Confession

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

                                                                                   (1 John 1:6-10 KJV)

I watched parts of the "Irishman" yesterday with my husband. I watched only parts because I have a hard time watching television. I am not able to focus well on stuff that I know is fiction; especially stuff where lives are getting snuffed out. But, since my husband is spending most of his time in the recliner as he heals from surgery, I have been trying to at least sit with him.

Frank Sheeran was an official in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the president of Local 326, and an alleged Mafia member and hitman. Now, I am pretty sure that there is no priest who would reveal the contents of a confession so I count it as fiction; but, at the very end of the movie we see Frank Sheeran making his confession. He made his confession without any remorse. In the movie he did not appear to actually be able to fully recognize that he was a sinner. I hope that this was totally fictional for effect. I do not know. Only God knows the hearts of man.

Over the years, I have had way too many people confess their sins as they sought absolution. Not everyone showed any signs of real repentance or remorse for the damage they had caused. Those that did not were usually sorry because they got caught in their sins. If you are one of those who asks for forgiveness; but, has no remorse over hurting others or turning your back on God, maybe you ought to ask yourself if you truly repented.

We are all sinners and if we say that we are not; then we are lying to ourselves. But, we cannot lie to God because He knows everything that we say and think and do. As sinful human beings we continue to turn our backs on God and one another. But, as Christians we will strive not to. We will recognize our sinful natures and we will repent because the light shines on us and the truth of our sinful ways is revealed to us. 

And, so we give thanks to God for sending His Son to suffer the penalty for our sins so that all who believe in him will not perish; but, receive everlasting life in the presence of Almighty God.

Repent and step out of the darkness that the light of Christ may shine on you.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Life In The Light; Confess

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.                                                                                                                                                     (1 John 1:6-10 NIV)

Have you ever had the experience of feeling that you had been terribly  wronged by someone and thought that the best thing to do was to talk about it with them? Maybe you thought it were best to bring everything to the light so that you might be reconciled to one another? Yet, it did not happen. The one whom you wanted to be reconciled to decided that they wanted to keep everything in the dark. They wanted to keep on telling everyone else about their problem with you and how they thought they could fix you. But, they refused to meet with you. They refused to talk about the issues that might be causing a break between them and you. They refuse because they may have to acknowledge that they may have sinned. 

As a pastor, I have run into too many people who prefer to hide in the dark than admit that they could have done anything wrong. People just refuse to admit that they may have done something most inappropriate and damaging to others. Adults in most "Christian" circles do not like their sins addressed. Many prefer to run away or hide in darkness from the issues that have brought hurt and division to themselves and the people around them. They do not like to be called on the carpet for things that they have said or done to cause rifts with their families, friends, neighbors, or churches. I confess that I have heard more confessions from people under the age of twenty then those that are over twenty. Is it because once we put a few years under our belts we do not sin? I think not.

St. John wrote that if we claim to be without sin, the truth is not in us. And; remember, Jesus is the truth! (John 14:6)   Our sins do not need to be made public; but, there are definitely times to heal wounds and to be reconciled to one another; one must confess so that they might be forgiven and be made whole.

Live in the truth! Live in the light! Live life abiding in Jesus the Christ, our Savior and Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Live Life In The Light

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind,
    to free captives from prison
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness."

Isaiah 42:6-7 NIV

One does not have to be sentenced to prison in a dungeon in some far off corner of the world to be sitting in darkness. There are so many ways in which the world chooses to cloak itself in darkness. When eyes are closed to the hurtful things that are done to others; when hearts are closed to seeking justice; we choose to live in the darkness of unrighteousness.

Isaiah prophesied that one would come bringing a light into the world; opening our eyes to see, freeing us from life in perpetual darkness. He has come.

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us." 1 John 1:5-10

Live life! Live in the light of Christ!

God's Peace - Pr. J