Sincere Confession Essential

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.
The apostle says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” James 5:16. Confess your sins to God, who only can forgive them, and your faults to one another. If you have given offense to your friend or neighbor, you are to acknowledge your wrong, and it is his duty freely to forgive you. Then you are to seek the forgiveness of God, because the brother you have wounded is the property of God, and in injuring him you have sinned against his Creator….
True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as to be brought before God only; they may be wrongs that should be confessed to individuals who have suffered injury through them; or they may be of a public character, and should then be as publicly confessed. But all confession should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you are guilty.
Many, many confessions should never be spoken in the hearing of mortals; for the result is that which the limited judgment of finite beings does not anticipate…. God will be better glorified if we confess the secret, inbred corruption of the heart to Jesus alone than if we open its recesses to finite, erring man, who cannot judge righteously unless his heart is constantly imbued with the Spirit of God…. Do not pour into human ears the story which God alone should hear.
The confession that is the outpouring of the inmost soul finds its way to the God of infinite pity.
Your sins may be as mountains before you; but if you humble your heart, and confess your sins, trusting in the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, He will forgive, and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness…. Desire the fullness of the grace of Christ. Let your heart be filled with an intense longing for His righteousness.
The Faith I Live By p.128
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for my friend who is suffering from severe digestive issues. Daisy
—-Please pray for my friend Matthew. He is tormented with demonic oppression and psychological confusion. John
—-Update on Debbie! The doctors allowed her to waken very slowly from the chemical coma, and to slowly rewarm her body to normal temperature. She can move all extremities to command, and is able to communicate she doesn’t like the breathing tube from the respirator! This is HUGE!!! They still don’t know why she had the cardiac arrest, but more tests are in progress. PRAISE THE LORD she is awake and responding! Alice
—-Please continue to pray for Ron as he has a terrible cough and is exhausted. Rose
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Dear Friends,
When my grandfather was a little boy, he greatly feared his father. He hated to see him come home from work, because he routinely punished the boys (Edwin and Harold) as soon as he would enter the house. He would not ask their mother whether they had done something wrong. He was very sure that sometime during the day they had done something that deserved a punishing.
Harold, the younger of the two, was always first. He was made to lie across his father’s knees and the spanking would start. It was not a gentle spanking: it was way too hard. Harold soon developed a way of coping with this injustice. After two or three swats, he would start crying loudly. Satisfied that he had been punished enough, his father let him go.
Then it was my grandfather’s turn. Even though he knew that by crying he could quickly escape his father’s cruelty, he would not even let a whimper escape his lips. Soon the spanking would turn into a beating. Still my grandfather refused to cry. Finally his father would tire and let him go.
Because of his father’s injustice, my grandfather ran away from home at the age of ten spending much of the rest of his growing-up years roaming the forests of the eastern United States. He survived by eating the fish he could catch and the wild plants his grandmother had taught him were safe. Periodically, he would return home to see his dear mother and eventually his father caught him and sent him away to school. When he got married and had children of his own, he left all the disciplining to his wife. He did not want to become like his father.
Many people think our Great Creator is like my great-grandfather. They picture Him as severe and unloving. They think that He is angry with us, continually looking down upon the earth and watching for reasons punish us. Our Father in Heaven is not like that at all! He assures us, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jer 29:11 “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Isa 49:15,16
How it must hurt His Great Heart of Love when we misunderstand His motives. “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Ps 103:8-12 “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Eph 2:4 With tears in His voice our Dear Saviour pleads, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jer 31:3 “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” Eze 33:11 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” Isa 1:18,19 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30
May we discover our Great Redeemer’s true character as we daily study His Holy Word. May we see our Heavenly Father as He truly is—loving and kind, just and fair, the Giver of all true happiness and goodness. May we respond to His lovingkindness by loving and serving Him with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our strength is my prayer.
Rose