it sets you free…

when we let others into our problems and our hurts and our pains and our sins amazing benefits take place in our lives.  when i share my hidden secrets with another person, first of all its liberating.
 
JESUS said, “when you know the truth the truth sets you free.” now anytime someone said to me, “i’ve never told this to anybody but i’m going to tell this to you.  you’re my pastor.”  i filled up with hope on the inside.  i knew that person was about to experience freedom. 

the moment you share your secret sin with somebody else it starts weakening the grip on your life by the second, instantly.  all of a sudden that grip that’s got you by the jugular and that guilt that’s got you all tied up, it starts weakening instantly. 

you haven’t done anything about it.  but by simply sharing it with another person it starts making it easier.  when you talk about it, the grip is broken on your life.  it’s liberating.  it’s setting you free. 

you see, hiding a hurt only intensifies it.  when we wear a mask it makes us miserable.  we spend all this emotional energy trying to pretend we’re something we’re not.  it feels good once you’ve done it.  it’s liberating because it’s your secrets that make you sick.  all of a sudden the pressure starts to dissipate when you’ve told one other person about the thing that you’ve never told anybody about. 

just a thought from the front porch…

it’s free…

we are looking at the ways that GOD forgives and HE not only forgives me instantly and repeatedly but HE also forgives me freely. 

you say, “free?  that’s too good to be true!  there’s got to be some catch to it.  a price tag for it.  it doesn’t seem fair to go scot free.  i blow it and GOD just forgives me freely.  HE just lets me go scot free.  somebody needs to pay for this.”

and you’re right.  somebody did.  HIS name is JESUS CHRIST.  JESUS CHRIST has already paid for all your sins. 

romans 3:23-24 (cev), all of us have sinned and fallen short of GOD’s glory.  but GOD treats us much better than we deserve, and because of CHRIST JESUS, HE freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.

what does it mean when GOD forgives us freely? 

well for one it means that you can’t buy your forgiveness.  you can’t pay GOD off through church attendance or tithing or doing good things.  you can’t buy your freedom.  you can’t buy your forgiveness from GOD.  it’s free.

for another, you can’t bargain with GOD.  you can’t say, “if you’ll forgive me i’ll never do it again.”  you may misunderstand the difference between confession and repentance.  confession takes care of the past.  repentance takes care of the future. 

when you come to GOD and you need forgiveness you just confess.  you say, “GOD, you’re right.  it was wrong.  you’re right.  i sinned.  you’re right, i blew it.”  that’s not promising to never do it again.  repentance is what you do when you change for the future.  confession is when you say to GOD, “i agree with you.” 

the word “confess” in greek is homologeo.  “homo” means “same.”  “logeo” means “word”.  it means to speak the same, say the same thing as GOD.  “you’re right, GOD.  that was wrong.”  that’s all it means.  you come to GOD and say, i was wrong.  you don’t bargain with him – “GOD, if you forgive me, i’ll never do it again.”

you also don’t try to bribe GOD.  “GOD if you’ll forgive me, i’ll teach the preschoolers.  i’ll give twenty percent tithes.”  you don’t bribe GOD.  you don’t bargain with GOD.  you don’t try to buy it. 

and you don’t beg.  you don’t say, “oh, please, please, please.  pretty please with sugar on it!” 

like you’ve got to pray fifteen years to get forgiveness over something.  remember GOD is more willing to forgive you than you are willing to ask.  you don’t beg GOD.  you don’t bribe, bargain, you don’t buy. 

just a thought from the front porch…