- "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
- What does "walking in the light" mean? It means living in a state of honesty, with desires of our hearts known to both God and others.
- All of us struggle in our thoughts with anger, disappointment and other negative emotions. It is human to have feelings, however God wants us to be honest with Him about our feelings.
- Walking in the light does not depend on whether or not God knows our sin (He does!), but rather on whether we do tell Him or not.
- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9
- Refusing to admit our sins is one way in which we cast shadows in our spiritual lives.
- When we confess our sins to God, we allow Jesus to break into our lives and bring His help and light into the struggle.
- Our God is the God who forgives, who picks us up and puts our feet on solid ground.
- God will direct us to mature Christians who will be able to help us with our problems, and He wants us to open up to them. However, the devil may try to trick us into thinking that we may be judged and/or condemned when someone else knows about the problems.
- Telling other Christians about our sins does not provide for our forgiveness, only the death of Jesus on the cross is sufficient to forgive us our sin. However by confessing our sins to others it allows us to walk in the light, and make it more difficult for the enemy to get the upper hand over us.
- It also assures us of God's love when others know us completely and are still able to accept us. This is a manifestation of God's love and grace.
- It is not a sin to be weak. However, it is folly and sometimes sin to struggle alone.
- Christian maturity means coming to a place of acknowleding our weaknesses as an opportunity of growth.
- All of us, regardless of age or position, are going to face temptation and struggles in our lives. This applies to Christian leaders, too.
- True spirituality and the seeds of victory come from being honest when we are defeated or discouraged.
- "Make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts" - Romans 13:14 NASB
- Flee from temptation, do not entertain it. Do not create any opportunity for the flesh to prevail.
- All too often we wait until sin is right within our reach before seeing whether we have the self-control to avoid it.
- There is no human being alive who is free from ever being tempted.
- "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" - 1 Corinthians 10:12
- There are some people who become very concerned when, after renouncing their sin and walking in the victory Jesus brings, they still feel prone to the sins that formally had power of them. Those old sin patterns are the ones most likely to trip them up, and are the easiest to fall back into.
- Christ has freed us from the stranglehold of our old sin patterns. But we have to be alert to those sins and never get so sure of ourselves that we begin to believe we could never fall into the same ones again.
- To lead righteous lives we all need the power of Christ, but failure to admit we are weak will lead to our not claiming his strength.
- Potential for sin is resident within us and overcoming sin is one of the chief ways in which we grow and mature in the Christian life.
- Asking for help is not a sign of weakness but that of maturity.
- Stop struggling and turn to Jesus, our conqueror. He is greater than any sin. Do not try to do something to atone for your past failures or to try and earn his love. He loves you because He loves you. That is a fact.
- Allow God to reveal to you how sin disappoints and grieves Him. Respond to his love out of gratitude, that He has conquered sin and death for you, by the way of His only Son, Jesus Christ.
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