The greatest defense attorney

Have you ever felt like God had left you alone to fend for yourself? Does it sometime seem like there's nobody around that cares? You couldn't be more wrong.

There is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ.... (1 John 2:1, NLT).

The story is told that one day Frederick the Great, who ruled the eastern German state of Prussia from 1740-1786, visited a prison and talked with each of the inmates. There were endless tales of innocence, of misunderstood motives, and of excuses.

Finally the king stopped at the cell of a convict who remained silent. "Well," remarked King Frederick, "I suppose you're an innocent victim too?"

"No, sir, I'm not," replied the man. "I'm guilty and deserve my punishment."

Turning to the warden, the king said, "Here, release this rascal before he corrupts all these fine innocent people in here!"

It seems that most guilty people state their innocence, or claim that they're victims of someone else's wrongdoings, especially in our modern society where so many people have a "victim mentality." The guilty hire lawyers to try to prove their innocence, and the defense lawyers often distort the facts or totally make up arguments to obtain an innocent verdict for their clients. In many cases, our courts have become games to see who can tell the biggest and most believable lies.

Man doesn't like to admit his sinfulness. He's much more comfortable discussing "imperfections, weaknesses, mistakes, and errors in judgment." These terms are socially acceptable, and almost everyone can relate to them.

Man almost always takes part in self-justification, regardless of the truth. And an outright acknowledgment of guilt before our holy God is something many people want to avoid. Yet this kind of honesty is the first step to the freedom from sin and guilt that God longs to give us and has provided in the death of Christ.

This kind of honesty is also a work of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus said would come to "convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment" (John 16:8, NLT).

Christians don't have to falsely proclaim their innocence, but be honest with God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing according to 1 John 1:9-10: "If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts" (NLT).

When we confess our sins, "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1, KJV). The word "advocate" here means "one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense."

Thankfully, we have the greatest Defense Lawyer in the universe! He wins every case, truthfully!

Praying for us all to realize our true defense,
Pastor Mike










*Take Fore*

A golfer hooked his tee shot over a hill and onto the next fairway. Walking toward his ball, he saw a man lying on the ground, groaning with pain.

"I'm an attorney," the wincing man said, "and this is going to cost you five grand!"

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," the concerned golfer replied. "But I did yell 'fore'."

"I'll take it," the attorney said.