Tuesday, January 2, 2018 The Corporate Disciplines The Discipline of Confession Part 1: Confession Reconsidered

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

The Corporate Disciplines

The Discipline of Confession Part 1: Confession Reconsidered

Good morning! It is great to be with all of you today. Every morning, I get excited about digging in to God’s Word, praying together with you for our children, and sharing my heart as the Lord leads. It is so good to have all of you to walk out this journey together!

As promised, today I’ll resume study of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. Up until now, we have studied the individual disciplines, both inward and outward. We now embark on the final group of disciplines, the Corporate Disciplines.  For past devotionals, you should be able to scroll through. Let me know if I can help! I do encourage everyone to buy Celebration of Discipline for your library, as it is such a rich pillar in our modern church. It is always my joy to share with each of you. Thank you for joining me!

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Philippians 2:12-13

¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Excerpt:

“The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.”

 —AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

At the heart of God is the desire to give and to forgive. Because of this, he set into motion the entire redemptive process that culminated in the cross and was confirmed in the resurrection. The usual notion of what Jesus did on the cross runs something like this: people were so bad and so mean and God was so angry with them that he could not forgive them unless somebody big enough took the rap for the whole lot of them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Love, not anger, brought Jesus to the cross. Golgotha came as a result of God’s great desire to forgive, not his reluctance. Jesus knew that by his vicarious suffering he could actually absorb all the evil of humanity and so heal it, forgive it, redeem it.

Without the cross the Discipline of confession would be only psychologically therapeutic. But it is so much more. It involves an objective change in our relationship with God and a subjective change in us. It is a means of healing and transforming the inner spirit.

(Foster, Richard J.. Celebration of Discipline: The Path To Spiritual Growth (p. 143-144). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.)

… if we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinners, we are freed to hear the unconditional call of God’s love and to confess our needs openly before our brothers and sisters. We know we are not alone in our sin. The fear and pride that cling to us like barnacles cling to others also. We are sinners together. In acts of mutual confession we release the power that heals. Our humanity is no longer denied, but transformed.

(Foster, Richard J.. Celebration of Discipline: The Path To Spiritual Growth (pp. 145-146). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.)

Devotional:

Confession. It is a subject I do love to talk about, though I realize the difficulty it presents for so many. Because of the tragic mindset of feeling God’s plan of salvation was the angry response to our “badness” outlined above, as Pastor Foster describes many believers are caught in a trap of pretending to be “fine” and missing the opportunity for daily healing through confession. Truth be told, most people I personally know don’t have the safety of a confessing relationship that is ongoing. I am blessed with a safe mentoring relationship, but perhaps most importantly God has helped me to live a fully confessed life with my husband and on a smaller scale with my children.

I can’t iterate enough that confession is our friend! It is our gift and our privilege. It is a catalyst for intimacy with our Father, and allows us to daily walk out healing that otherwise would build to crippling proportions. Living with overt or hidden sin, wrong attitudes, and in denial of personality flaws hinders us from true freedom. In reality, this is a lifelong process of “working out our salvation.” We will not become like Him until we see Him face to face (1 John 3:2, 1 Corinthians 13:12), but we will be transformed as we press in throughout our lives as a believer. I am excited to share this with you today, because I know that each time we revisit this truth many of us will move one step closer to trusting our kind, loving Father as He leads us to true and heartfelt repentance. I also want to remind you that if you need to share a confession, you are welcome to contact me through Facebook Messenger or by email at onethingwoman@gmail.com. Still, I am only one believer in a sea of those who love the Lord and desire to share hearts. I pray that each of us will find other face-to-face believers with whom to share our confessions. As we do, we can foster in our homes a safe place for our children to learn to live a confessed life.

God bless us all today as we pray together and lay our hearts before the throne!

Prayer:

Thanksgiving:

Gracious Heavenly Father, I am so thankful today for the honor of entering Your Throneroom by the Blood of the Lamb. I give You praise, honor and glory. You are mighty, majestic, glorious and worthy of my praise. I love You, Father! I give You my heart and lift my hands in Your Name.

Confession:

Today I thank You anew that I am safe to come before You and open my heart for confession and healing. I thank You that You are not angry with me, and You are not waiting to pounce on me for my sin, but You have set me free from the law of sin and death by Your Holy Spirit (Romans 8:2). I bring my confession before Your Throne. (If you do not have a safe person or people to confess with, I pray with you now that God will bring this person or people and create a supernatural and safe bond for healthy Godly confession) (Take time to journal your confession. I encourage you to share this confession, whether with me privately or with a trusted believer.)

Supplication:

I lift my needs to You today, Father, and I thank You that I have this privilege as well. Perfect the things that concern me. I cast anxiety and worry and control down at Your feet and give my cares and needs to You. Help me not to take them back up after this time with You but to continue to lift them throughout my day for Your divine intervention. (Take time to journal needs and concerns. Make note of even the smallest changes. God is for you, my friend!)

Intercession:

I lift my children to You today. (Hint: This is a great time to also intercede for your spouse! I concentrate now on my immediate family. If time allows and throughout the day it’s great to also pray for needs of others, but I encourage us as moms and dads to focus first on our homes and families. Journal needs, requests, progress and victories for each child in your home.(

Thanksgiving and Consecration:

I thank You once again for the time in Your Presence. May Your Presence surround me and our family this day and every day. Let us flow with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).  In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

Blessing and Benediction:

2 Corinthians 1:2

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bless each of you as you go forth, confessed and ready for this day!