“I
acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I
said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You
forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5)
During a recent cleanup of
the computer room, I leafed through a book called “201 Great Ideas For Your Small Business,”
by Applegate, which contains a chapter called, “Purge Your Database Regularly.” The
author summed up that section with these words: “Doing this kind of purge is important…
in order to run the business in a
profitable manner.”
And that’s a fact.
Clean, up-to-date record keeping is essential to any company.
The bottom line for business is profit, which can only be attained
by those who are on the cutting edge of industry. But Jesus
asks a question about an infinitely greater profit for every one of
us: “What does it profit a man if he gains
the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:35).
Life is indeed just for a
moment, and true profit is not found in this life at all, except in
one area: When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ, He creates faith
inside you (Hebrews 12:2) with real VALUE, lasting forever.
But in coming to Him, we need to clean up the clutter in our hearts
(confess our sin). We are outdated, outmoded, full of
inaccurate information, and this holds us back from relying on Him.
That which prevents simple and honest trust in the Lord, is actually
“sin” to Him. The tendency of people everywhere, is to hide,
pretending nothing is wrong. But it’s time to be open to our
God.
David had the right idea,
when he came to the Lord and “acknowledged
(his) sin to (God).”
He continued, “My iniquity I have not
hidden” (Psalm 32:5). In the same verse, we find that
David specifically confessed his transgressions to the Lord, which
is not unlike purging the database in your computer. We just
need to come before Him, reveal ourselves, and let Him in, so His
“delete” key may finally remove all those hidden sins, deep inside.
Note the inevitable result
of a confession (like David’s): “You
FORGAVE the iniquity of my sin.” Because we are sinners
with a cluttered database, it is hard for us to see that God loves
us and longs to forgive. We often know that He is our Judge,
but forget the other part, that He is very much our Savior. He
is not surprised when our sins are revealed, for He knows we are
sinners, cluttered inside from the time of our creation. And
yet, He loves us and longs for us to know His fellowship, His joy.
This is so clear in the
sending of His Son to this earth. You might think that if God
the Father sent His beloved Son to this planet, it would be for
judgment on the world. Like computers, He would completely
erase our hard drive and start again. But that’s not the way
He is. “God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might
be saved” (John 3:17). Those are Jesus’ very words, and
they give us great hope in Him.
When we acknowledge the
Lord and trust in His love, a process begins to occur deep inside,
that is just like David’s experience. We find that we actually
WANT to “confess (our)
transgressions to the Lord” (Psalm
32:5). This is a process discovered by God’s people from the
beginning of time. John the Apostle, who walked with the Lord
Jesus for many years, observed: “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).
Purge your cluttered
database by confessing to Him. For those who somehow think
they have no need to come clean, Scripture answers: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
We’re all sinners and pretending that we’re not, worsens our
condition.
He knows how we are, and
He intends to set us free, which is why Jesus came and was crucified
– So we’ll have a clean database, set free from our sin. In both
Psalm 32 and the First Chapter of First John, we see that our
troubles with other people, are often based in OUR failure to
confess sin. It’s easy to fault other people, but it’s much
harder to openly admit that we are wrong.
We find the positive
effect of “purging our database” (taking our sin to the Lord), in 1
John 1:7, where we read: “If we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
To be “in the light” is to have no
hidden motives, no secret agenda in relation to the person you are
with, or the circumstances you have encountered. Your honesty
obtained through the love of God in Christ, will bring a clean
heart, and – fellowship with others.
David said, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not
impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile”
(Psalm 32:2). John said, “If we say
that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and
do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6). Many want to
continue in darkness, pretending they have fellowship, secretly
saying, “I like me the way I am, and I
don’t want to change,” – But He has in mind something better
for you.
If you remain closed, you
will eventually become bitter inside. As time goes on, we lose
our youth, drive, intelligence, health, our passion for life –
Inadequacies INCREASE as we grow older. HIDING from ourselves
and others will cause our bitterness to grow. The Lord wants,
DEMANDS that you will become open to Him, and to other people.
He intends that you will at last find JOY.
David said, “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who
trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. Be GLAD in the Lord
and REJOICE, you righteous, and shout for JOY, all you upright in
heart” (Psalm 32:10-11). John wrote, “These things we write to you, that your JOY may
be full” (1 John 1:4). He’ll make you happy – If you’re
willing.
Do you WANT to be happy? –
Then TRUST in Jesus Christ; OPEN yourself to Him. Let Him
purge your database and your life will at last be profitable; for
you – and the Lord.
Father, I confess my sins.
I come to You, Lord, that I may be forgiven and healed. Let me
walk in Your LIGHT in this world, so that others may see and want
You, too. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.
