Tags
assurance, Confession, Corruption, Holy Spirit, Moms In Prayer International, prayer, promises, Scripture, sin
Our DVD player is full of corruption. Not because of what we watch through it, but apparently because of the code it was programed with. Most times, we have no idea there is a problem. But certain movies contain data it lacks the code to read. We will put a disc in, and the machine cannot even tell there is a disc there, yet alone interpret the information to show us images and give us sound.
The first few times this happened, we would return the rental disc and request another one. We would try several and then give up. Recently when I called Netflix to ask if we were certain we were getting different discs of the same movie, the operator explained my DVD players corruption issue to me. She explained that only a patch designed to cover that certain flaw would help, and there were unfortunately not patches for all movies. Without a patch, the DVD player could not read the disc.
This made me think of the sin issue we all deal with, and how it affects our communication with God. Isaiah 59 tells us: Behold, the Lord‘s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness. (1-3)
Our corruption makes a separation between us and God. He is perfectly righteous and cannot bear to be in the presence of sin. And even though we are new creatures in Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we still have the remnants of our fallen human nature to contend with. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.(Romans 7:22-23) We sin, and will continue to sin, as long as we draw breath.
But if sin separates us from our Holy God, and keeps Him from hearing our prayers, what hope do we have? Where is the patch to fix our corruption? Of course, our hope is in Jesus. His blood cleanses us from our sin. His righteousness imputed to us is the patch that restores.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
Notice that John emphasizes the need for us to confess our sin. Light reveals the darkness of sin. We must come into the light of the Gospel and confess our sins to be forgiven and cleansed.
This is the second of the four steps of prayer taught by Moms In Prayer, International. After a time of praise to God, where we look at what the Bible and the Holy Spirit reveals to us about who God is, we need to think about ourselves. We need to acknowledge our sin. We need to ask the Spirit to bring to mind ways we have failed to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and ways we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
This is a time of silent confession, only between God and me. When we pray together in a group, sometimes the leader asks us to all quietly say “Amen” when we are finished. Other times, the leader just allows a few minutes and goes on. I always end the time with the gracious promise from 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This is good news! Our corruption no longer separates us from God, and we can enter into the throne room of grace.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Diane