A few months ago I read a biography about Martin Luther. I did it in preparation for my trip to Germany. I was actually at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany where Luther posted His ninety-five theses on Reformation Day.
As I read about Luther several things struck me. One of which was the simple fact that he would spend as much as six hours in a single day confessing his sin. What I drew from that is this: either he sinned a ton or he was incredibly detailed in his confession. One thing is certain, that amount of confession requires a great deal of self-examination.
Question: What is the longest confession you've ever made?
Here's a thought. I wonder if the objective of our confession is wrong. We want God to forgive us. But is that only objective? I think God wants us to discover, via confession, the sinful patterns and tendencies that destroy us spiritually. And then find ways to break those sinful habit.
I decided to bring in the New Year by practicing confession in a little different way. I spent a half-hour writing out my confession. It was sort of like a stream of consciousness writing assignment. I just let it flow. And I decided to write it out because writing forces me to be specific. Too often our confessions amount to this: forgive me for everything I've ever done wrong. That's weak. Vague confession = vague faith. Or to put it another way, half-hearted confession = half-hearted joy.
We need to be more courageous in our confession. That might mean confessing to a confidant. That might mean a written confession. I wrote six pages. And if I had taken more time I'm sure I could have written a lot more. Like everybody else, I have issues! Then after I had purged my soul, I put the six pages through the shredder. That allowed me to honest with myself and with God.
I think we try to move into the future without bringing closure to the past. Without the cross of Christ we're struck. We can't do anything about the past. But the blood of Christ is power over the past. We can begin again. We can start over.
As I read about Luther several things struck me. One of which was the simple fact that he would spend as much as six hours in a single day confessing his sin. What I drew from that is this: either he sinned a ton or he was incredibly detailed in his confession. One thing is certain, that amount of confession requires a great deal of self-examination.
Question: What is the longest confession you've ever made?
Here's a thought. I wonder if the objective of our confession is wrong. We want God to forgive us. But is that only objective? I think God wants us to discover, via confession, the sinful patterns and tendencies that destroy us spiritually. And then find ways to break those sinful habit.
I decided to bring in the New Year by practicing confession in a little different way. I spent a half-hour writing out my confession. It was sort of like a stream of consciousness writing assignment. I just let it flow. And I decided to write it out because writing forces me to be specific. Too often our confessions amount to this: forgive me for everything I've ever done wrong. That's weak. Vague confession = vague faith. Or to put it another way, half-hearted confession = half-hearted joy.
We need to be more courageous in our confession. That might mean confessing to a confidant. That might mean a written confession. I wrote six pages. And if I had taken more time I'm sure I could have written a lot more. Like everybody else, I have issues! Then after I had purged my soul, I put the six pages through the shredder. That allowed me to honest with myself and with God.
I think we try to move into the future without bringing closure to the past. Without the cross of Christ we're struck. We can't do anything about the past. But the blood of Christ is power over the past. We can begin again. We can start over.
8 Comments:
whoa, this is awesome. thanks! to answer your question, maybe about a half-hour.
Man, you've got a great point about being specific in confession. This type of confession is far better than the typical "forgive us our many sins" that is half-heartedly tacked on to the end of many prayers.
Thanks for being transparent and causing our inds to be stretched!
Your exercise in writing out your confessions is terrific. I'm sure not everyone gets the same release from writing. I've found that the more I practice writing out any types of prayer the more detailed and real the conversation becomes. Thanks for your encouragement.
Mark...our church, Shoreline(shorelinechurch.net). is tacking this very subject matter to start off the new year. We're calling the series "Censored". It's about how we censor our lives from others, instead of being real. We've set-up a mini-site to go along with this site, encouraging our members and friends to offer a sincere confession. Check it out: www.insecret.org The confessions we've received have been pretty unbelievable. Be praying for our church that we can deal with this subject matter in a way that will inspire our people to be real! Thanks fo all you do. Your church and blogs are very inspiring to me personally and are felt throughout our church!
One of the things I've discovered in confession is that, the more you do it, the more you realize just how much you need it. Honestly looking into the mirror of your soul and seeing that which is within only serves to unlock just how much we need Christ because it unveils the depths of our depravity.
However, the true power that comes in confession isn't the recognition of our sin, but the discovery of the fullness of the Gospel that counters that sin no matter how deep it goes. This is why, when I write out my confession, I always conclude by reading words that speak forgiveness and placing a large red cross over the words of my confession.
Brian,
Love the series idea!!!
Mark
I think it's also important to focus on positive confession. The word "confession" (greek Homologeo) simply means "to agree with" or "to assent". So when we are confessing our sin, we are agreeing with God that we are unrighteous.
The same goes for confessing the good things that God has done. If we agree with God about His redemption, His love, His will for our lives.
I've put it into practice in my life and while I confess my sins, I also spend a lot of time confessing the greatness of God.
Post a Comment
<< Home