confession

We are not perfect. We stumble from the Lord, we bury ourselves into more of ourselves and turn our eyes away from the Creator to the Created. We build idols, we disobey, we do not listen and even more do not seek. We fall. The evidence is all over Scripture, all over creation, and all over our hearts. 

We are called to confess these sins and the condition of our hearts that produces the actions and reactions we have to the world around us. 

Confession is such a sweet release of built up disobedience, resistance, selfishness, pride, resentment, guilt, and shame. To learn to be open and honest about who and where you are is so key to spiritual growth, I believe, and is invaluable to the growth of the body of believers - the bond between people who confess that He is and they are not. Too many people often walk around pretending they know Him intimately and are free from struggles when they are blind to Him or hopelessly misdirected and far from Him and chained to sins they would never utter willingly. I am not saying bare the most deeply hidden of sins to everyone you meet, but have someone who knows the Lord, who is honest with their faith, who will listen to your heart pouring out its waywardness and expressing your part in the world's depravity and then guides you back lovingly to Jesus who heals and advocates and God who makes new and the spirit who transforms.

We confess to the Lord that we are lost and need a shepherd. We need grace and redemption. We need to confess deeds to seek forgiveness and more importantly must confess the intentions and thought of our hearts to seek healing and restoration for the dark parts of our hearts. Thanks be to God that He restores and heals and moves in us. Thanks be to God that He disciplines His children and those He calls His own. Thanks be to God that He has created the body like He has so that a bunch of sinners can bond over the grace that redeems them and then worship Him who brought them together even through sin.

Run from pride - thinking that your struggles are not as bad as someone else's. It is the condition of the heart, not always the external action, that must be dealt with. Listen and offer Biblical wisdom after praying. Don't be afraid to confess to God or people. God loves you and He heals. The church body should uplift, point toward Him, and offer love and support. Do not be ashamed - there is no shame in running to Jesus.

Amen.