Is Confession Enough?

"Mom, I need to confess something."

Those words from my 8 year old got my full attention. I turned around giving her complete eye contact and asked what it was. "You said I could have 1 piece of candy, but I got tempted and I ate half of a second piece, here it the other half," she said, handing me half of a marshmallow pole.

"Thank you for confessing this. I am proud of you, and I forgive you," I told her, throwing away the half eaten candy.  "Wait," she asked, "Can't I have the rest of it now?"  I almost laughed, but explained that no, she could not have the rest. I had told her one piece of candy, and while I appreciated her honesty, I meant one piece.  "But I thought if I told you I could have the rest...."

My precious child thought if she did the "right" thing, she would get the rest of the candy, guilt-free.  But that isn't the way confession works.  Proverbs 28:13 says, "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."  Friends, confession alone is not enough. We must renounce our sin. Renounce means to formally abandon something. Another word we use is repent.  Repent means to change direction, and to turn away from our sins. 

The Apostle Paul asks, "Shall we go on sinning so that grace can increase? By no means!" We may not just confess our sins, but we must also turn away from them, and change our behavior. It has been said that "confession is good for the soul," and that may be.  But it is repentance that saves it.

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 

Hebrews 10:26

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Sinful Colors

I saw an ad in Sunday's paper for this nail polish, "Sinful Colors." This bothered me for two reasons.

First, if there is a verse in the Bible that addresses what colors are sinful, I missed it! At a women's retreat I shared how I was once told a pair of shoes I owned were sinful. Oh, not in those exact words, but the implication was that they were not appropriate shoes for a Christian. Shoes?!? Yes, we should be modest in our dress (1 Tim 2:9), but if Jesus wore sandals (and he did according to John the Baptist who said, "I am not worthy to tie Jesus' sandals,") then it must be okay to show some toe. When we begin to judge what colors and shoes are biblically appropriate we are becoming like the pharisees in Jesus day. Jesus said, "What sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden." We need to stop crushing people with our religious demands.

But there is a second reason this ad bothers me. It says that someone is a marketing department somewhere said, "People want sin! Let's sell them sinful colors!" And the group of people in that room said, "Yes!" And the devil said, "YES!"  How quickly we buy into sin. It's not enough that we buy into literal sin with our actions, but now we buy into it figuratively by purchasing "Sinful Colors" nail polish. We purchase perfumes with names like, "Guilty," (Gucci) and "Unforgivable Woman." (Sean John)

Don't get me wrong. I don't believe buying these items are sinful. Jesus said we focus too much on the outside when the inside is what is important. I just think it's terribly sad that sin sells. I'm not buying it. Are you?

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

The Carpenter's Son

I saw this graphic on Facebook the other day.  A friend posted it, I'm sure finding it wildly funny. And while it was not directed to me by any stretch of the imagination, I still took it to heart. I was never godless, nor the other, but I have sinned. Now, I am new creation in Christ. And while to me, "the old is gone! The new has come," the world may remember the old.

I can find great confidence, however,  that like everything in my life, Jesus experienced the same thing. I love that Jesus walked the earth and lived life like we did, so that truly we know he can relate to our feelings.  

When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them,“A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Matthew 13:53-58

Jesus went to his own hometown, and they were offended by him. They could only remember him as "the carpenter's son." They knew him before he was renown, and now they were offended at the changes in him, that he would have such wisdom.

Are you too a new creation in Christ? Don't let the world hold you back. The world says "I know who you used to be. I know what you used to do." But Jesus says, "You are a new creation in me." He forgives and takes our sins as far as the East is from the West. While my relationship with Christ may not erase to the world who I used to be, it does change who I am.

Remember who you are in Christ.
You are forgiven. You are a new creation.
You are holy and dearly loved.

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com