Saturday, December 5th
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. – Psalm 51:1-6
All of us have sinned. Unfortunately, it is simply a part of being human. As Christians, we know Christ has forgiven us. Sometimes, we can be so aware of that forgiveness that we take it for granted and think less and less of that sin. In some ways, that is a great thing. At the same time, we need to be aware of that sin. Confession has less to do with telling God your sins. He knows what our sins are before we even commit them. Instead, confession is a humbling experience. We are humbling ourselves before God, just like David is here. By confessing our sins, we are telling God we know we are going to fall short, and we need Christ. Our challenge this week is to write out sins that come to mind on scraps of paper. What is eating you up inside? What is that thing that wakes you up at 3 a.m. and gives you that pit in your stomach? Write it out, confess and pray over those pieces of paper. Then, toss them in the fireplace, throw them in a paper shredder, or toss them out. Let this symbolize Christ on the cross, forgiving you of your sins. You no longer have to let these eat you up inside! Christ has forgiven you!
