Let us plead guilty before God, be humble, and willing to know the worst of our case. Let us honestly confess all our sins in their full extent, relying wholly on his mercy and truth through the righteousness of Christ, for a free and full forgiveness, and our deliverance from the power and practice of sin. - Matthew Henry
Deliverance from the power and practice of sin---that is what we ask God for when we confess in an honest and humble manner. We admit that without the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, we are defeated and powerless against our sinful nature.
BUT...as John tells us a little later in this same epistle, greater is He that is within us than he who is in the world. As saved believers in Jesus Christ, God, with all His power, lives within us. I think we often underestimate the power available to us through His Spirit dwelling within each of us. We do not have to live lives of defeat and feel that we are trapped within the tentacles of sin. He is able to free us of all sin, there is nothing that can stand against the will of God, and His will is that His children break loose from all entrapments that keep them captive to lifestyles of power-zapping sin.
It almost sounds like a super-hero tale, doesn't it? Well, we have the Super Hero of all super heroes living right inside of us right now. What is it that you need to rid yourself of so that you can live a life more fully committed to His will? I am convinced that when we confess to God the things that are standing in our way, and humbly and earnestly ask Him to remove them from our lives, He will not waste any time in doing so.
I am so ready to rid my life of the hindrances that retard my growth and spiritual maturity. I am asking God right now to enlighten me to see, step by step, and possibly sin by sin, the things I need to change, or even eliminate, from my life so that I can then ask Him, in His power, to start cleaning up His house in my life. As long as I am willing to let go, and I relinquish my willfulness to God's power, then I believe the change has started.
As always, we have a choice. We can try to live a God-pleasing life relying on our own power, or we can admit to our God that our power isn't enough, that we need Him to supernaturally empower us so that we can live the victorious life that He has laid out for us. A life that reflects love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...seems like those would be things that would portray the Holy Spirit living in our lives!
Deliverance from the power and practice of sin---that is what we ask God for when we confess in an honest and humble manner. We admit that without the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, we are defeated and powerless against our sinful nature.
BUT...as John tells us a little later in this same epistle, greater is He that is within us than he who is in the world. As saved believers in Jesus Christ, God, with all His power, lives within us. I think we often underestimate the power available to us through His Spirit dwelling within each of us. We do not have to live lives of defeat and feel that we are trapped within the tentacles of sin. He is able to free us of all sin, there is nothing that can stand against the will of God, and His will is that His children break loose from all entrapments that keep them captive to lifestyles of power-zapping sin.
It almost sounds like a super-hero tale, doesn't it? Well, we have the Super Hero of all super heroes living right inside of us right now. What is it that you need to rid yourself of so that you can live a life more fully committed to His will? I am convinced that when we confess to God the things that are standing in our way, and humbly and earnestly ask Him to remove them from our lives, He will not waste any time in doing so.
I am so ready to rid my life of the hindrances that retard my growth and spiritual maturity. I am asking God right now to enlighten me to see, step by step, and possibly sin by sin, the things I need to change, or even eliminate, from my life so that I can then ask Him, in His power, to start cleaning up His house in my life. As long as I am willing to let go, and I relinquish my willfulness to God's power, then I believe the change has started.
As always, we have a choice. We can try to live a God-pleasing life relying on our own power, or we can admit to our God that our power isn't enough, that we need Him to supernaturally empower us so that we can live the victorious life that He has laid out for us. A life that reflects love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...seems like those would be things that would portray the Holy Spirit living in our lives!
1 comment:
As I remain faithful to God and confess my sins, He is faithful to me and forgives me. God's powerful love defeats sin in my life. I must remain obedient to God and confess my sins. I want to feel clean and pure, keeping my thoughts focused on Christ. I want to remain steadfast and strong - keeping evil, selfish thoughts from consuming me and blocking me from the power of God's Holy Spirit within me. There is truly Victory in Jesus.
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