Confession

Most Christians would agree that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. It's interesting that the Chinese word for sinner is "criminal" and one who sins commits a crime. I wonder if we would as readily agree to that. If we truly believe we are sinners, we must also admit that we are criminals, that we have committed innumerable crimes against our Father. I have been noticing that in my own prayers and in the prayers of others that I pray with, we rarely confess our sins. I think that it is because, deep down, we really don't believe that we are that bad. We seem to believe that God will forgive our little peccadilloes without us even mentioning them. We need to ask the Lord to help us remember to confess, to take time in our prayers to recall our crimes against him, and to humbly ask him to forgive us. Perhaps (do we dare?) we should "confess our sins one to another and pray for one another "so that you may be healed." James 5:16

Hell

"People are free in this world to live for themselves alone if they want to and let the rest go hang, and they are free to live out the dismal consequences as long as they can stand it. The doctrine of Hell proclaims that they retain this freedom in whatever world comes next. Thus the possibility of making damned fools of ourselves would appear to be limitless.
Or maybe Hell is the limit. Since the damned are said to suffer as dismally in the next world as they do in this one, they must still have enough life left in them to suffer with, which means that in their flight from Love, God apparently stops them just this side of extinguishing themselves utterly. Thus the bottomless pit is not really bottomless. Hell is the bottom beyond which God in his terrible mercy will not let them go.
Dante saw written over the gates of Hell the words "Abandon all hope ye who enter here," but he must have seen wrong. If there is suffering in Hell, there must also be hope in Hell, because where there is life there is the Lord and giver of life, and where there is suffering he is there too because the suffering of the ones he loves is also his suffering.
"He descended into Hell" the Creed says, and "If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there," the Psalmist (139:8). It seems there is no depth to which he will not sink. Maybe not even Old Scratch will be able to hold out against him forever." --Frederick Buechner

Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast of his might, nor let the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts, boast in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness, for in these things I delight. Jeremiah 9:23,24

Grandma and Grandpa love these verses. Knowing God is the most important thing we can do and to know Him we have to read his Word. He has exercised kindness over all of us for many years! The better you know Him, the more you will love Him.

God's Economy

We find our life when we lose it.
We are filled by pouring out.
To truly live, we die to self.
To recieve, we give.
He who wishes to be great must be servant of all.
The world betrays us with an ever-increasing lust for more.
Only Christ satisfies.

Confession

Perhaps one of the most important things we should do each day is to confess our sins to the Lord. Again, the Confession's response to "What is sin?" is "Any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God." We can't possibly go through a day without sinning - for me it is multiple times - and sin is what separates us from God. Don't make the mistake of thinking that our sins are "big" things. If you ever think you don't have much sin, just ask God to reveal your own heart to you. He has shown me so many disgusting, revolting things inside my heart - things like jealousy, bitterness, ingratitude, self-centeredness, greed, worry, lack of love, - and the list goes on and on. But the wonderful promise of God is that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ( Jn. 1:9). If you ever feel that God is not close to you, it is probably due to one or both of these things - lack of confession and/or trusting in your feelings. It is absolutely imperative that you trust in God's Word: He pardons our sins, He has compassion on our weaknesses, He redeems our life from the pit. Don't listen to Satan's lies.

(Eric sang this song in church today Casting Crowns East to West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6zdihmwy1M

Enjoy Him forever

The Westminster Confession of Faith has great appeal to me because of its simple format, yet profound responses. The answer to the question, "What is the chief end of man?" is simply, "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever." It has taken me many years to learn how to enjoy God. My prayer is that you will learn much sooner the joy of knowing Him and loving Him. He is no tyrant, He is no taskmaster. He does not desire that we live in a straitjacket, fearful of disobeying Him, lest we be punished for our foolishness. I love Psalm 119:32: "I run in th path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." His commands are not burdensome, but simply allow us freedom to live life as it was designed to be lived.