House of Prayer - Confession (Natalie Porter)

I like what one pastor defines sin as. Sin is the shorthand for any attempt to meet our deep needs by our own resources. So asking God to forgive your debt is admitting that you have sinned, that you have attempted to meet your deepest needs by your own resources and your own plans, that it hasn't worked, and that you need a savior. [00:05:22] (28 seconds)  #NeedASavior

But remember when I say this, this is so important. Forgiving someone who has harmed you is not excusing what they did. It's not letting them off the hook or condoning it. Rather, it is releasing you. It's giving you back the freedom. [00:21:05] (17 seconds)  #ForgivenessIsFreedom

Because you see, I think that confession keeps us on the right path. John, one of Jesus' disciples, reminds us in one John one verse eight and nine. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. [00:12:37] (26 seconds)  #ConfessAndBeForgiven

Or we feel so deeply ashamed and terrified that we actually hide from God. Like back in Genesis in the garden, we cover ourselves up believing that we can hide from God because he wouldn't wanna see us anyway. But the gift that I want us to grab a hold of here, and I think that David is trying to communicate through verse one, is blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, literally taken away, wiped away. No more shame. No more unworthiness. No more carrying this heavy burden, but blessed and happy. [00:07:39] (43 seconds)  #NoMoreShame

This is the gift, the beauty of what Jesus is wanting to demonstrate and show through his life and his teachings. His ways are love even in the messy tough stuff. Confessing our sins to one another is a way to healing. It brings healing deep in our souls, and it brings us into a deeper understanding of what Christ did for us. [00:21:55] (22 seconds)  #ConfessionHeals

What I received was grace and forgiveness, which is actually what we want when we come and we confess to another person. We wanna be met with that, but that's not always easy to do. What do we do, though, when we don't get the sorry? What do we do when the other person doesn't think that they've done anything wrong and we don't get the sorry. [00:16:32] (29 seconds)  #GraceOverApology

A good practice that I've personally find so helpful in this is the prayer of the examine. Simply put, this is literally walking through your day with God at the end of the day. I usually do this when I go to bed. I'll lay just down in my bed, and I'll ask the Holy Spirit to walk with me through the day, giving thanks for the good things that have happened that day where he reminds me where he showed up, maybe where he's given me encouragement, where someone's come alongside me. [00:13:57] (29 seconds)  #DailyExamen

And now I'll ask him, okay. Let's go through it and reveal to me any ways that I have not been like Christ today. And in his gracious and in his kind way, he will show me where maybe I have messed up, where I have spoke harshly, where I have been offhand, and I will then confess to God. I'll ask him to forgive me and to hit the reset button. [00:14:26] (31 seconds)  #ConfessAndReset