Confessing Sin

 James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Many Bible translations use the word sin in place of fault. The root interpretation of sin is to miss the mark, to come short of God’s perfection. The fall of Adam and Eve changed the nature of humanity. The human body is now subject to failure and shortcomings. We often say, “We are not perfect, we are all still human.” We still deal with human weaknesses. As humans, we still make mistakes and errors from doing everything perfectly, but our hearts can always be faultless before God. Scripture says that Christians cannot sin, (1 John 3:9). Yet, it is possible for a believer to still commit sin. But, if we want to remain in Christ, we will not live a life of sinning.  Satan knows our weaknesses and vulnerabilities and will exploit them, causing us to fall. Temptation to sin would not be temptation if it were not possible to transgress the laws of God. Giving our heart in full surrender in sanctification, letting the Holy Spirit take residence in our heart will give us the ability to resist the temptations of Satan. Confession is made possible by restoring one back to fellowship with God. “And if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (1 John 2:1). If we also confess our sins one to another, the prayer of other believers God will hear and heal broken fellowship. It is not God’s will that Christians fall when tempted. He has made a way of escape. It is not His will that Christians live in sin, but His will that they be delivered from sin. Thank God, He has provided grace and mercy to them that seek and ask forgiveness. We need not despair, get up, face your fault or sin, confess, and move forward with God.

Sins Not

 1 John 3:6

Whosoever abides in him sins not: whosoever sins hath not seen him, neither known him.

This is a Bible standard that many people have problems with. How is it possible for us humans to live everyday without committing sin. We were born sinners and it appears to be a part of our nature. John must have been living in a different culture where it was more conducive to live a holy life. There is no doubt that our nature is deprived and humanity has been scarred by the fall of Adam and Eve. ( Genesis 3). It is not possible for us to live a life without sinning. All have sinned, and come short of God’s expectations. But God, through Christ the spotless lamb of God, the sinless God-Man came to us to give His life so that this sin nature could be removed. It does not make us impermeable to sin, because we still have a free will, but it provides us access to God. We were alienated from God and now abide in Christ, the sinless one. As long as we remain in Him, He provides the grace and power to overcome sin. We no longer are transgressors of the law, but we are made a new vessel of honor. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit, through sanctification that we live each day without committing willful transgression. We are still human and prone to error in the human, but our hearts can be made perfect through the blood of Christ, purifying our hearts by faith.

Leaning on Jesus

John 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

Leaning on Jesus is to draw close and depend on Him for all of our needs. He is our “go to” when life starts to shake around us and we are tempted to fall and call it quits. He is our crutch and often the one who will just pick us up and carry us across those difficult times. We cannot make it on our own strength, we are no match for the devil, he is the fathers of lies and exploits our weaknesses. He works on our human desires and tempts our flesh to seek and fulfill our human desires. That is why we need a Savior, one that we can lean strong on. We must have the Holy Spirit in our lives to empower us to fight against the enemy of our soul. Leaning on Jesus is the secret to victory. Draw close to Him, let Him hold us tight!

My Members

Roman 7:23 “ But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”-

The battle between doing good and doing evil. Born of Adam’s race, we our all born with sin dwelling in our hearts. Before coming to Christ, our consciences convicted us when we would do wrong. To ease our guilt, we did our best to start doing right and commit our actions to works of righteousness. The struggle is real. We were born to serve God and the inward man that was born of God desires to please its Creator. It strives to live with a conscience that is void of offense. A new Christian who knows that Christ has forgiven their sins is quicken by the Spirit and is empowered to walk toward the light of God. A believer who is consecrated to God and who has given their life as a living sacrifice will rely solely on the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and self. Because we still are human with human desires, the temptation to do wrong will always be possible. Satan takes that which is good and will twist it for evil, but our members are yielded unto holiness and our hearts are changed to seek what God wants. 

Love with Passion

1 Peter 4:8 “And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”- 

The possibility of having hot, burning and passionate love toward each other seems like a possibility in another world. How is it feasible to have such intense passion when we are so prone to human weakness and failings. The human emotions are so subjected to hurt and disappointment. Such love does not exist in our nature. It is only the through super natural means that one is able to demonstrate passionate love to all regardless of what others have done. To forgive is one thing, but to have a burning, passionate love toward those who disappoint you is beyond the scope of human emotions. It is only through complete surrender and humility to God that we are able to have this kind of love that supersedes human love.