Becky Kidd, Member since 1979

Center yourself on today’s reflection by lighting a candle and reciting this breath prayer:
Inhale – Be not far from me, O Lord
Exhale – for you are my strength and my help.

James 5:16 (NIV)
Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 

Reflection:
During Lent, we are invited to give great thought to our sins and confess our sins. I went on a Walk to Emmaus in 1993. It was such a wonderful retreat. This is when I truly gave my life to Christ. Oh, I had grown up in the Methodist Church attending every Sunday. I believed in God. I never doubted my belief in God; however, the Emmaus Walk made my belief clearer to me and my faith so much stronger. The love that surrounded me was so strong, I truly was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Over the weekend there were many activities, but a particularly impactful one was when we were guided to confess our sins. We wrote them down on a piece of paper that was tossed in a bucket and through the power of confession and forgiveness, were gone forever. 

How exhilarating! I truly believed in that moment that our sins are washed away, and we are given a new life by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. As they say, we are Born Again! No matter how good we think we are, we all sin. We can strive each day to be more like Jesus and do good, but things happen, and we mess up. There was only one perfect man and he died for all our sins so we would have eternal life.

As the Bible verse from James 5:16 says you can confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. How comforting it is to know there is healing from confession!

In this Lenten season may we look inward and pray for restoration with God the Father. Confess your sins to one another. Start anew and refreshed.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, help us to look deep inside and be honest with you every day, several times a day so that we can open up to you and hear what you want us to hear. Help us to listen carefully and mainly to confess our sins so we will be free to know what is important to you in our daily life. Bless each and everyone of us as we go through this Lenten season, and our faith that much stronger!