Jaus' Notebook

All of us have done things in life that we are ashamed of. Then comes the moment when all that junk catches up with you, and you can’t find a place to hide. Friend, have you ever wished that life came with an ‘Esc’ or a backspace button? Have you ever thought, “I wish my past could be buried”? Have you ever felt, “Lord, I wish I could not feel the guilt of some sins I committed four years ago”? Well, there is good news for you and me. Our loving Father new we would find ourselves in such a predicament one day, and He made a way. God loves us. He always has and always will. And there is absolutely nothing we can do to change that. What reassuring thought! Our maker, the Lord of our lives, tells us that He alone has the power to blot out our past. He set up a very important ordinance in which we affirm publicly that He has erased our past and given us a new life- baptism by immersion. When you walk into the baptismal pool that “you” that you hate dies and you walk out to begin li...

Q : Please explain the difference between sin, trespass and iniquity. "When David offered his prayer, he named all three. He said, 'According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgression. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.' (Psalm 51:1,2). Three words; they are all akin but of varying severity. In Greek, the word for trespass means mistake; we make plenty of those. The one for sin (hamartia) means to 'miss the mark' and iniquity is the worst one. The words to 'miss the mark' suggest shooting an arrow and a bow. This analogy will help you understand it: If you are totally unskilled and unused to a bow and arrow and you miss the mark, that is trespass. If you have the strength to hit it and you just miss it, that is sin. But if you have the skill and the strength and you deliberately miss it, that is iniquity. Iniquity is sinning against light. It is sinning against knowledge. You disobey...

In 1 John 2:1, we are told that Jesus Christ is our advocate.   A statement of the apostle that the great object which he had in writing to them was that they should not sin; and yet if they sinned, and were conscious that they were guilty before God, they should not despair, for they had an Advocate with the Father who had made propitiation for the sins of the world. However, this must be understood in the context of the previous verses as it is a continuation and should not be separated. Confession precedes advocacy.  "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 We can get four basic lessons from this text: There is no use in attempting to conceal our offences , 1Jo 1:8 . They are known, all known, to one Being, and they will at some future period all be disclosed. We cannot hope to evade punishment by hiding them; we cannot hope for impunity because we...