THE ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER

Memorise: My little children, 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. 1^st John 2:1

Read: Hebrew 12:22-26, ³Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

⁵He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

MESSAGE

At the point of the counsel in our memory verse for today, John had gained enough experience as an elder and a counselor, that he could counsel new converts that one sin does not have to lead to another, and a feeling of guilt should actually birth the fruit of repentance rather than a surrender to a life of sin and perpetual guilt. There are many people who in times of trials and weaknesses commit sin against God, like the wife of job who advise her husband to curse God. The words of John warn all Christians against the possibility of allowing sin become habitual in our relationship with God.

The fact that you sinned yesterday does not mean that you have been completely rejected by God. In fact, that you are still alive means that Jesus is currently pleading your case with God, to give you a chance to change your ways as He sets you up with messages that will speak to your conscience and save you from imminent destruction. I pray that you will change your ways immediately, because you never can tell when God will run out of patience waiting for you to change (1^st Samuel 16:1)

The Holy Spirit has been given to us to inspire us into all truth. Jesus is our Advocate who stands between us

and the Father, and speaks in our favor in the heavenly realm, so that we can receive help with our problems of sin. He is the One who pleads our case every night and day, and blots out the handwriting of the devil our lives. He works in close communion with the Father so that there is no barrier when we want to access the throne of grace. Jesus, as the Advocate, is the One who atones for our sins and reconciles us back to the Father through His precious blood that was shed on the Cross of Calvary. Through the role of Jesus as our advocate, we can come back to the Father and experience the peace we lost through sin.

The reassurance of our salvation comes from knowing that we have an Advocate in Heaven, no by affirming that we have no sin. Our relationship with God is assured as we keep His commandments daily and remain friends with Jesus our Advocate. The truth is that our righteousness is as a filthy rag to the Father. Our perfection is of Jesus, there is therefore the need to rely meekly upon His grace to make us perfect by His love. The self-made religious traditions of men and our works alone cannot guarantee our perfection. You are a child of God basically because you believe in your heart that Jesus died for you and you have given your life in obedience to the instructions of God and not the self-imposed dictates of man.

Prayer point : Father, please let me be justified through Your grace.

Bible in one year: Judges 12-14, Job 42:1-9