A Look at Confession

"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!
"When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. 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."
-Psalm 32:1-5

I'm still trying to digest these verses... I love the imagery that is used here:
"my body wasted away" "Your hand was heavy upon me" "my vitality was drained away"...
and then...
"You forgave the guilt of my sin"

What a concept! Just as Proverbs 3:12 states, "For whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights." The same is true of our God! He weighs heavily on our conscience when we are living in sin, and when we confess those sins to Him, He forgives the guilt of those sins. Christ's purpose, through His death on the cross, was to take our guilt upon Himself. He paid the price for our sins, and the weight of that guilt and shame was put upon His shoulders, so that we might not be condemned!

Let's look at an example from the life of Christ. Matthew 9:2-7 -
And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven." And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes." And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." And he got up and went home.

Why was it such a big deal for Jesus to tell the paralytic that his sins were forgiven? I'll tell you why... because, in Jewish culture, people who were blind, diseased, or paralyzed where seen as cursed by God. It was assumed that the paralyzed man had either sinned, himself, or that his parents had sinned and that it was the cause of his paralysis.
Do you see the guilt and shame that this would cause an individual? To have everyone condemn you because of defect? This man's whole life was most likely lived in the guilt of condemnation!
This gives all the more weight and impact to Christ's words to him! "...your sins are forgiven" He was telling this man, essentially, that He no longer needed to live under the guilt of this presumed sin.
This was the reason that Christ came, not just to remove guilt, but to change lives... from the inside out! Notice how He first heals the man of guilt and sin, and then of his paralysis... It is the same with our lives. He has already paid the penalty for our sins, now He continues to work in us, to cause our appearance to be more like Him! "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Friends, do not keep silent about the sin in your life! Confess it to God, to Him who already knows, and repent. The blood of Christ covers our sins, and remaining in Him causes us to be more like Him and to bear good fruit. There is no need to live in the guilt of hypocrisy. Sincerity is freedom! Come... sincerely and repentantly come to the One who removes the guilt and stain of sin. Then... walk in the Shadow of the Almighty! Christ has given you the way of redemption, now walk in it!

May you "get up and walk" in the understanding of salvation today! Believe, confess, and walk in Him! Don't live your life trying to hide your flaws, but rather bring them to the cross and lay them down! Abide in Christ and bear much fruit!

Grace and Peace, dear friends!


Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year everyone!

Ahhh.... the time when everyone tries to do something different than the year before!
Sometimes we do a really good job of keeping our "resolutions" for the new year... other times.... not so much!

Well, one of my "resolutions" if you will, is to get better sleep! So, with that being said, I apologize for the shortness of this entry, but I will be back soon with more than a few things to talk about!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

A Prayer...

Lord,

Your mercy is unfathomable...

Your grace is endless...

Your wisdom is unsearchable...

Your plans... Your plans, O Lord, are so much greater than I could ever dream! Your ways are greater, Your thoughts are higher... Nothing compares to You!

Father, as we approach a new year, let us not forget You in the hustle and bustle of life. Lord, may we instead focus more intently on You. May we rely more heavily on You. May we seek You more diligently...

Give me the strength, O God, to seek You as You deserve to be sought after! Give me a passion, O Lord, to spread Your fame as Your fame ought to be spread over this world. Birth in me a worship that never dies out, but only continues to grow and to bring you more glory, more praise, more mouths professing You as Lord! Instill in me a desire for holiness. To be more like You in word, thought and deed.

May my actions be a direct result of my life having been changed by You, and therefore be an extension of Your hand at work among this generation.

God... all of this to say, 'I love You! ... Thank You for loving me!'

Amen!

A Christmas Thought... or two

Christmas... Emmanuel... God...with us...

What a concept! A child, born with the express purpose of glorifying God as nobody else ever could. With the purpose of a sacrificial death on our behalf! A life that was lived blamelessly. And today we celebrate His arrival into flesh, time, and space. The Christ, who has always been at the right hand of the Father, came down in human form to do what would have been impossible for anyone else to do...

There is no other gift that compares to eternal life... to forgiveness. We cannot give enough THINGS to ever compare to the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness towards us!

Thank you, Jesus!

Merry Christmas, dear Friends!

