Holy Week Devotional: Day 4 - Confession

Thank you for listening to Living Hope church’s Holy Week series. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be different from the previous two days.

Church-wide 3-day fast

Living Hope Church is participating in a corporate three day fast to desperately seek the Lord on behalf of our country and world in light of the Covid-19 virus and for some special circumstances that we have at this time as a church.

Within our three day fast, there are three minor themes that we seek to return to continually during this time. Those three themes are confession, adoration and supplication.

Confession: where we confess our sins and admit the truth that we are guilty of whatever the Spirit of Truth brings to our minds.

Adoration: that we lift our eyes to him as the sole satisfaction of our souls. That we feed on the praises due to Him and him alone forsaking any praise to ourselves.

Supplication: that we call on the mighty name of Jesus and present our requests for the world, our country and our church that he would give us wisdom and discernment for upcoming decisions.

After the reading for Holy Week, I will share a few words in relation to our three-day fast.

One of you will betray me - John 13:21-32

Certainly, Judas was unique in his betrayal of Jesus and it occurred that Scripture might be fulfilled.

However, if we are honest, we are all capable of betraying Jesus on some level. Peter would agree.

But our response to our sin is not to harden our hearts with greater resolve to never sin again. Faith, the appropriate response in love towards God is to humble ourselves and agree with the Word of God that we have sinned.

Isaiah confessed the sins of his people when he saw a vision of the throne room of heaven in Isaiah 6. Nehemiah confessed his sins along with the sins of his people in Nehemiah 1.

Confession is humbling ourselves and softening our hearts to God and his ways and admitting the times that we have not chosen to follow his ways.

Joel 2:12-13  “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster."

Holy Spirit, breaks our hearts! Let us rend them before you. Let us weep and mourn over our sin that we have committed. May our hunger pains during this fast remind us to humble ourselves before you and confess our sins and the sins of our people. We ask that you hear us from on high our request for your manifest presence and wisdom that we might lift up the name above all names, the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.