“When you confess your sin, it no longer defines you. You are defined by the grace of God.”

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) in his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (pp. 139-140). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition.

I love the story about a woman who said that God talked to her personally. Her pastor heard her telling someone that and he took her aside to set her straight. He wanted to prove to her that God didn’t talk to her so he said, “Now the next time you are talking to God would you ask Him something that He only knows about me, would you ask Him, ‘What was the last sin that I asked Him to forgive me for?’ Would you ask Him?” She said she would.

A few days later, the pastor met with her and he asked her if she had asked God, “What was the last sin that he had asked Him to forgive his for?” She said she had. The pastor then asked knowing that he had her now, “Well what did He say?” She then said that He said, “I don’t remember.”

Now of course that didn’t really happen but it does make a correct point that at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 you and I need to realize. That is if you confessed any sin that you did this past year or any time in your life, if you confessed it to God, for one, He has forgiven you and for another, He has forgotten it. Because of Christ’s death on the cross that sin if you confessed it has been totally done away with. It is as if you have not done it in God’s mind.

Now wouldn’t that be a great thing to have happen on this last day of 2011? You would go somewhere and in the quietness of your heart you would just say, “Jesus, I confess to you that I have sinned. I know that I have done things that you didn’t want me to do. Please forgive me of those sins, those things. Thank You, so much for forgiving me and for forgetting that I ever did those things. Come into my life, into my heart and live in and through me.” I John 1.9 (NCV) says, “But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.”

That sin will no longer define you because to God it didn’t happen. Oh maybe your parents or your spouse or your friends remember it but He doesn’t. To Him and to you it no longer defines you. God’s grace, His unmerited favor, has freed you from the guilt of that action. Just accept it and move forward even if those around you don’t. That is there problem.

Now there may be some things you need to do, such as pay back something you stole, or tell someone the truth because you lied to them, or ask someone’s forgiveness that you betrayed or whatever restitution you need to make because of your sin. God may ask you to do something to show you are serious and then you must determine not do it again. You change the direction of your life. Now if you do it again then just confess it and ask forgiveness and ask God to give you the power to not do it again.

Now don’t you think that would be a great way to end 2011 and to start 2012?

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...

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