Always Confess Your Sins

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

(1 John 1:9-10)

Meditation

How many times a day do I sin? Far too many, I can tell you that. Even once a day is too many, but I have to be honest. It’s really not hard to fall into behaviors that are displeasing to God. All it takes is to stop praying for a few days, and the supernatural strength we get from God is weakened. It is extremely important to have a meaningful prayer time you set aside in your day. If you are married, do you regularly speak to your spouse, or do you ignore them for days or weeks on end? How long would your marriage last if you ignored them? It’s the same with God. Can we call ourselves Christians, and go through periods of our lives not speaking to the Lord? A good relationship requires constant communication. If you want to have a real relationship with the Father in heaven, talk to him every day!

If you’re like me, and not a perfect human, you need to regularly humble yourself before the Lord and confess your recent sins. Just because Jesus has cleansed us does not mean we never sin again. Even if you are the best person in the world, and you’ve been saved for 50 years, you will still fall short of the glory of God. If you think, because you confessed your sins on the day you were saved, and you don’t have to confess again, think again. Yes, you only have to ask for forgiveness once for a singular sin or set of sins, but it doesn’t cover the sins you will commit in the future. One of the things that’s true about God is, he will be faithful to forgive, with your honest and humble confession.

I once heard a false teacher on the radio. His listeners wondered if they needed to regularly ask for forgiveness. His answer, ‘Just don’t sin anymore!’ He proceeded to tell his audience that he repented of sin over 40 years before, and was forgiven then, once and for all. He was now living in righteousness and didn’t sin anymore. He must think God is a liar! One thing we don’t want to do is become self-righteous about sin. The Apostle John wasn’t writing this passage to the unsaved people of the Roman province of Asia. He was writing to the saved people of the 1^st century Church, and all of us. Remember, we all sin. We all fall short. We all need forgiveness, and he is faithful.

Prayer Time

Heavenly Father, we are continuously failing to live up to your righteous standard. Jesus illustrated the perfect and blameless life for us when he was here but, in our ignorance and rebellion, we still sin. We all fall short of your glory and need your forgiveness. However, our earnest confession will always bring your forgiveness. You are always faithful and just even when we act like pitiful, spoiled children. Thank you, Father, for making us clean each time we fall. Thank you for the blood of Jesus that washes away the filth and makes us presentable to you. Lord, there are times when, because of pride, we want everyone to think we have no sin in our lives. Remind us we are literally calling you a liar when we think or say that. We want to always be true to you and your will for our lives. Help us to read your Word every day and absorb the message of love into our hearts. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!