Confession and Worship

3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. - Nehemiah 9:3

The exiles have made it safely to Jerusalem; the wall is built; the temple is built. There are two moments recorded in Ezra and in Nehemiah that are striking. While the people are hard at work restoring the physical structure of Jerusalem, the patterns ascribed to the people by God are also resumed. Feasts of booths and Passover are celebrated. The Word of God is read and taught by men who teach the sense of the law (Neh 8:8). What happens is not mere nodding of heads in acknowledgement, but a response that involves the emotions, confession, repentance, change of behavior, rectifying of wrongs, and worship.

Imagine being Tarzan of the jungle, raised by gorillas, or Mowgli from The Jungle Book, who was raised by wolves. You know that you look different, but not until you are among your own species and learn what a man is do you grasp your true identity. Similarly, many Christians have responded in faith to the gospel message, but continue to try to identify with the world. When they sit under biblical preaching, they find their lives and hearts to be incongruent with God's ways.

The process of moving from old ways to new ways (Colossians 3:12-17) is called repentance. Knowing, with specificity, your sin; confessing that sin to another believer (James 5:16); and making changes to your patterns of living is, and leads to, worship. When you expose your sin to the light, it cannot live long. Putting sin to death shows God to be more glorious and desirable to you than anything else. That is worship!

How is your fasting and praying going? In my experience, dedicated fasting and prayer come with a great spiritual struggle as the Lord reveals those sinful patterns in me that need to be confessed. I am more sensitive to the gospel, and my affections are warmer toward him.

I am praying for you during this season. May the Lord powerfully move among us.

Pastor Loren

Join us in prayer:

• Tuesdays, Jan 13, 20, 27 @ 8:00 on Zoom

• Sundays at church 10:00-10:15

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