TODAY IS…

a good day to agree with God.

“Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ – and You forgave the guilt of my sin.”  Psalm 32:5 NIV

Why do we need to confess if God is already aware of everything that we do? Is it even necessary that we confess our sins to the Lord?

The answer is an emphatic, “Yes!”

Confessing our sins to God is not revealing to Him something that He already knows. It is acknowledging that we have sinned and it is confirming our agreement with Him that what we did was wrong. When we do this, we are also acknowledging God’s desire to forgive us and our need for that forgiveness.

When we confess, we are also asking God to help us strengthen our resolve to forsake sin and follow Him. We are admitting to being human and seeking the Lord’s wisdom, strength and courage in resisting sin in its many forms.

Confession has the same cleansing effect on our soul as using soap and hot water does in removing dirt and filth from our bodies.

While it is true that the number of rules God wants us to live by is relatively small, those simple rules manifest themselves over and over throughout our daily lives, weaving their way in and out of everything that we think, say, or do. It is only through intense focus on God’s simple truths that we are able to get through any 24-hour period without having something that we need to bring to God and confess.

In other words, life presents us with hundreds of opportunities each day in which it is possible to sin. When we are aware that we are doing something that is sinful, we need to acknowledge it to the Lord and agree that we need to work harder and rely more upon Him to help us be better followers.

We wash our hands many times a day. Our souls could use a healthy scrubbing often as well, and that should be something we can all agree on.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson