Confessional Friends

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." James 5:16

I touched on this on Sunday, but we don't practice enough of it. We don't talk honestly and openly enough about those things that keep us from God.

But when we do several things happen. First, there is something powerfully healing that happens when people confess their sins to one another in an authentic way. It's out of the darkness and into the light! You've cut off it's source of life.

Secondly, there is bonding into strands of our lives. New trust levels are entered into and friendships are allowed to go beyond what's on the surface. We are truly able to pray into one another's lives and not just at one another's lives.

Thirdly, confession creates covenant. When we voice our disdain over something in our life we are saying: 'This is who I am and I want to change!' We create this covenant with the other person of desiring to move nearer to God.

How about you . . . How have you seen confession bring great power and wonderful results??

Baseball, Steroids and Truth

"The shadow of your sin will overtake you; you'll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark." (Proverbs 5:22)

Barry Bonds . . . Roger Clemens . . . now, Alex Rodriguez . . . they've all proven this proverb in recent time. You can run, but you can't hide. (These are 3 of the greatest ever Major League baseball players who have either confessed to - or the evidence points against them - taking steroids to enhance their careers.)

And before I (or we) start sounding smug, we all know it as well. We've tried to hide. And when we try to live in darkness it's oppressive and miserable.

But I've also seen the truth of this proverb revealed loudly through baseball and steroids:
"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Proverbs 28:13

Jason Giambi, Andy Petite (two other players who confessed and didn't try to hide using steroids) and now Rodriguez have come clean . . . and in Rodriguez own words: "When you take this gorilla . . . off your back, you realize that honesty is the only way."

There is life and forgiveness in confession, but in prideful hiding there is death. A great picture from this for all of us.


And yes, I will end by answering the question on all of your minds.
Unequivocally, NO.
I have never taken steroids to help enhance my sermon preparation. Although I have drank a whole lot of coffee :)

Cross Training

The last few months as I've been preparing for the Austin Half-marathon, my cousin and trainer, has had me 'cross-training.'

I run every other day. I do a 'maintenance run' one day (4-4.5 miles) then two days later I run 'intervals' (not my favorite . . . 40 minutes total . . . jog 10 minutes, then for the next 20 minutes alternate between 2 minutes sprinting and one minute jogging, then end with 10 minutes jogging). Two days later I do a maintenance run; then two days after that I do a 'long run', increasing a mile each week. Then I start over.

It was explained to me how all these workouts have their different purposes to prepare me (I won't go into the messy details).

I've been talking about having a vision of following Jesus in a multiplying way, and if that is going to happen there are many ways we 'cross train' in getting there.

There are many different 'spiritual practices' that help us to mature in different ways. To this point I've talked a lot about reading God's Truth because it is basic and vital.
But we also moved towards God by exercising spiritually in other ways. Here's a few of them:

- Times of reflection and prayer - we need this daily to not just read, but meditate and respond to God

- Journaling - for me it's an awesome way to express myself to God and to record what He is telling me

- Hanging out with other believers - don't think this is a 'spiritual practice'? Read Acts 2

- Fasting - Yeah, I know I hate not eating too! But I find peace in the midst of it. And don't put it in a box. Fasting is simply giving up something that we depend on so that we can focus deeper on God.

- Confession - not only does James say that it brings healing (James 5:16), but confession creates a covenant to follow God (I did a whole post on this, click here to check it out)

- Celebration - didn't know God was into that? The Bible says that all of heaven celebrates when one persons life is changed for eternity! When we celebrate Him it renews our heart!

- Giving - pay for person in line behind you at Whataburger and watch what it does to your desire to serve others.

This is just the beginning of the list! Don't limit your growth. Find new ways to seek God and take others with you.

Which of these would you expand on, or what have you found to help you grow more like Jesus, let us know?

Confession Thoughts

Sunday's sermon was one of the hardest I've ever preached.

Not so much because of what I publicly confessed (most of you weren't surprised), but more so because of how God is still dealing with the edges of my heart in those areas. It seems that the nearer we get to Jesus - and believe me I'm not trying to profess being very near - but with each small step towards Jesus, the darkness of our own heart becomes more vivid in the Light of the King.

I find myself more and more searching for mercy like David: "Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stains of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin." (Psalm 51)


But something else about confession itself that becomes more clear to me is this: Confession creates Covenant. I read that a while back and wasn't too sure . . .

But it's true. When we confess the darkness of our hearts to others, we are initiating a covenant. In confession what we are really saying is: 'This is who I really am, and I desire to change. I don't want to live there anymore. I want my life to change.'

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." (James 5)

Not ever easy. . . But freeing.