and it would not stop being God’s Word. Truth is always true, no matter what people think of it.

“All those that trust in” God do find that He is a buckler (a strong shield) for them. They do “taste and see that the LORD is good.” They do come to realize that the Word of the LORD is tried, and that it stands up to any tests. The Word of the LORD is faithful, and that cannot change. Human beings are not always faithful and not always good judges. But God’s way is perfect, and His Word is tried and true. Why? Because God Himself is faithful and true. He never changes, and His Word is the same.

God’s Word is as faithful as He is.

My Response:
» Do I study the Bible so that I can know truths He wants me to know about Himself?
» Do I take the LORD’s Word over what others say?
» How can I show in my daily actions that I believe in the power and trustworthiness of God’s Word?

“Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word…. Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words.” (Psalm 119:40-41, 57)

Graveyards can be interesting places. Usually they are quiet places, and you can walk around and read the names and see the birthdays and the death dates of the people whose bodies are buried underground there. Most graveyards have stone markers that show the places where people’s bodies have been buried. Why do we say that their bodies are buried? Well, for Christians who have died, the body is the only part that is placed in a casket and buried underground or in a mausoleum (a tomb). The Bible teaches that when a Christian’s body dies, his or her soul keeps on living and goes immediately to be with the Lord – not to a graveyard or tomb.

One reason graveyards are interesting is that they are a good place to go if you need to think. The Bible says we can learn much from visiting the “house of mourning.” It is good for us to be reminded that we are on Earth only for one lifetime. Some of the birthdays and death dates of those people do not have very many years between them. Some of those markers are memorials for children, teen-agers, and middle-aged people. You might see a family member who has come to visit a grave of a loved one. Some people come and talk to the graves. Can their loved ones still hear them? Can they talk back?

A dead person’s ears do not work anymore. They cannot hear. They cannot speak. They cannot come back to life and have a conversation with living people who come to visit the graveyard. Even if a dead person could hear, and even if a dead person could speak, he would not be able to choose between silence and speaking. He would not be able to choose between not breathing and breathing. Part of being dead is being unable to do what living people can do.

The Bible uses the imagery of being dead or being alive to show what God does in our hearts when He saves us from our sin. Until Jesus Christ saves us, we are “spiritually dead.” We were born that way! Our physical bodies are alive, but we are not “alive” spiritually. Like a grave, we are stuck in our sin. We are trapped. We are unable to get out of our sinfulness on our own. We are unable to choose righteousness, because true righteousness is something that spiritually dead people cannot have. Only the spiritually alive people can be truly righteous and truly right with God.

Psalm 119:40-41 tells us about One Who is truly righteous, and He is the only One Who can make us spiritually alive. When it says “quicken,” it means “make alive.” The psalmist is praying that the LORD would bring him to life by His righteousness and because of His righteousness. He prays that the LORD’s mercies will come to him. Only the LORD can give spiritual life. He is a merciful God, and He saves people out of their sinfulness and spiritual death because of His righteousness, His mercy, and His faithful Word. Are you trusting the LORD to do what you cannot do on your own? Are you trusting Him to “quicken” you (to bring you to life) in His righteousness?

Spiritual life is a merciful gift only God can give.

My Response:
» Am I able to “quicken” myself from spiritual deadness to spiritual life?
» Is my heart trapped and weighed down by sinfulness?
» Is my sin too much to be covered by God’s mercy?