Psalm 32:1-5 1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. "Selah" 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. "Selah"
Many of us choose to hide from our past sin and shame but there is freedom in acknowledging that sin before God and others and the Lord can use your story of redemption to bring others to Him. This passage of scripture meant a lot to me in my testimony as I let go of the shame and guilt from my past and let God take control of my life. The simple act of acknowledging my sin (confession) allowed me the opportunity to overcome it through the strength of Christ. When I confessed, it took away the power of my sin to define me and allowed the work of Christ to restore to me the joy of His salvation (Psalms 51:12). Isolation (or hiding from our sin and shame) is Satan’s game but if we look back to God’s original design, we see that we were meant for community. Back in the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, the very first thing He said was not good was for man to be alone. We were never meant to walk through this life alone and the bible tells us that there is healing that comes from confessing our sins to one another (James 5:16) and that we are called to carry each others burdens (Galatians 6:2). One of Satan’s biggest lies is to tell us that we are failures when we have made a mistake. That people are going to judge and reject us if we tell them what we’ve done and the things we struggle with. He tells us that we’ve reached the end of our story when we’ve made a mistake, but God tells us something completely different. He tells us that we are loved. That we are worthy (not because of anything we have done but because of the gift He gave to us through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of His Son). That we are chosen. God tells us that even though we have failed, we are not to define ourselves as failures. We are unconditionally loved by an amazing Father who never looks at us any differently even when we sin against Him, and He tells us that failure is not the end of our story (Philippians 1:6). Satan also lies to us in making us see confession as something to be afraid of, but confession is not meant to be scary. It is meant to be freeing. This fear of confession likely originates, as mentioned earlier, from the fear of rejection and judgment. But God’s word tells us that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18) and that God Himself is love (1 John 4:8). In effect, what this means is that when we confess to people who are of God, then there should be no fear of rejection or judgment. People who are of God will respond to your confession with grace, love, mercy, and kindness just as our Father has responded to us in our sin. Confession should not be something to be afraid of but rather an opportunity to experience God’s grace and mercy through broken, imperfect people. That my friend is a beautiful thing!!! Before Christ, I sought the pleasures of this world through relationships, sex, partying, and achievements but now I have a new life in Christ because of His free gift of salvation on the cross. No matter how messy you think your life is, you are never too messy to come to Christ. He loves you and offers hope to the broken (Psalm 34:18)!!! If you are struggling in sin right now, I pray that you would have the strength to confess that sin before God and others (James 5:16) and that you would not allow the shame and guilt of your past to keep you in a hopeless state of brokenness. We are all humans and as such, we are all going to make mistakes, which means that at some point in our lives, we will all need to confess. Confession, however, is only a first step toward healing and is inevitably a continual process as sin habits don't magically disappear after confession. I may have a new life in Christ but I still struggle in some ways with the same old sin habits. The struggles may manifest themselves a little differently in my life today but Satan is aware of my weaknesses and does not cease to attack me in them. It is a constant struggle to remain fully known before God and others in my brokenness as Satan wants me to hide from my failures, but it is through confession and honesty that I continue to grow in my faith and learn from my mistakes. The process of sanctification, the process of being made or becoming holy, will never be completed in me this side of heaven and I will forever need to confess and turn from my sins, but despite my continued failures, His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Thank you, Jesus!!! Confess today and find freedom from your sins. Verses:
Lamentations 3:22-23 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
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Introduction The Holy Spirit is infinitely powerful and has many traits that draw us in a deeper relationship with the Lord Almighty. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of traits but these are just a few that can bring you encouragement. The Spirit of God has no limit or bounds. Isaiah 40:28 – “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the Earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom” Genesis 1:2 – “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Psalm 139:7 – “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” John 14:15-17 - “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 20:29 – “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Desires of the Heart Romans 8:5-6 – “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Mediator and Counselor Romans 8:26-27 - “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts know the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Power and Confidence 2 Timothy 1: 7-8 – “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord…” Prayer Lord, I thank you that you have made yourself available to me through your Spirit and you live in me. Set my heart on desires that are in line with your will and not the aims of the world. I also thank you that you intercede for me when I do not know how to articulate my prayer requests. Give me power and confidence through your Spirit so that I am bold and go out and tell others about the grace you provide through Christ Jesus and that your Spirit will live in them as well.
Focus Scripture: exodus 14:14-15 (heavy emphasis on 15) Hi yall! As this is being read, I've actually just landed in Toronto! To kick things off, we'll just start with a verse I believe we're all familiar with, it's a personal favorite of mine but recently the verse that follows it has been what I've been gleaning the most from. The verse that I love so much is Exodus 14:14 - the lord will fight for you, you need only be still. The verse that follows “The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” Exodus 14:15-16 HCSB When I read that, how I've interpreted it is that this is not just a command to trust God and to cry out to God for help but to go and take action when there is a battle at hand. When you take both passages in context. The idea of trusting God in the midst of the unknown future has been a huge piece of my story over the past few months as I have been interviewing for a new job that will require me to move out of the country leaving behind all that is familiar and comfortable. When I look back at the position that I applied for, I see that I truly was not qualified in the sense of what had been defined on paper. I had far less experience than everyone else that applied and what management is typically looking for as well as lacking even the educational qualifications necessary in the form of a standard degree. After months of waiting and continued steps forward, God gave me the job that I had been applying for and has miraculously made everything fall into place. While there are still hurdles to cross, I must continue to walk forward, trusting God's guidance no matter the outcome as I continue. If I can encourage you all with anything, it would be that no matter your season, if you are waiting for anything, be diligent to listen to God and if you cannot hear him, take time to be still so that you can. The only way I've made it through this incredibly up and down season has been through remaining close to the source (God). Rest in knowing Christ will fight for us, but He still asks us to go into the battle. |
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