“Confession isn’t about JUDGING a sin. It’s about HEALING a sinner.”
Ever wondered where Confession came from and why it’s so important? What actually happens when I confess and also, what happens if I don’t?
That’s our topic in Part 4 of After the Resurrection. We’re looking at the sacrament of Confession and how it is the mystery by which we “receive the healing touch of Christ today.”
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“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9
What’s the one subject that we - as followers of Christ - talk about a lot, but practice very little? CONFESSION.
And what’s the one habit that will directly impact your spiritual growth and maturity more than any other? Yep, same one… CONFESSION.
And most importantly, what's the one practice that will DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE to your ability to feel God's love and mercy and forgiveness... and at the same time DESTROY the feelings of guilt and shame and isolation? Ding ding ding... you guessed it... CONFESSION again!
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It’s the word that no one likes to hear. It’s uncomfortable. It’s intimidating. And at times, it’s downright frightening. The mere mention of this word brings to mind a myriad of emotions and rarely are any of them positive ones. But regardless of how negative our perception of this word might be, we all know we need to hear it and more importantly, we need to do it!
What is it that word? ACCOUNTABILITY
Read More“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” Proverbs 12:22
Have you ever wondered why lying is such a big deal to God? Who cares if we tell “white lies”? Is it really that big a deal? Well, based on the verse above, the answer is YES!
And the reason why has less to do with the impact of our lies on others, and more to do with the impact of our lies on ourselves. Check out part 4 in our No Big Deal? series above to see for yourself.
Read More"For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore TURN and LIVE!” (Ezekiel 18:32)
We're halfway through the Spiritual Sweat journey (and Lent) and now it's time for the rubber to meet the road. It's time to put our humility and honesty into action through the practice of REPENTANCE.
What is repentance? It's more than a feeling... more than just confessing my sins. Repentance = CHANGE and if you want to know what that change looks like, check out Part 4 in Spiritual Sweat II above.
Read More"GOD WON'T HEAL WHAT YOU DON'T ADMIT."
It's Week 3 in Spiritual Sweat II and this week we're talking about HONESTY - not honesty of the mouth, but honesty of the heart. We need to be honest about our true spiritual condition because - as Jacob saw when he wrestled with God - that's the only way to see God and revive our hearts.
So get ready. This week's message was a bit of a tough one and it isn't for the spiritually faint of heart. But if you're looking for revival, it might be just what the doctor ordered.
Read More"It's my anger that gets me in trouble; but it's my pride that keeps me there." Mark Twain
Humility is the foundation of our Christian life. It's knowing who we are and who we are NOT. Without humility, there is no connection with God. The problem though is understanding what is humility is (and what it isn't).
That's our topic in this week in Spiritual Sweat II. We're talking about humility - the mother of all virtues. What is humility? How can we measure humility? And what can we do to increase our humility?
“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15
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Merry Christmas everyone! I know Christmas was three days ago but it seems like the party’s just ending now. I think because it fell on a weekend, this year’s Christmas felt more like a week-long event as opposed to just one day.
And in case you’re wondering how I spent that week, below are a few of the many highlights from an action-packed week:
“Believe me, the most important work of the fathers (priests & bishops), of every advisor and preacher, is the invitation to the sinful person to assess himself in the presence of God, in the light of His commandments, as did…the prodigal son, of whom it is rightly said: ‘he returned to himself.’” Pope Shenouda III
We’re on our third and final installment in the discussion of The Life of Repentance and Purity (got something fun planned next week) and this week we’re on Part 3: The Means of Repentance (How to Repent). I’m only going to mention one point from this section and I’ll let you explore the rest on your own
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“True repentance is a human longing for the origin from which we were taken.” ~ Pope Shenouda III
As I mentioned last week, the STSA church family is reading a great book together for Lent: The Life of Repentance and Purity, by the late Pope Shenouda III. This book was originally written back in the 1980's but was republished by SVS Press just last week and the new edition is FABULOUS!
The content of Pope Shenouda’s books have always been great, but the translation has been the problem. But this edition is written beautifully and is super easy to read. I sat down for 30 minutes one night and read almost 1/5 of the book. HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT
Read More“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:13-14
All good things must come to an end. Yesterday was the 5th and final message in one of the most eye-opening and life-transforming series' we've ever done at The Well - IDENTITY CRISIS: The Search for Me.
