'confession' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’” vss. 28-29 John 20:26-31 It’s kind of neat the way John finishes his carefully crafted gospel. The man who the world has come to know as “Doubting Thomas” gets to make the first recorded confession of faith in the Risen Christ. Sometimes it’s the most unlikely disciples…
Daily Devotions
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” vss. 8-9 1 John 1:8-2:2 For some these words are so familiar that we’re almost surprised to see them pop up in a portion of mostly unfamiliar scripture. For congregations that use a weekly service of confession and absolution to…
Daily Devotions
And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” vs. 5 Mark 1:4-8 John’s ministry along the Jordan attracted large numbers of people, most of whom seemed to have had a strong awareness of their own sinfulness. There were ways within Judaism for them to deal with this issue–the law was quite precise in explaining how people could find…
Daily Devotions
Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” vs. 19 Matthew 18: 18-20 There are some folks who believe that when they pray in agreeance with another person for anything that is in accord with God’s will, their prayer will be answered. Whatever they have prayed for will be done for them! Accordingly, whenever they have a need, they will find…
Daily Devotions
But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” vs. 10 Romans 8:6-11 Through the centuries, humans all over the world have celebrated God’s indwelling presence in their various religions and have developed whole systems of thought devoted to the accessing of that Divine Spirit. Paul taught that this indwelling presence was Christ, and his words are a source of enormous good news to all who take them…
Daily Devotions
But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life.” vs. 22 Romans 6:17-23 One of the peculiarities of life in Christ is that after years and years of choosing the good in the course of daily living, we become virtually incapable of being anything but good. To use Paul’s words, we have been freed from sin and enslaved to God. At times, because the changing…
Daily Devotions
We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord, the iniquity of our ancestors, for we have sinned against you.” vs. 20 Jeremiah 14:19-22 According to Jeremiah, the people of Judah acknowledged the iniquity of their ancestors and furthermore, confessed it to be their own. Their attitude contrasts with the attitudes of those in our time who refuse to accept any responsibility for the despicable acts of prior generations. In some places, teachers are forbidden from teaching anything about the past that might…
Daily Devotions
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” vss. 1-2 Luke 15:1-6 It’s a funny thing! We know that Jesus preferred the company of sinners and often had meals with them, but we’re often reluctant to really think of ourselves as sinners. Oh, we pay lip service to the notion, and are even a bit proud…
Daily Devotions
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” vss. 9-10 Psalm 51:1-10 Even though most people are acutely aware of their shortcomings, they have different ways of referring to them. Some are comfortable with calling them sins, while others might call them personality defects, addictions, or mistakes. They are those words or actions that haunt us from the past…
Daily Devotions
Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” vs. 16 James 5:16-20 It has become common for believers to speak of the personal relationship that they have with Jesus. We have learned to talk in this fashion because some religious leaders have had a fixation on what might be called individual salvation. They teach that “going to heaven” requires each person…
Daily Devotions
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” vss. 8-9 1 John 1:8-2:2 For some these are familiar words. They were once said by pastors as an invitation to confession in nearly every regular worship service. We might not have known them as bible verses, but we…
Daily Devotions
You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.” vss. 5-6 1 John 3:4-7 Just a few paragraphs earlier John had told his readers that anyone who said they did not sin was a liar, and we would heartily agree. That certainly fits our experience! But he doesn’t mean to imply that we should…
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