Thought of the Day !!

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 him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)

Years ago I preached a sermon entitled "Acquitted" where I used a sermon illustration that was originally told by Bill Bouknight of Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis. AS I was digging through some old stuff I came back across it and wanted to share it with you today.

Bouknight tells about his favorite story that comes from the Ernest Hemingway novel The Capital of the World. Hemingway tells of a father and son in Spain who did not get along. Finally, the tension became so intense that the son exploded and called his father all kinds of derogatory names. Then the boy left home. The father was heartbroken over his son’s leaving. For several days he searched everywhere for his son, but with no success. Finally, the father took out an ad in the main newspaper in Madrid. The boy’s name was Paco, a very common Spanish name. The ad said, “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper building tomorrow at noon. All is forgiven. I love you.” On the following day at noon, 800 Paco’s showed up, each longing for forgiveness and reconciliation.

We’ve all got a little Paco in us. We all are guilty and in need of forgiveness. The forgiveness is there to be had. Jesus has placed an add in the Bible. It reads, "acquitted", or cleared of the charges. And it’s addressed to you. And it's addressed to me.

In the love of Christ,
greg