CONFESSION?

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Permalink Reply by Teri Miller on November 13, 2009 at 10:17pm

Wow...clearly something folks aren't much into...not a single response...

Hopeful this will change? The focus on confession during HOP was really helpful.
Kristin Z. read from Psalm 32 - ending with, "I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin."
A really impacting section - clearly compelling in regard to the need for confession.

Pains me that I've been so negligent in this area.

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Permalink Reply by Hermine Stearman on November 16, 2009 at 3:40pm

It's pretty easy to say the words when we confess...digging deep for that sincerity and real desire and commitment to change is the harder part. I think that's why I sometimes don't confess as I should. I'm afraid I'll really have to make those changes...who wants to keep confessing the same old sin??? So, I confess with my mouth, which is a good start because sometimes the heart follows once the words are spoken out loud. But, I pray God would "search me and know my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me" and convict me to not just speak the words out loud but to mean them, and then demonstrate I mean by a real change!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Miller on November 16, 2009 at 3:43pm

I realize that in confessing, I've really minimized some of my sins. Just become OK with them in some ways. Pretty lame.

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Permalink Reply by Brenda Baker on November 17, 2009 at 10:03am

We got to see a beautiful picture of confession on Thursday night when we were together for five nights of prayer. It was an honest conviction of the heart from the Spirit of God and it stirred something deep in all of us as several echoed..."me, too." And as we prayed over her, there was a sense of freedom, of releasing, of real change.
Something we have been talking around is that not only do we not get to see the power of confession among us as a community, but we also don't get to see the transforming power of God's working in our lives after we confess. The freedom, the transformation, the growth. I have been really dwelling on the phrases from I Corinthians this week. "My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in your weakness. When I am weak, then I am strong."

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Miller on November 17, 2009 at 10:46am

I'm seeing the reality of...confessing to others and being accountable to them for my growth. It's not hard for me to confess to God. And it's not hard for me to confess to those close to me. It IS hard to say "So, here is where I fail, walk with me in becoming free" and get their calls the next day, meet with them the next week, etc...

Accountability. Community.

Our nature is to minimize our sins, which as Nate deKoning points out is defined as 'missing the mark'. So not a flat-out murder, just mere selfishness or unkindness or lack of mercy qualifies.

Then, we keep them to ourselves and thereby allow us to go infinitely forward. Unchanged.

Nobody really wants daily accountability to someone else. I don't at least. I don't like authority over me. But I have to see it as fellow brothers and sisters that God works through...for my good.

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Permalink Reply by Carol Pollitt on November 17, 2009 at 3:03pm

I've been thinking about this ever since it was posted last week. Confession is such important obedience. Kevin, as you said, it's sometimes easier to confess to our Heavenly Father, then to earthly friends and family. Also as you pointed out and scripture says, it's important to "confess our trespasses to one another." I have found that it's vital to remember that the verse which talks about "confessing to one another," doesn't mention anything about how it's going to be recieved by the other person. God made it clear to me a couple years ago that I was to confess and ask forgiveness of two people that I wronged. Neither responded well at all, but what He asked of me was to be obedient to what He was calling me to do. There was tremendous healing in that for me, even though the responses were hard.

It's great when people respond with love and grace when we're confessing, but when that doesn't happen, their response doesn't negate our obedience. It's also great that more often than not, our friends love us well and feel honored when we choose to share and confess hard things.

Thanks for this post and for making us think about the hard topic of confession.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Miller on November 17, 2009 at 3:29pm

Carol - what you wrote is excellent...and so hard to conceptualize and accept. I always want, and really expect...a result from 'obedience' that is beneficial to me. When that doesn't happen, I'm a bit disillusioned. Thanks for the reminder and truth.

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