What did you do yesterday?

1 John 2:1-6    My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

One must truly read the preceding chapter of 1 John to better understand this scripture. John had been pointing to the evidences of our struggles with sin, the need for a savior from it, and the substitutionary work of Christ for it. He presents the gospel clearly in 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Right there is the gospel, or good news of Jesus Christ summarized in one sentence by his beloved apostle John. John had pointed us to the need for a savior, and the evidences of him in our lives. He had shown us from personal experience the knowledge that had been given to him for the time he spent at Christ’s side. (1 John 1:1-4).

I have written over these scriptures (vs. 6) in my Bible, “what did you do yesterday”. What was the evidence in my life yesterday that I am an eternal child of God? What evidence was in my life that I am not of this world, but I am living my life in the pursuit of the next? Did I share my faith with anyone? Did I ruin my testimony by a sinful act? Did anyone in any way wonder what makes me different? 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. Did I do the best I could to live my life as Christ-like as I could? Oh, I failed miserably, but the question was did I truly center my pursuit around His example? Did I walk so intimately with Him that I knew the moments I failed, and repent and seek forgiveness immediately upon that conviction? That desire and conviction are evidences of a heart that is His. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

We are going to fail every day. Satan is going to point us to those failures, and consistently remind us of all our failures in our lives. He will continually bring around the great sins, and he will continually prod us in disbelief that we have been forgiven. He is the master of lies and deception, and his greatest lie is doubt. When you sin today, and you will, seek forgiveness of that sin in a repentant heart. There is a weight lifted off your shoulders upon in that forgiveness, and it stops Satan before he gets a stronghold. Pray today before you start your day for Christ to reveal your sin to you. Use those revelations as an opportunity to draw closer to Him, and as a result you will become more of an example of Him to all those you encounter.