Friday, October 10, 2008

Confessing Sins and Seeking Forgiveness

As believers we have times where we have to confess our sins to one another(James 5:16.) Some times we misunderstand what we have heard and we don’t realize that we haven’t heard correctly or we draw the wrong conclusion. Then we share that misinformation because we believe there is a need for others to pray for the perceived need.

Other times we might be stressed about unrelated issues. Someone not privy to the cause or causes of our stress asks an innocent question and we dump our frustration on them.

We want to correct these thoughts and behaviors. We seek out those we passed on the information to and ask for their forgiveness. We do this because we strive to be people of integrity. It doesn’t help if we bury our heads in the sand and pretend we didn’t cause anyone a problem.

Children of God need to be accountable to one another. When we practice this, it will be easier for us to be accountable before God.

As a footnote to this entry, this is how I spent my day. Confessing and seeking forgiveness.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Sin in Our Lives

This year I chose a devotional book that deals with a topic for a month at a time. This month’s subject is Sin. We have to decide what we mean by sin in order to talk about it. We know taking another person’s life is a sin. We also consider taking something not belonging to us a sin. It has been referred to as missing the mark, or falling short.

Several years ago I participated in a weekly women’s Bible study. One of the areas we discussed was ‘Christian’ sins, those little attributes we have that we excuse or overlook.

One of our former pastors had a little chorus he sang. “My sin is better than your sin. My sin is better than yours. My sin is better than your sin. My sin is better than yours-because you don’t know what mine is.” We all chuckled when he sang it. But we knew sin is sin and it is not good.

Preachers remind us, if we have sin in our lives, God won’t answer our prayers. Scripture tells us to confess our sins to one another.

Eight years ago, I had the opportunity to substitute for our then pastor on a Sunday morning worship service. I spent quantity time going over my life checking as to whether there was sin present. Originally, the service was to be a small service. The conference had it’s annual Family Camp Sunday on that day. Several of the members planned on going for the day. One of the men of the congregation died. His calling hours were that Sunday afternoon. Those who planned to go across the state to the camp changed their plans and attended church as usual. I’m thankful I spent the time searching my heart as a part of my preparation.

As a writer whose aim is to write for God, I believe I should live as close to Jesus as I can. One way I can reach this goal is to have a vital relationship with Him, through daily prayer, devotions and Bible study.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...