Scripture: 1 John 1 v 6 - 9: "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 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.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
We cannot walk in darkness and believe we have fellowship with Jesus. Walking in darkness is living a sinful life, which is contrary to everything Jesus stands for.
This present world is so inundated with sinful behaviour that this has become the very acceptable norm. A generation ago it was a shameful thing for a teenage girl to have a baby out of wedlock. There were quiet places where girls could be hidden until their babies were born and adopted.
Today, in South Africa, young girls are being encouraged to be pregnant as early as possible because each new child receives a government grant that goes to feed the family. Elsewhere, there is no shame, no blushes, no censure of sexual misconduct.
The age of corruption is upon us. We live in a permissive world of freedom from judgment from our peers. There are things severely frowned on like racism. However, that only seems to flow when its white people abusing black people and not the other way round.
All the formerly rejected are now politically correct and people have to accept new laws that make it offensive to criticise practices that God calls abominations in the Holy Bible. We may not discriminate. However, the whole world is encouraged to reject the Jews and sympathize with the Palestinians in Gaza.
If we walk in the light, as Jesus is in the light, or walk in a sinless and holy way, Christians will have fellowship with each other. Fellowship is not just friendship or having social fun together, but rather sharing testimonies, praying, having communion and exalting Jesus in our midst.
When we do this the power in the Blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sin that may be trying to trap or compromise us. Everything hidden, even from our own eyes, gets dealt with by the Holy Spirit, whenever Jesus is exalted in pure Christian fellowship.
Jesus is faithful and present to keep us safe and pure of heart. The Holy Spirit reacts to true fellowship. He convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment. He is our conscience, the part of our spirit that feels very bad when sin abounds.
The Holy Spirit convicts us of righteousness when we are with people to whom righteousness is a way of life. They are people who live in the light. When we shun them or reject them its because we walk in darkness and their light offends us. We would rather persecute them than hear their message.
I saw a video this week of a man earnestly preaching the gospel outside a casino in Las Vegas. Crowds of people streamed past him on their way to a country music concert. They never even looked at this man who was exalting Jesus. Not long after this many lay dead, dying or wounded as a madman fired on them randomly from a 32nd storey window. The Lord sends His messengers to warn and prepare for judgment, if we choose not to hear or react, we will stand before Him to give account.
People really don't want to hear gloom and doom but Jesus came to warn of the dangers of this world and the only safe way out of it. We must walk in His footsteps to avoid the spiritual landmines hidden around us. We cannot tell when the shrapnel will fly and take our lives. Jesus is faithful to give us the strait and narrow way but so many of us prefer the Broadway that leads to destruction.
We follow the people who only speak good things to us and never challenge us to come out from among these false prophets and walk in the light of Jesus. That light shows us the dangers and steers us into safe places. False prophets never warn of danger, they push the concept of prosperity for all, comfort, pleasure and entertainment, and those that hear them are deceived and cry out "why me" when calamity strikes.
We have to learn, sometimes the hard way, that even though we have a free will we are subject to the spirit of this world, Satan, if we have not chosen to follow Jesus. We may be pew sitters in churches and never know Jesus in a personal way. When we face the judgment we will be asked by God the Father, Do you know My Son?
Our response leads to either Heaven or Hell. Our names must be written in the Lamb's Book of Life. If Jesus says the four fateful words, I never knew you, then all is lost for eternity. Make sure you know Jesus and He knows you. Make sure your name is in the Book of Life. Make sure you are walking in the light and His Blood cleanses you of sin. Make sure.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we love and adore You, we lay our lives before You to be changed into the likeness of Your Son. He is faithful who saved us from eternal death and separation from You. In this age of rejection of godliness, keep us on the strait and narrow way. In Jesus' name. Amen.
