Blessed Sunday to each one of you!
We live in a world where words like confession, surrender, submission and humility are considered as a sign of a weak character. But as children of God, these are the traits of a strong character in Christ.
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
Psalms 32:5 NIV
(From the footnotes of my Bible)
What is Confession?
To confess our sin is to AGREE WITH GOD. Acknowledging that He is right to declare what we have done as sinful, and that we are wrong to desire or to do it. It is to affirm our intention of abandoning that sin in order to follow him faithfully.
“But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””
Luke 19:8-10 NIV
A couple of questions:
. What if Jesus did not stop and call him by name?
. What if he did not listen and stayed up on the tree?
. What if he would have not responded to the call by confessing his sin?
The answers are:
. Zacchaeus would still be sitting on the tree.
. Zacchaeus would still continued in his sin.
. Zacchaeus would be lost in his pride and sin.
But Bible says, Jesus stopped and called him by name. Zacchaeus got down and welcomed Jesus into his home and life. As a result, he publicly confessed and corrected himself.
As we worship the Lord in His sanctuary today, let’s think about what is that one thing in our life, keeping us still on the tree? Do we have something that is stopping us from responding to the call of our saviour?
Let’s CONFESS and REPENT, seeking the grace of God in our lives.
“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 NIV
Amen 🙏
