1 John 2:1-2 “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world."

There are few things in this world that are a certainty. One of them is that we will sin. Try as you might, even the best of us are going to mess up. You will mess up with your relationships, you will mess up in your attempt to follow Jesus, you will mess up in your personal and professional life. We are not perfect and none of us are good…not one. So one thing you can be assured of is that you will need a Savior, an advocate, someone to stand for you before the one who receives payment for your debt. Having Jesus to stand up for you when you have messed up is truly a gift any and all of us will need (and often). He can do for us things we could never do for ourselves. Were anyone able to pay their own debt, this gift might well be set on a shelf and left unused. But how often have you needed to go to him for help? How often have you messed up and needed him to cover you? Rescue you? When you were alone he was there. When you were lost, he was there. When you could not go forward or backward, left or right, he lifted you up. Could any gift possibly compare? He is truly a gift that keeps on giving…and a gift meant to be shared.

Pray: “Holy Lord, there is no question that you are not the answer to. No problem that you are not the solution to. No mistake that you cannot correct and no sin too black for you to wash clean. You give this gift freely. Help me to remember that you are the gift I can use every day, in every circumstance. Thank you, Father, for giving your son. Thank you, Jesus, for giving your love and your life for me…and for taking this prayer to the Father – Amen.”