Let's be honest...

I'm supposed to teach the ladies Sunday School class this week and we're looking at how to "Experience the Joy of Personal Revival", a study by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. This week the focus is on Honesty. Honesty with ourselves, others and God. Here's what I posted for today:

Still thinking about Honesty and the effects of being honest with ourselves and others...

After his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, David lived nearly a year with God's convicting Spirit pressing down on his soul. Being silent about his wrongdoing- refusing to confess his sin- only deepened David's anguish. He deteriorated physically, emotionally and spiritually. By not being honest with himself about the sin in his life, he ended up completely blinded to the truth of his situation and it took the prophet Nathan to open his eyes. Psalm 32 is David's firsthand account of the process he went through to discover the profound joy of experiencing God's mercy and forgiveness. In verse 5, David says:

" I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,'

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin."

When he finally let go of his sin, heaven-sent relief poured over him. The weight of his iniquity was lifted and his sin was carried away.

This can be our experience, too! God is wiling to "cover" (with the blood of Christ) every sin that we are willing to "uncover" before Him.

Is there any sin in your life that God is convicting you of, be it large or small? There is no sin so large that God cannot forgive it; and no sin so small that you can afford to keep it hidden.

"Personal revival begins when the believer faces his sin honestly. Though painful, only honest with God and others will enable the Christian to walk in purity and power." -Jim Elliot