Chris

Confession and Repentance typed by Christopher Lash but inspired by God

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

Yunno, confession is a hard thing to do in this day and age. We, as Americans, are taught to keep everything hidden. Our culture tells us that when we sin or do something wrong, we should try to put it out of our minds. But, trying to forget our sins ends up just hurting us in the long run. Unconfessed sin just leads to destruction. We start to believe that we can handle everything on our own and we do not need God. This train of thought is not what God wants for His children whom He loves. He wants us to live every day to the fullest. But how can we do that when feel so bogged down by the sin that easily entangles us? The solution, as given in scripture, is confession. Guilt is a powerful thing that is brought on by the Holy Spirit. God wants us to confess our sins so that he can purify us from all unrighteousness. This is done by telling God the sins that we have done wrong and asking him to purify us. We need to want to be purified in the refiners fire. I am out of shape. I need to go to the Rec Center. I can confess that I need to go to the Rec center to work out more, but unless I actually change my ways, my confession for wanting to go to the gym does not really matter. The next step after confession is repenting. Repentance is seeking to change the wrongful behavior. So just as I confessed that I needed to go to the gym, the repentance is really what mattered. I needed to actively seek and change my harmful behavior (of just sitting on the couch eating Twinkies). We need to confess and repent. We need to tell Jesus that we are sorry for our sins and ask for forgiveness. Then we need to actively turn away from the sin. Turning away from the sins requires discipline and determination. It takes discipline and determination to do devotionals every day. It takes discipline and determination to resist temptation. It takes discipline and determination to seek God in all you and lean on Him all the time.

Meditate on these questions: What sins have I not confessed? Have I moved into the zone where I have actively sought to change my behavior? Do I dive into God’s word every day? Am I in a constant state of prayer? When was the last time I honestly poured my heart out to God and earnestly sought His forgiveness? Remember that Jesus loves you and there is always forgiveness. Through your confession also remember “Sin remembered fondly has not been truly forsaken.”

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” Proverbs 2:23 (NIV)

Chris Lash

~ by seven47 on January 22, 2009.