CONFESSION
Minister Francine Stuart,
What is confession? Most times we identify the word confession with
negatives. The American Heritage Dictionary defines confession as “a
formal statement acknowledging one’s guilt”. It is necessary for us to
acknowledge our sins so that we can see and understand our weaknesses. It
gives us the opportunity to repent for the wrong things that we did in the past
as we come to God for forgiveness and receive our cleanliness through Jesus
Christ. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that he will forgive your sins Acts 3:19 If we confess our sins to God,
he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all our wrongdoing. 1st John 1:9
Confession can also be
a wonderful and positive thing. It is the unchanging mental and heartfelt
attitude that we are who God says we are. We confess with our mouth that
we are saved from eternal damnation. For it is by our faith that we are
put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. Romans
10:10
Once we have accepted
Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become God’s sons and daughters
God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us His
children - this was his pleasure and purpose. Ephesians 1:5
Since we are His
children, we have every right to see ourselves the way He sees us. As we repeat
the wonderful things that our Heavenly Father says about us, His words will
enter our spirit and we will realize that we are so much more than who we thought we were. Our confession will become our
reality! Some of the statements God made about us that will cause us to
reach a higher level than the one that we always thought we were doomed to stay
in are:
1. I confess that
I am healed from any illness, whether physical or mental, that is trying to
take over my body and/or mind. He (Jesus) took our sins on himself,
giving his body to be nailed on the tree, so that we, being
dead to sin, might have a new life in righteousness, and by his wounds we have
been made well. 1 Peter 2:24
2. Since I gave
my life over to Jesus Christ, I am a new person. My sins were washed away and
God threw them into the sea of forgetfulness. My past is no longer my
enemy? If any man is in Christ, he is in a new world: the old things have come
to an end; they have truly become new. 2
Corinthians 5:17
3. I am
successful! God planned my success before I was born and even
though I went my own way, it is not too late! Be sure that the book of the Law
(the Bible) is always read in your worship. Study it
day and night, and make sure that you obey everything
written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8
God says many other
uplifting things about us and they can all be found in the Bible. We can
believe them because He is the way the truth and the life. Jesus said, "I
am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart
from me. John 14:16
Minister Francine Stuart
