How joyful is the onewhose transgression is forgiven,whose sin is covered!How joyful is a person whomthe Lord does not charge with iniquityand in whose spirit is no deceit!When I kept silent, my bones became brittlefrom my groaning all day long.For day and night your hand was heavy on me;my strength was drained[a]as in the summer’s …
Continue reading Prayer #8: Sin, Confession, and the Joy of Forgiveness
I could be wrong, (and if I am, then clearly I lack sufficient self-awareness) but I think I appear to most people as a nice guy. But appearances can be deceiving. Or at least only part of the story. So here’s at least one grand revelation: I’m not always patient. And, more specifically, recently I …
Continue reading Sanctification and the Problem of My Inner Jerk
Forgiveness is a funny thing. You see, as Christians we believe that when Jesus was nailed to the cross, he willingly bore the sins of the entire world—past, present, future. Transposing this into a more personal key, Christ’s gift of reconciliation covers every inch of my wrongdoing and brokenness. Nothing remains unforgiven. No wound untouched …
Over the last five years or so, I have had at least half a dozen pastor friends who have had to leave or resign from their churches on account of various kinds of congregational dysfunction or confict. Even though it's true that I don't know many of the details about these individual stories, it almost …
Continue reading Sin, Church Conflict, and the Need for Confession in Public Worship
Having recognized leaders caught in moral wrongdoing or illegal activity no longer surprises us. Scandals are enough a part of our political, social, and, sadly, religious landscape that we’ve come to expect them—almost as a matter of course. Public indifference, cynicism, and disappointment over various misdeeds have in part coalesced into lower voter turnouts, less …
grace notes 