Culpability
Toni Smothers
Scripture Reading: John 3:16-21
Scripture Quote: Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16 NIV)
Christians who profess to love God, also love, comfort and support each other, so that we can feel confident to share our troubles and mistakes without fear of gossip or betrayal of personal issues. But, this is an accountability that is not often pursued because our secrets can shame us. Where we might reveal an illness in a prayer request, that seems to be where our willingness to be vulnerable can often end. The idea of confessing our sins to one another makes some faint-hearted. God's Word instructs us to be accountable, humble our souls and openly seek another to pray for our specific sins, as we pray for theirs, which helps both to be more watchful of our slips.
We naturally want our friends to think well of us. When we admit to them offenses they would otherwise never have known, it humbles our pride and makes us deny rationalizations. We face ourselves in an amazingly fresh way - We definitely learn to desert self-applause. This confession is not meant for the Pastors or Elders of the church, but for other members of the church body. We can improve our faith walk when we share sin and prayer with a trustworthy Christian friend. Try it, you may not like it, but you will grow as a result of it.
Today’s meditation: Answerability improves sin-self-awareness.
Memory Verse: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 NIV)
Toni Smothers
Scripture Reading: John 3:16-21
Scripture Quote: Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16 NIV)
Christians who profess to love God, also love, comfort and support each other, so that we can feel confident to share our troubles and mistakes without fear of gossip or betrayal of personal issues. But, this is an accountability that is not often pursued because our secrets can shame us. Where we might reveal an illness in a prayer request, that seems to be where our willingness to be vulnerable can often end. The idea of confessing our sins to one another makes some faint-hearted. God's Word instructs us to be accountable, humble our souls and openly seek another to pray for our specific sins, as we pray for theirs, which helps both to be more watchful of our slips.
We naturally want our friends to think well of us. When we admit to them offenses they would otherwise never have known, it humbles our pride and makes us deny rationalizations. We face ourselves in an amazingly fresh way - We definitely learn to desert self-applause. This confession is not meant for the Pastors or Elders of the church, but for other members of the church body. We can improve our faith walk when we share sin and prayer with a trustworthy Christian friend. Try it, you may not like it, but you will grow as a result of it.
Today’s meditation: Answerability improves sin-self-awareness.
Memory Verse: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 NIV)
RSS Feed