May God's Grace and Peace be yours in abundance!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

A Time for Reflection

We're getting closer... Christmas is just two days away! Today was Christmas Eve-Eve!

I did something interesting today... I went shopping... it was interesting because of two things:

First, there were people still buying presents for Christmas! As if they didn't know it was coming and only found out a couple of days ago...

Secondly, there was a certain lack of joy... Do you know what I mean? Have you felt it, too? I feel like I'm in a musical version of 'Do You See What I See?'. There's a problem with society's perspective on life... but nobody seems to notice! Perhaps it's like some weird sci-fi movie where we're all sick and we can only see it in other people... maybe we're all sick, but don't know that we have caught what everyone else has.

What am I saying? I'll try to put it simply.... It's easy to judge others, but to think inwardly and reflect on personal thoughts and actions, intentions... this is harder to do. Not only is it harder, it's scarier, because we know there are things that we must change about ourselves. It's easy, though, to ignore our faults and instead find them in others.

Have you ever known someone who was very quick to point out the faults of others, but could never see that they had the same exact issues? This is what I'm talking about... Maybe we are noticing other people that seem to be missing the "Reason for the season," but don't realized that we too have gotten carried away with our gifts and preparations and have forgotten where our focus is supposed to be.

My challenge to you is to spend time in prayer and reading of God's Word, this week, and really focus in on the things that really matter. Spend some time just thinking about what the birth of Christ meant for you personally... Salvation was born that day!

I hope you will join me in reflecting, this season, on Christ's birth and eventual death and resurrection. The ONLY HOPE that this world has is Christ! If we cannot focus in on that fact... how can we expect to share it with others?

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Isn't it sad how we can hear a certain phrase or word all of our lives and only now begin to understand what it is actually implying? I was thinking about the phrase "led me to Christ."

When someone says, "Yeah, So-and-so led me to Christ," I used to think of someone praying with someone else, for salvation... but now... I'm not so sure I'll ever see it quite like that again.

You see, yesterday the Lord painted a picture, in my head, of someone being led to Christ. It looked something like this...

I saw, instead of a prayer, a man literally leading another man to the feet of Jesus. I saw Jesus sitting there, smiling, as the men approached Him...

This is a bit different than the old scenario I used to picture. I used to see a very church-like altar call, if you will, instead of an actual leading to the actual person of Jesus Christ. Does this make any sense? If it does, then you're one step ahead of me! I'm still digesting all of this! It's and incredible way of thinking about what happens when we are sharing the Gospel with our unsaved friends!

Consider this... that instead of "praying a prayer" being the ultimate goal of your witnessing, you are trying to show them Jesus! Christ will do the rest. He already has! He is simply using you, as a tool, to draw others to Himself.

Being a tool of salvation requires, then, that we look and sound like Jesus...
How is our speech? Does it reflect a Holy and perfect God?
How about actions? Do we demonstrate a level of self-control and love that surpasses the normal inclinations of the human heart?
What about the fruits in our lives? Are we growing good fruits and displaying a deep understanding of God's Word?

I guess I'm saying all of this just to say... Be a leader! Be a guide! Be an example! Mirror Christ in all that you say and do. Do I say this because it is easy and I've already done it? You already know the answer, "Of course not!" I say this because I understand that it is what God has designed us for and called us to do. So I'm growing right along-side of you all!

Especially in this time of year, friends, let us be as the light of that Star, from so long ago... Shine brightly, friends, to show those who are seeking the Christ, where He may be found!

Be the light, dear friends!

Grace and Peace!


Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

The Lord is My Only Good!

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' " Matthew 7:21-23

"Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. I said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.' " Psalm 16:1-2

Here's a truth that we need to get ahold of... "You are my Lord; I have no good besides You." What a statement! What truth!

I tend to forget, from time to time, that I have no good except Christ. The reality is that "there is no one who does good, not even one." (Psalm 53:3) The only good thing that we possess is something that we could NEVER earn! It's amazing!

I'm kind of short on time, today... but that's okay. I just want to take some time to meditate on what it means to do "the will of My Father who is in heaven," and to realize that I have nothing to bring to God's table. He chose me... and He's the only good thing that I have! Praise be to God for my helplessness!

Friends, I hope these verses will bless you as they have blessed me!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com.