6 We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. 7 When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. 8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert. 10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. 12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.

The Apostle John tells us that if we confess our sin, God is faithful to forgive us. True confession of sin means that we realize our guilt and we admit – without excuse – that what we have done is wrong. I recently heard a public figure admit “moral indiscretions” because of “poor judgment.” What this means is they wish they had not been caught. David, who is called a “man after God’s own heart,” committed adultery, lied about it and then had a man murdered to cover it. At first this seems to be a contradiction. How can he be described with a pure heart and do such things? The answer is found when he was confronted by the prophet. He reply was short and simple. He said “I have sinned.”

When we do anything that is not in accord with the will of God we sin. This means that when we fail to live up to the nature of God and his glorious righteousness, we have sinned. Romans 3:23 tells us that we sin when we come short of the glory of God. While none of us can live without sin in our lives (we all have sinned) we can be changed into a new person who hates sin and dies to sin. We can be re-created into a person who loves the mind of God and his will so much that it becomes our mind and our will. Then when we fail to be like God (and we will fail) we admit our guilt, our sin and turn from it. We do not make excuses, blame others, minimize our wrong, or deny our sinfulness. Sin (any and all sin) is why Jesus came and died on the cross. It was our sin that made it necessary for him to die in our place. God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

O God, help me to be willing to be honest enough with myself and with you to recognize my sin and to admit it. Give me strength to turn from it and to live for you. Fill me with your Spirit that I may be changed into a new creation in your likeness. Fill my heart with your love and compassion and my spirit with your love for righteousness and abhorrence for sin. In Jesus name I pray.

May God bless each of us as we turn from sin to him.