Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Shame
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Today is the Day - Lincoln Brewster, Holding Nothing Back - Jesus Culture, The Time Has Come - Hillsong, From the Inside Out - Hillsong
Read: Hebrews 9:11-15, James 5:16
Think: It was once said, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
Do you have things you regret? Regret is such a nasty thing because it leaves us feeling powerless. If regret hangs on for very long, it can make us sick and depressed. Regret is never from God.
James 5:14 says, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” This is such a simple command, but actually doing it ranks up there with root canal and colonoscopy. It is so hard for us to humbly go to another and confess a sin, that doing it, really is a discipline.
A friend and I decided to cough up some confessions one day over coffee. She shared, then I shared, then she cried, then I cried, then we laughed and someone said, “you did what? No way, well listen to this…!” Then we laughed and cried some more. We prayed for each other that day, and ever since, I’ve never looked back at those regrets the same way. In an afternoon, I was healed of what took years to build up.
This “healing” didn’t come just because two friends hashed out old stories. This healing came because of the Power of God. Hebrews 9:15 says, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Since, I’ve made some apologies to people from the past, and I’ve become pretty expert at making apologies with the people in my present. Pastor Ben said there are no do-overs, but there is restoration for today. There is a promise of a hope and a future for tomorrow. There is a different way forward.
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Do: Pray about going to a friend and making confession for the things you regret. Then pray with one another and accept the spiritual freedom that Christ gave his life for you to have.
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Pray: Jesus, I believe that you have cleansed me from all my sins, and made me a new creation. Now, help me to let go of my regrets, accept fully your forgiveness and forgive myself as well.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.
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