Dear SCC & Friends,
If we confess… ~1 John 1:9
Reflection #230
The primary way to uncover our sin is confession. Every day my conscience makes confession, relying on the hope of God’s mercy as to be more trusted than my own innocence. ~St. Augustine~ The first to plead his case seems just, until another comes and examines him.~Prov. 18:17 If you have children, you understand the “blame game”… He did it first! She started it!… On and on it goes. In fact the “blame game” is as old as the Garden of Eden… Adam blamed God for giving him Eve, implying that it was His gift that caused him to sin. Eve blamed the deception of the serpent, implying she would never have done it otherwise. Cain was jealous of his brother Abel and killed him in the field… Afterwards the Lord asked him, “Where is your brother?” Cain responded, “I don’t know… Am I my brother’s keeper?” ~Gen. 4:9…feigning ignorance while deflecting both responsibility and accountability. Our first family had plenty of blame to go around. The truth is nothing escapes God’s eye, and all of us stand accountable for the choices we make in this life.…each one of us shall give account of himself to God. ~Rom. 14:12
Don’t jump to conclusions – there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw. ~Prov. 25:8 MSG I vividly remember when we were a newly married couple and on a strict budget with the challenge of making ends meet. I asked Dudley (my wife) to make a timely deposit at the bank, as the checks that were already written to cover our bills would “bounce” unless the deposit was made. Later that day, I called her to double check, “Hey Hon, did you make the deposit?” Inexplicably out came the words, “No, I didn’t.” “What?! Are you kidding me?! I can’t believe this!!” I immediately started telling her about all the overdraft penalties and bank issues that would surely come because of her not getting it done. Still exasperated I had to ask, “Why didn’t you deposit the check?” If you know my wife, only she could answer my query with such simple serenity… She said, “The bank got robbed.” “What?” “Yeah, the bank got robbed, so I couldn’t go in…” “Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?” “You never gave me a chance…” For the record, I was graciously forgiven both by Dudley and the Lord. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive… ~1 Jn. 1:9 Thank you, Lord!
Keep up the good work
Kevin