I feel the desire lately to work extra hard at directing my kids not just towards doing right, but also towards understanding why it’s best to chose not to do wrong. It’s an important step to come to an agreement on what that means.
Many times when we think about confession, we think about it as a “revealing” of our sins… but in reality, it’s more of an agreement of what is true. When we confess, we are not only agreeing what is wrong in our lives, but also agreeing with what’s right about God. Daniel does a great job of doing this in his prayer:
“I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands… Lord, you are righteous… The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving…” – Daniel 9:4, 7, 9
Father, I agree with Daniel, you are great and awesome. I’m thankful for your love, for your righteousness, for your mercy, and your forgiveness. I agree today that I don’t think about that enough. I don’t meditate on it enough. I don’t express it enough… forgive me when I take all these things for granted. Forgive me when I forget your greatness.
brandon hatmaker 