City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ 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. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Romans 7:21-24 (ESV)

³ For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up^{[Hebrew my vitality was changed]} as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵ I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Psalm 32:3-7

Reflection

Today I have two pictures of frogs for you.  The first frog is called a “Glass Frog,” and I think it is obvious where the name comes from.  You can literally see its insides.  Its skin is transparent.  The heart, the lungs, the internal organs are all there and easy to see.  So, if this frog had a sickness or disease, it would be fairly easy to locate it.  When we confess our sin, this is how it should be presented.  The more transparent the confession, the more complete the healing can be.

In the second picture is a Gray Tree Frog.  Have you found it yet?  It’s right there.  Yes, this is how we tend to approach confession.  We present our sin as if it can be plainly seen, but because it is surrounded by a lot of similar looking things, it is hard to identify.  The law of the spirit of life draws us to confession, but the law of sin and death obscures it.  So, not only does our sinful nature drive us to sin, but it also drives us to hide it.

As long as we keep our sin surrounded by the camouflaging distractions, we can trick ourselves into thinking that we have confessed, but in reality, we are keeping silent and our bones waste away.  It is not until we clear away the distractions, stop trying to cover it up, and openly acknowledge our sins that we are then able to move into real forgiveness.  Then our hearts can be cleansed and healed.

Application

Go to a quiet place to pray.  Ask God to revile to you your sin, and then apologies, repent, and accept His forgiveness.  Oh, sorry, I missed a step.  When God reviles your sin to you, acknowledge it as sin and agree that God is right in calling it sin.  Don’t let it be anything else, and don’t let the thought that this sin isn’t so bad take away from the work that God is doing.  Reject the camouflage.  This is the true nature of confession.

Bringing your confession to a close mature friend, who looks to God’s wisdom, and they should help clear away the confusion. This friend can support you with encouragement and accountability going forward.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I confess that I am a sinner, and that I have not done what You have told me to do.  I have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done and by what I have left undone.  I have not loved You with my whole heart.  I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I repent and I pray that You forgive me, heal me, and direct my steps going forward.  Amen.