| TODAY'S SCRIPTURE "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (1 John 1:9-10)
TODAY'S WORD , an important aspect of the Christian life is to know what it means to confess our sin. This is important because our very forgiveness hinges on our understanding of the term. The Hebrew word for confessmeans to acknowledge. In the New Testament, confess could be translated as "to agree with someone or to say the same thing as another." The Apostle John used this word when he said, "If weconfess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (emphasis mine). That wordconfess is essentially saying that if you will agree with God about your sin, if you will acknowledge it for what it is, not make excuses for it, and turn from it, God will forgive you.
The problem is that there are people today who think they have confessed their sin when they haven't. Far too many people think that to confess their sin is merely to acknowledge their sin. Therefore, they will sin, they will get caught, and they will say, "I acknowledge what I did. I confess that sin. That was a bad thing." Then they go out and do it again and say, "I did it again. I confess." That's not a true confession. They are simply recognizing what is obviously sin.
Confession means to see sin for what it is, to be sorry for it, and to turn from it. You have to take your sin to the cross and recognize it is offensive to the one and only true God. Are you willing to do that? If so, then God will forgive you and cleanse you from all your unrighteousness.
A PRAYER FOR YOU TODAY Holy Jesus, who has promised that if we love you, you and the Father will love us and come to us and make your home with us, I give you my love without reservation. Your words are sacred and I aspire to live by them, this day and always, and I glorify you for your sacrifice of pain and death, made out of your love for us, that all who follow you might find salvation and eternal life. Bless me this day to live with your Spirit, to resist temptation to evil, and to show your joy and love to all. Make your home with me, that I might be truly blessed, I pray, Amen. |
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