I John 1:8-10 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
When my daughter was a baby, she’d cover her face and say, “You can’t see me!” She thought that if she couldn’t see us, we couldn’t see her. Little did she know that we could see her perfectly!
Sometimes, we do that with our sin. We cover it up and pretend it’s not there, and we assume no one else notices it. After all, the truth isn’t always pretty. We don’t like to admit to ourselves how sinful we are, because to do so makes us uncomfortable. But notice that John said we deceive ourselves when we deny our sin. Nobody else is fooled. Especially not God.
God wants to forgive us. He wants us to have a right relationship with Him. And the only way that can happen is for us to agree with Him about our sin. We must agree with Him that we are sinners. We must agree that His Son, Jesus took the punishment for our sins. And we must agree that sin is wrong, and try not to do it again. When we do that, He wipes our slates clean. He wants us to confess our sins, not so we can continue to feel guilty, but so we can be rid of the guilt! Confession restores us to a right relationship with God.
Dear Father, I’m a sinner, and I know it. I am so sorry for all the things I have done and continue to do. I am sorry for __________________. Please help me to stop doing that. Thank you for your forgiveness, through Jesus Christ.
Amen
Restoration. My heart needs to be restored as well as my body. I am so sick inside and out and want to be restored. Thank you for this message.
Praying for you, my friend!
Renae, one of the Scriptures I try to read daily is Isaiah 57:15b
“I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Lord, I want to live out of a contrite and humble heart.
Jean
Me too, Jean. What a beautiful verse. Thank you for sharing it.
Great post. Thanks. Renae.
Thanks, Jean! 🙂