The If Then's of God's Promises

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 NKJV

If… then.
If… then.
If… then.

If (my part)… then (God’s part).

This is probably one of my FAVORITE verses in the Bible. I am incredibly ENCOURAGED by God’s promises. Who doesn’t want a giant helping of forgiveness? I know I do (and if you don’t, let me know because I’ll take your share as well).

We’ve all got a past. We’ve all done things and said things we wish we didn’t do or say. We’ve all fallen short. We’ve all sinned (in Romans 3:23 Paul reminds us that we’re all in this together). Don’t feel bad. It’s not just you. You’re not alone.

Many of us, if not MOST of us, can’t move passed our past. We get stuck; trapped by fear, guilt, and shame. We feel unworthy. We don’t want anyone to find out about it and we sure as heck aren’t going to tell somebody about it.

This is why God’s promise of forgiveness is so flippin’ AWESOME! He doesn’t say, “Shame on you, you’ll never amount to anything with a past like that!” NO!!! He says, “If you CONFESS it, I will FORGIVE it.” Not only will He FORGIVE you, this promise says He’ll CLEANSE you. Think of the last time you spilled something on your pants or shirt and how frantically you tried to get the stain out… why? To CLEAN it! For whatever reason when something is STAINED we consider it RUINED. We toss it to the side. We wear it less. It becomes something we wear when we work on the car or outside in the yard. That’s YOUR life and God doesn’t want you to stay like that!

If you CONFESS…
Then God will FORGIVE and CLEANSE.

Don’t be the dirty shirt. Don’t throw your life aside like it’s meaningless and purposeless. Your past doesn’t dictate your present and it sure as heck doesn’t shape your future! You can and will be made NEW in Christ, through confession. If God says He’ll do it, consider it done.

Reflect:

• You’re only as sick as your secrets. What are the things you need to confess?
• Have you asked God to show you someone you can trust enough to share you secrets?
• If God promises forgiveness and to be made new, why do we avoid it?
• Are you ready to start living an open and honest life?