1 John 1:7-10

Come on, now, 'fess up to the truth — it's liberating! Russ Lawson reminds us that to err is human, that we sin, we mess up, we falter, we are wrong, we make mistakes, but God is in the cleansing and forgiving business and can take care of it if we will admit it and ask for forgiveness.

Parenting teens is one of the best, hardest, most growing things I've ever done. Melissa Troyer is back living in her crazy world with grace and reminding us that raising teenagers can be embraced as a grace from God despite being hard if it calls us to look at our brokenness and weak place.

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins..."

"If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to [Jesus], he is faithful and just..."

"This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we..."

Who do you blame for your sin? Rather than blame others for our sin or finding excuses to rationalize away our guilt, let's be honest with ourselves and with God!

How important is fellowship to you? Fellowship is so crucial and even more so in places that are hostile to faith: we must take advantage of our freedom to have fellowship.

Irritated with that little mistake you made? Trying to be a perfectionist is not only hard, but it is wrong for you.

"Dear Beloved, I came to your world to be God among you and die as the atoning sacrifice for your sins. However, My ministry for you did not end with...."

So how perfect are you? Russ Lawson reminds us that we are imperfect, that we make mistakes, and that God forgives those mistakes and makes us perfect in his sight if we will try to live for him.

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

"If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

"If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our..."

""Cleanseth," says the text-not "shall cleanse." There are multitudes who think that as a dying hope they may look forward to pardon. Oh! how..."

Inspirational illustration of 1 John 1:7 -- If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

parody image of 1 John 1:7 -- Blood of the Lamb.

Parody image based on 1 John 1:9 -- If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

"Dear Child of the Glorious and Gracious Father, As John neared the end of his physical life, he wrote three short letters to help churches facing all..."

What's true about the NCAA Basketball Tourney and life? Phi Ware reminds us that while the one and done principle is true in much of life, Jesus changed it for us in regard to sin.

We must never forget God's most consistent message to each of us! Brian McCutchen reminds us that God's love is redeeming -- it forgives, cleanses, makes whole, and buys us back from our messes and lifts us from our burdens.

What is the dumbest thing you've ever done? Russ Lawson shares a humorous story about eating off his dog's plate, getting the flu, and also dealing with his own stupid actions in his spiritual life and in his relationships.

Why go public with this? Rubel Shelly uses Josh Hamilton's public confession about a slip in alcohol use to remind us of our need to be truthful about the addictions that enslave us.

"So if we say we have fellowship with God, but we continue living in darkness, we are liars and do not follow the truth. But if we live in the light,....."

How do you put a shattered life back together? Phil Ware talks about a broken horse figurine and a shattered pink lamp and how God not only forgives, but also purifies us.

How do you put a shattered life back together? Phil Ware talks about a broken horse statue and a shattered pink lamp and how God not only forgives but also purifies us and makes us whole.

"Dear Disciple, John was a masterful writer. He used a simple vocabulary to share nuances of truth and depths of theological insight. His use of such...."

"Dear Beloved, As God's child, you need to know that some truth is very basic and very simple. You also need to realize that the evil one, whom John....."

He was nitroglycerin; if you bumped him the wrong way, he blew up. Max Lucado reminds of what is necessary when we have failed publicly and why it is necessary.

Is this a blessing or a curse? Rubel Shelly talks about the woman who can't forget and reminds us of the blessing of God's forgiveness.

Is it me, or has God changed his opinion on grace? Brian McCutchen talks about the night he was baptized and the fear he felt and his desire to know he was going to heaven and now he is assured of those things because he understands God's grace.

Where do you unload the baggage and guilt of our mistakes? Russ Lawson talks about unloading the blame and guilt of our sin by admitting it and trusting God to handle it, completely.

Come on, now, let's just admit to the truth! Rubel Shelly confronts our tendency to make excuses for our sins, mistakes, and errors and then try to use softer words to make them not seem so bad.

How can God be blind to our sin? God is blind to our sin because the blood of Jesus continually purifies us when we are walking in the light.

Sometimes we just need to be reminded that we matter. Brian McCutchen reminds us that we are known, loved and valued by God.

How can this happen? Phil Ware takes a weird note in his inbox and uses Johnny Cash and his comebacks to remind us that Jesus gives us the ultimate comeback, he forgives, purifies, and heals.

Wouldn't life be better if we could have a fresh start after making a mess of things? Phil Ware continues his series on Resurrection 2.0 focusing on Jesus' loving confrontation of Peter about his arrogance and failure and then restoring him back to ministry.

Can we really get do-overs? God offers us something better than a do-over, mulligan, and second chance; he offers us forgiveness and cleansing.

Because he knew the true and living God, the heart behind the Scriptures, he could recognize the forger, the fraud — Satan — who tried to distort and misuse truth and Scripture. James Nored and Phil Ware discuss the temptations and trials of Jesus and why they are important to us and what they have to say to us as people who are part of God's story.

What about Christians who sin? The reality of Christian life is not that we do not sin. It is seen in how we react to our sin.

Hypocrisy is often cited as a reason not to follow Jesus. It is just not true. Hypocrites say one thing while intending to do another. That is not what Christians do.

Don't you wish you could erase life's mistakes? We’ve gotten better and better at correcting mistakes on our computer. God, through His son Jesus, let’s us correct life’s mistakes in an even more amazing way.

What do you do when you've been wronged? Forgiveness is not easy, but it is God's way.

Who would want to invite this mess home? If we don't wall pornography off at the source in our lives, then we end up just inviting it home.

Will turning the page on the calendar change your life? God can make our lives new, giving us a fresh start. He wipes out past mistakes, letting us begin again.

Blues got you down? We all get a little blue or depressed; here are 10 suggestions to help us.

Which color would you be? Alan Smith tries to remind us that our goodness comes from Jesus and not from ourselves.

How do you deal with those feelings of remorse? It doesn't matter what you have done. Your sins can be washed away. You can start over. God will cleanse you and give you a new life.

Jesus provided us the few simple words we need to return us to that place of righteousness in the eyes of our Father: “Forgive us our debts.” Phil Ware, with Chad Higgins, reminds us of the power of the simple words 'Forgive us our debts' and give us a daily practice to emphasize the power of these words.