If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1.
When we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, we shall have no relish for sin; for Christ will be working with us. We may make mistakes, but we will hate the sin that caused the suffering of the Son of God.
If one who daily communes with God errs from the path, if he turns a moment from looking steadfastly unto Jesus, it is not because he sins willfully; for when he sees his mistake, he turns again, and fastens his eyes upon Jesus, and the fact that he has erred does not make him less dear to the heart of God. He knows that he has communion with the Saviour; and when reproved for his mistake in some matter of judgment, he does not walk sullenly, and complain of God, but turns the mistake into a victory.
There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ, and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and mistakes; but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God. No; Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Said the beloved John, “These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” And do not forget the words of Christ, “The Father himself loveth you.” John 16:27. He desires to restore you to Himself, to see His own purity and holiness reflected in you. And if you will but yield yourself to Him, He that hath begun a good work in you will carry it forward to the day of Jesus Christ.
All sin … may be overcome by the Holy Spirit’s power.
The Faith I Live By p. 118
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—-Prayers for my dad please. 2 weeks ago he had the flu & bronchitis. He started feeling bad again last week & today had a fever of 104.5! I brought him to the ER & they are admitting him tonight. So far we know he has pneumonia but are still waiting on other blood tests to come back. He feels absolutely miserable. Marion
—-Asking for prayer for Susan, that her lungs will clear out quickly. Joy
—-We are having a problem with parents bringing their sick children to Sabbath School and exposing the other children. Please pray that we have the wisdom and tact to write a letter to the parents regarding this. Rose
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
Some years ago, about a mile from our house, a large, yellow house was put up for sale. A short time later, I noticed that someone had moved into that house. Soon a large banner with some type of oriental writing on it appeared. At the time I wondered what it said and what kind of place this would be. One day, I noticed something different in the large yard to the south of the house. There in the middle of the yard they had erected a “mountain” with niches where they had placed many small statues. Beside this “mountain” was a large statue of Buddha. (a thin Buddha) A few days later I noticed a group of people planting trees around the perimeter of the yard. The yellow house has been transformed into a temple. They made some other changes and soon they had set up a circle of smaller statues of monks looking toward Buddha and praying. Soon, I began noticing robed priests and other worshipers bowing to this idol. At certain times, when I pass by, there are large brightly colored flags on poles and small yellow-orange banners strung on horizontal lines. Any time of the day or night, it is not uncommon to see worshippers burning candles and bowing to their idols.
Even though it has been there for about ten years, each day as I pass that way, it surprises me to see the place. I am reminded of the texts that say, “They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? . . . The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. . . .And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?” Isa 44:9-19 “What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.” Hab 2:18,19
It is a shocking thought that within a mile of my house an idol is being worshipped. Yet, the common idols that we all have, I rarely think about. Sadly, we each have idols in our lives. It might not be a stone idol like that which I pass each day, but our whole focus is upon it. Our Great Creator says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:” Ex 20:3-5 Often we think that these commandments are for those who worship an idol of stone, but that is not the case. Paul asks, “thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?” Rom 2:22 We may not literally bow have to bow down to idols like those people I see when driving by. Nevertheless, we have them: anything that takes our mind away from our loving Saviour is an idol. Anything that takes first place in our life, is having another god.
John advises, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” 1 John 5:21 Paul tells us that covetousness is idolatry. (Col 3:5) He warns, “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Eph 5:5 Again he emphasizes, “Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Cor 6:9.10
How important it is to ask our Dear Saviour to reveal to us the idols in our own life. If we do so, we may be surprised to see how many we have. For some it might be money. Money can be an idol even for those who do not have enough to “make ends meet.” For others it might be sports and the athletes who play the various games. We make idols of music and the ones who sing it or of movie stars. Even our loved ones can become an idol to us if they hold first place in our heart.
“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, [let us] flee from [the] idolatry” that has found its way into our lives. 1 Cor 10:14 Let us “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;” Heb 12:1,2 Let us meditate upon His Holy Word and put Him first in all our thoughts, all of our plans, all of our life is my prayer
Rose
“If Any Man Sin—”