“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.”
(1 John 1:7, NIV)
I have done a few things in my life for which I am not proud of and would not boast on either. Truth be known, I would rather not even think about them. But every once in a while, they come back to mind. You know why?
Because “sin whispers.” In the still of the night, when we are all alone, sin comes with its hiss bringing up the past, the silent reminder.
It is in the silence, we must remind ourselves of God’s forgiveness through the sacrifice of His Son on the Cross.
We are no longer a people living habitually in sin. We do not enjoy the darkness which once encompassed us. Now we live in the determination to choose God’s light as our place of dwelling.
And so when the regret and shame come to haunt us, we can shout louder, “He is faithful to forgive us and we stand purified, clean from it all.”
When doing laundry, an article of clothing may be soiled or dirty. After going through the wash cycle, there are times when a faint outline of the stain can be detected. But when Scripture uses the word purified, it means significantly more.
“Purified” carries a powerful thought as explained by John Stott:
The verb [purifies] suggests that God does more than forgive; he erases the stain of sin.
(as quoted in What Love Is by Kelly Minter)
The very stain of sin is erased so that no trace is left behind. There is no ring or mark left where the stain used to be. It is as if the stain never happened.
And that, my friends, is the Good News of the gospel!
Today I am joining … Unite and Intentional Tuesday and True Story and Testimony Tuesday .
How sweet!
Oh for His grace! I am grateful for forgiveness of my sins and redemption.
How have you been my friend? It has been ages!
With much love,
God bless
Whew, friend! How often have I done those same kinds of things. So so so grateful that God never throws it back in my face but simple offers me the redemption I so desperately need. Great post, Joanne.
Thanks Joanne for the visual and needed reminder that we are forever set free from the stains of our sin! Happy to stop by and visit your lovely corner of the world from #TestimonyTuesday. I’ll be back! Blessings on your day!
Oh, I love this reminder! You are so right about ‘sin whispering’. God is bigger than those whispers and he works better than bleach at blotting out our sins. And that’s good news!
“sin whispers.” In the still of the night, when we are all alone, sin comes with its hiss bringing up the past, the silent reminder. I can say, Amen to that statement, amen. I have chronic insomnia so am up till usually early morning. Often times my mind is attacked with thoughts that pull me down. Regrets, guilt, anger, and fear all the goes with those four. I do yoga, read, listen to movies, stretches, read the bible or what ever book I am into. sometimes it takes an hour or so to rid my mind of those sinful thoughts. I feel like it’s a test at times to see which one will give in first, me or the devil. Praise God, usually he will flee. Great post.
Oh that devil loves to say: “Remember when?” I too hate those past memories to surface, but thank God, he has used “Spray and wash,” to remove every stain.
Thank you for sharing your awesome post with us here at Tell me a Story.
http://letmetelluastory.blogspot.com/