Be quick to confess. . . .

 

I often say that 1 John 1:9 is the most important verse in the Bible for spiritual growth. It tells me what to do to get rid of the sin that keeps me from being more like Jesus:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Why is this? Simple. My sin puts a kibosh on the freedom that Jesus gives. It ruins my communication with God and puts His priority on dealing with my sin instead of answering prayers for anything else. Sin turns my focus to me instead of Him. I am not being obedient. Instead, I’m pushing Him out of my life.

But, He is faithful and wants to deal with that sin and cleanse it from me. He wants me filled with the Spirit and not with my I-wants. All I need to do is tell Him that I agree — whatever I thought, spoke, or did is sin. I need to turn from it, and when I do, He does as this verse says and restores me to being a Spirit-filled child.

This morning, my Bible opened to a verse for the day. I’d already prayed this thought and sang a couple of songs that expressed it, so it caught my eye:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. (Psalm 32:8)

When I turned to this verse, I read the 7 verses before it and discovered the OT version of 1 John 1:9:

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah (Psalm 32:1–7)

David wrote this knowing that keeping silent about his sin was affecting his health, both physical and spiritual. His bones wasted; his strength diminished. He lost the sense of God's protection. But when he confessed his sin, he found deliverance, again the freedom of knowing forgiveness, knowing it to the point that he heard it shouted to him in songs!

The tensions in my body fade just thinking about the power of God to forgive and cleanse. As strong as the temptations to run my own life can be, this promise is far stronger and more precious. Years of experience shout to me. Don’t wait until a period of Lent, or a revival, or Sunday morning, or even to the next time I sit down with my Bible, or until the sun goes down. If I turn from God at any time or in any way, as soon as the Spirit convicts me (which is usually instantly) confess it. Don’t wait. Don’t let that sin roll around my pride and fatten it. Don’t let that sin pinch another person’s joy. Don’t let that sin build a selfish “I don’t care” attitude or even the thought that it does not matter. Tell God that I agree — I blew it.

PRAY: Jesus, I love it that I can bring all my goof-ups to You for forgiveness and cleansing. In my eyes, they could be small things, but in Your eyes, sin is sin. You died for each one, even for that selfish attitude that tends to think running my own life for a little while is not bad… after all, I’m not murdering anyone. But each sin insults You and denies the wonder of the Cross where You died. For shame that I should think it does not matter… for that thought is a sin also.

Joy in Trials?

One wonder of salvation is that God loves us. John 3:16 says it concisely and states the proof of it besides. However, as today’s reading says, many of God’s children miss the extent of that love and fall prey to the testimony of their own doubting hearts. How could God care for me? Or how could God forgive me? Or why am I not sure of being loved?

A doubting heart is the result of listening to circumstances as well as defining love in human terms. For many, love is about feeling good. It is also based on the performance of others. When they do what is pleasing, love is easy, but if their actions are not comfortable, love does not come as easily — and the reverse is assumed.

Relationships enter the mix too. I might more easily love my children, warts and all, than I would love a neighbor who is nice one day and nasty the next. When God seems like He isn’t interested in my comfort, then I wonder if He loves me — that is, it I base my interpretations on human thinking. Note, this kind of thinking is subjective and based on my ‘I wants’ — meaning it is essentially selfish and sinful.

The love of God is not about making me comfortable, but it took awhile to learn that. My parent’s love was about meeting my needs, but also doing what made me happy. God wants me to be joyful, but His version is from the Holy Spirit and does not depend on comfortable circumstances.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

How is this even possible? Learning this takes years and some never learn it. Grumpy Christians? Yes, because growing in love is about faith, and faith is about hearing the Word of God, and if I stop hearing (not the same as merely listening), then I stop growing in faith and growing in love, the kind of love that Jesus has.

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

So, what happens to change from being uncertain that God loves me to being so sure of it that I can be joyful in trials and love even my enemies? The answer is a bit of a surprise. A seminary professor told the class that if we could get Christians to speak what they know, that truth would become a greater part of their way of life. The NT puts it this way:

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

Verbal testimony of known truth, including an attitude of love in speaking it, is God’s way of locking that truth and that attitude into hearts and lives. Being silent does not build faith, nor does acting in unloving ways build love — including the awareness that God loves me. Faith is solidified by saying what I believe.

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:10–11)

To put this in broader terms, sin will spoil faith and increase doubt, even doubt that God loves me. Not that He has stopped, but I have stopped thinking that He loves me. This begins a downward spiral into sorrow.

PRAY: Jesus, this is so helpful. The verses from James speak to me also about my attitude in this ‘trial of a various kind’ — the trial of moving and a million boxes. My brother moved when younger than I am now and said never to move when you are eighty. We laughed and are doing it anyway. But realizing that Your joy is possible no matter what, even if this is a lot harder to experience in total exhaustion. Remembering that You love us and are with us means a great deal. We see the evidence in many ways, including how You give us joy in this or any circumstance.

Trusting the Planner

 

 

READ Genesis 44-50

As a quilt-maker, I can see the progress of learning how to make a quilt is similar to growing in faith. The steps involved are learned and as each one is mastered, the next one is the next challenge. Learning to select the right colors and pattern leads to learning how to cut pieces the right size and shape and along the grain line. That leads to learning how to sew consistent ¼ inch seams in the right order, pressing them to one side so the quilt lays flat. The last things to learn are how to sew the layers together, then finish the edges and add a label.

Reading the story of Joseph is a series of faith lessons. He learned that God had a plan for his life, but sharing that plan with his brothers had negative consequences. He also learned that even obedience can put him in prison. He learned that using the discerning skills God gave him resulted in greater responsibilities and influence.

Finally, he learned that God used, even planned the events of his life so that he could rescue his family from starvation. When the time came to reveal his identity, Joseph said to his brothers:

“Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:4–8)

Joseph knew the sovereignty of God and by faith he saw the hand of God in everything that happened to him. His brothers, while glad to be brought to live in the best part of Egypt, were still fearful. When their father died, they thought Joseph would turn on them. They told him that their father had wanted forgiveness to happen, but as they spoke and offered themselves as his servants, Joseph wept. He said to them:

“Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:19–21)

This is a mirror of the Gospel, also of the Christian life. God teaches the baby steps, then moves on as I learn to trust Him in the more difficult challenges. I stumble and make mistakes, yet He persists and proves to me using the history of Joseph and my experiences in life to show me this reality . . .

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

I’m not shown the end in the beginning, and it seems that Joseph didn’t know it either, but he believed in God’s goodness and power enough to OBEY Him each step of the way. When I have fears and doubts, Joseph’s story reminds me that God has a plan, and that He has revealed enough of that plan to encourage me — He wants me to be increasingly like Jesus. Whatever else is going to happen, nothing can be as amazing as that!