The subject? THE GREAT MASTERPIECE (ie, YOU!). YOU were formed and fashioned by the hand of God - the same hand that is holding the universe together as we speak. You were not just created by God as part of some assembly line output; you were "knit together" in your mother's womb - ALL of you, warts and all.
Why? Because YOU are not an ordinary creation. YOU are a masterpiece...and you always will be!
The other day I was discussing love and faith with a friend and this question came up: “would I forgive my wife if she cheated on me?”
(For all the women reading, please reverse all genders, ie. “would I forgive my husband if he cheated on me?”)
My answer was an immediate “OF COURSE I WOULD! If I couldn't forgive her, how on earth could I ever hope that God would forgive me?”
But it’s important to realize that forgiveness and repentance are two COMPLETELY different things.
Read More"Why try? You're never gonna succeed? You might as well give up and stop fighting."
Recognize that voice? That's the voice that we hear during the second round of our fight with failure as we encounter the enemy of DISINTEREST (or apathy). That's when we've failed so many times and we don't think we'll ever succeed. So instead of fighting what we perceive as a losing battle, we throw in the towel and say "it's not that bad...I don't need to fight...I could try if I wanted but I don't really care..."
Dealing with that disinterest was the topic of Round 3 in the Fighting Failure series. In the message, we look at King David - a giant slayer and a man after God's heart - who messed up in a royal manner (pun intended). But once again, we see that it isn't David's failure that defines him - but rather it's his response to failure instead.
“Therefore you shall be PERFECT, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48
Perfect? YEAH RIGHT! Are you kidding me? Is that even possible? That's the question that we discussed yesterday in the Week 5 series finale of God's Ethics: Realigning Your Moral Compass.
The key is in understanding what the word "perfect" really means. If you define it as "sinless" or "without any blemish", then you're going to feel frustrated and discouraged. But is that how Jesus meant it?
I say NO! And I invite you to check out the message above to see for yourself. You'll discover that perfection isn't at all what you think it is and that actually, it's a lot more within your reach than you realize.
Week 4 of the Extreme Makeover: PRAYER Edition series and this week we moved into one of the most essential rooms in the house of prayer...THE WASHROOM! What's the washroom of prayer? It's REPENTANT PRAYER and we all need it. Why? It isn't so much about the sins we do as it is about the state we're in. Or in other words, we are not sinners because we do sinful things; we do sinful things because we are sinners.
Take a listen and see for yourself. And if anything stands out to you and you think it's worth sharing, be sure to use the hashtag #PrayerMakeover when you share it.
This week's message in the Spiritual Sweat series focused on what I believe is the toughest of the disciplines - but also the most rewarding. CONFESSION. Think you know what confession is all about? Take a listen and see.
These days, Fr. Anthony is talking about marriage in his series, For Better or For Worse. So that got me thinking… how does all of this sound advice for married people apply to me? I’m not married, but somehow I should be able to apply this to myself spiritually. Right?
As I thought about this more, I started thinking about my wedding day (yes, every girl does) so naturally the first thing that came to mind was the dress. And with that, THE VEIL. Tradition teaches that the veil is worn by the bride as she walks towards her groom and the father of the bride unveils her before giving her away. I’ve also seen it where the groom is the one who unveils his bride. Interesting thought.
To me, that’s a symbol of the oneness the bride and groom share when they are finally married; she walks to him veiled, and then she becomes unveiled before him – like a precious gift. I’m not sure how you feel, but for me, THAT’S A SCARY THOUGHT!
My first reaction to this unveiling business was “NO THANK YOU!”
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Finally! It’s finally time to stop talking about LIVING in the pit. It is now time to start packing up our bags and talking about LEAVING the pit. Today I want to answer the question that I’ve heard repeatedly since I started these posts earlier this week…HOW DO I GET OUT OF THE PIT?
First, the game plan. The path to escaping your pit begins with a DECISION and is then followed by a PROCESS. A decision, then a process. The decision is something you can do today – you say I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. That is the first thing that the Prodigal Son did. He came to himself and said “I don’t belong in here. I am choosing to do whatever it takes to get back to my father’s table.”
But the decision was only step one. The decision alone was not enough to restore him back to his father’s table – he still had to get up, walk back to the house, ask for forgiveness and consent to his father’s will. Same with you too. You can make a decision today but unless you follow up that decision with some effort, you’re unlikely to find success.
Getting out of the pit is a DECISION followed by a PROCESS. The decision is “I don’t belong here and I will no longer accept life in the pit. I was made to live in a palace, not a pit – not because I am good but because God is my Father.” Romans 8:16-17 says “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
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