Good morning, Church Family and Friends,
The idea of confession is frequently misunderstood. There are people who repeat the same immoral, hurtful, evil pattern over and over again, saying, “I’m sorry, God, forgive me!” Then they go out the very next day and do the exact same thing and that night say, “Sorry, God! Please forgive me!”
In one of his books, Lee Strobels wrote something that I believe was profound and true. He said, “When your desperation level exceeds your embarrassment level, then you’re a candidate for the grace of God.” In other words, when you and I get desperate enough to want to break the cycle of sin, and break the cycle of habits, and see real change — when you’re finally at that point — he says, “you’re a candidate for God’s grace.”
God will use that. The only thing I would add is that God has given us a tool: one another. In Imagine Church, you and I are surrounded by the hands and the feet, the eyes and the ears, and the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, as God has made us “a body.” Unless we use it, there may be very little change.
So, let me ask you: what’s winning out in your life? The embarrassment factor, or the desperation factor? What’s keeping you where you are? Would you like to see some change in your life? You see, this is why we’re so big in Imagine Church about community. One of the reasons we urge you to get to know each other and connect with each other is because there is such an open sense of accountability — where there is the freedom to confess, in confidence: “Hey, I’m struggling; pray for me; we’re going through some hard times; pray for us.”
Where is your desperation level, as opposed to your embarrassment level? Are you in relationship with other believers where you can sense that you have the freedom to begin moving in a new direction? Because confession isn’t about clearing your conscience. It’s not solely about getting forgiveness. Confession to one another is about a changed life.
For the sake of change,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
