'Fessing Up

Today we read Ezra 9-10, Psalm 131, and Luke 21.

There comes a time when you have to face up to your wrongdoing.  In Ezra 9-10 the people of Israel are facing up to it.  They have so mingled with the pagan culture of their world that they have fallen into a sinful trap.   It is the job of the Christian to be like Christ who influenced His World for His Cause and would not allow the world to influence Him.  That is what we are supposed to do.  It seems that, instead, too many times,  we become influenced, weakened, and sinful in our world and are influenced by them.  The sinful world colors us.  Of course, there are also those Christians that pull away from the world to make sure they are not tainted, but that does little to influence the world. We are to be in the world, but not of it.

However, when you fall for the devil's traps, how do you deal with it?  You ought to be heartbroken, before the Lord, and repentant.  Read the prayer of Ezra as he confessed his sin before God in
Ezra 9.6- O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.

If we would be that serious about our sin, we could walk out of such a prayer closet and influence our world for Christ by His Strength with His Guidance in His Spirit.   I guarantee you that!