Read Colossians 1:21-23
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Reflect
· If you've blown it in some way, how can you make things right again spiritually?
· How can you keep old struggles from ruining your relationship with Jesus?
· Does God ever give up on us?
It's as if there's a tug-of-war going on inside of us. We want to do what's right, we want to please God--yet we find yourself giving into temptation. We're not alone. Even one of the great heroes of the faith, the Apostle Paul, agonizes with us: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ... For I have a desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it but it is sin living in me that does it" (Romans 7:15-20).
Confession is the healing answer to crippled walk. We don't have to live with a huge load of guilt and shame in our life. Christ is reaching out to us with open arms--we can go to Him in prayer, telling Him all about our sins and telling Him we're sorry. He forgives us. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Pray
Lord, I confess my sins right now. I am sorry for what I've done and am so thankful for Your forgiveness. Amen.