Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
4/1/2021
Mea Culpa – HOLY WEEK – Part 3
As we consider more of the darkness of holy week, did you know that we quench the joy of fellowship with God when we refuse to confess our offenses to man? Peter related this to marriage and said that “if a husband sins against his wife, his prayers will be hindered” 1 Peter 3:7
If we want the joy of seeing and savoring God in Christ,
we must not make peace with our sins.
We must make war.
Listen to the experience of David that comes from unconfessed and unforsaken sin in his life: Psalm 32:2 – 3 “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long”. These words are full of hope. We can hold fast to our sin, keep it secret, and “groan all day long” in darkness or we can confess it and experience the stunning experience of “the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity”. Ps 32:1
The Incredible hope of confessing and renouncing sin is that the Lord does not rub it in our face but cancels it. Galatians 3:13 “Christ bore the wrath of God for that sin”. So we don’t have to. 2nd Cor 5:21 the shame will not haunt us. “Christ clothes us with his own righteousness”.
As we come near the end of holy week and as we ponder both the deep, unconscious depravity of our souls and the presumptuous sins of our wills, we should pray the words of Psalm 19:12-13:
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless.
innocent of great transgression.!
We have hidden faults that we cannot even confess because we don’t know what they are. And we have sins that we know about. It is good news to realize there is a biblical prayer that covers both. Declare me innocent of the ones I don’t know about because of Christ’s blood, and keep back your servant from the ones I do know how about by Christ’s power.
If you hold fast to the sin instead of renouncing it and fighting it,
darkness will remain as a severe but merciful witness
to the outcome of cherished idols.
Do not be content with whispering your sin to God. Although that is good. Very good. But He offers us something more: James 5:16 “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed”. There is a release and healing that flows from confessing not only to God in the secret place of your heart, but also to a trusted friend, or to a person you have offended. The tender words, I’m sorry, will you forgive me? Are one of the surest paths to joy.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”.
Will you not stop and pray with us and your family for one hour this week?
He listens!
Darlene Zschech Hillsong And that my soul knows very well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2dzy4qRJUU
Excerpts are taken from John Piper When Darkness will not LIft
