Confession

What is confession? Well, it's the act of confessing! Oh, that really helps. So what does it mean to confess? Zondervan's Pictorial Bible Dictionary, gerneral edition, states "To confess is openly to acknowledge one's faith in anything as in the existence and authority of God, or the sins of which one has been guilty (p 180). "

Can you imagine the great and glorious day when "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11)?" It will be the great and glorious day we who put our hope in God anxiously await. We want this day to come. It will be the day when God will fulfill all His promises. We wait in earnest expection...huh? We wait with confidence, wanting the day to come quickly. We don't wait with worry and with anxiety that sins will remain and the resurrection will not take place. We don't wait with the desire for this day to be prolonged. No, we want it now! We know our Lord will make good on His promises. He is so big and so mighty that He forgives sin and gives life eternal. This day will be spectacular, the day of praise. It will be the day God deserves, to be given the full honor, respect, praise, glory, etc.!

So, I confess to you, Jesus is Lord and has all authority on heaven and on earth. There is no authority over Him. He left His home with all pure love and completeness and came into this broken and sinful world in the lowest conditions to live amongst broken and sinful people. He endured temptation relying upon the Father and remained faithful, without sin. He endured a horrible death for me so that my sins would be forgiven. He didn't stay in the grave. No, He came to life again. He has the authority to lay down His life and to take it up again. Therefore, He has only one confession: the good news, God is life, the author of life, and the authority over life."

So, I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, yet use my mouth for great destruction. What is wrong with me? Seriously, how can I allow my mouth to do this? James 3:9-10 states, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brother, this should not be." I agree. How can I use my mouth to degrade and destroy the beautiful creation of my God, especially the creation designed like God? How can I give my mouth over to evil works, yet claim Jesus is the authority and life? This is quite a controversy! Jesus warns against this in Matthew 12:34-37, "for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." So, the problem lies within my heart? Oh, this is just getting worse. Not only is my mouth being used for destruction, my heart is evil. Jesus continues to say, "the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words yo will be acquitted, and by your words yo uwill be condemned." So, I am standing condemned before my God?

What about those promises of God in which I hope: forgiveness and resurrection? Ah, Let's talk about the promise in forgiveness. 1 John 1:8-9 says, "if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins." Did you catch that? He is faithful to forgive. Acts 19:18 gives us a great example of confession, "many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds."

Can you imagine people coming together and confessing? I'm not talking about the confession of "I sinned." I'm speaking about confession of evil deeds, admitting the deeds done, acknowledging guilt."James 5:16 says, "confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." There is more purpose in confession: healing. Does this mean, my mouth will eventually stop the destroying and tearing down? I sure hope so!

This is just the beginning for me. I am learning about confession and its link to forgiveness and transformation. What I do know, I want my mouth to be used for God's good pleasure. I am tired of hurting others, bringing down others, disrespecting, cutting, destroying God's most precious creation, the creature He designed in His likeness. These creatures were made just as God made me. Confession is just part of the plan for giving my mouth over to God.

Here are some confessions about my mouth:
1. I haven't had my mouth checked by a dentist in almost 7 years. Yuck! I know....
2. I don't floss regularly...again...this is gross!
3. I use my mouth to indulge in food...all kinds of food...the more I can taste the better!
4. I have used my mouth to share my frustrations with people not invovled in the situation!
5. I have used my mouth to disrespect my parents and my husband.
6. I have used my mouth to protect my vainity and to self promote.
7. I have used my mouth to dishonor and speak unkind words about others.

May I be courageous to go to those I have sinned against and to the Lord to confess these sins. May a righteous man (check Ecclesiaster 7:20 for another discussion topic) pray with me and for me so that I will be healed. May God keep His promise to forgive. I want my mouth to be His forever!