YOUR LOVE EXTENDED
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.
1 John 5:16-17 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Interesting and often confusing. Let’ try to dig into the truth and see how we can apply. First, we must admit all sin leads to death—but not instant death. Death in the scripture means separation. When man sinned in the garden they were instantly separated from the presence of God. In addition, physical death entered the human equation, but it was not instant. Secondly, there are examples in the scripture where people sinned and instantly experienced physical death. In the OT we see those who touched the Ark of the Covenant instantly fell dead. In the NT book of Acts we read about Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit in front of the church and dropped dead. But other than a few other examples it seemed very rare that someone immediately dropped dead when they sinned. God’s grace and mercy brought delay to the judgment. That all being said I think we can gather the application that God wants us to pray for any fellow believer that is in sin. That means there are followers of Christ who are not perfect and get into sin. It is possible to be a Christian and not be perfect. But this is not God’s desire. As followers of Christ, we are to watch out for each other. When a brother or sister is in sin, we should pray for them. I think when we pray for fellow believers who are in sin, we will receive the heart of God for that person. That heart for the person will motivate us to confront them about their sin. When love is our motivation there is a much greater opportunity for acceptance.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit please help me to be Your love extended to all believers. Help me to have the courage to do whatever needs to be done.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”