Confess and Admit - Why do we need to confess and admit our faults and wrongs to another person? I mean, God already knows, right? That's one of the most common asked questions. Yes, God does know, but 1) He wants to know that YOU know and 2) James 5:16a says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." It is just not enough to say, "God forgive me for the bad things I did today" because how can you change if you don't acknowledge what those bad things were? You'll just do them again tomorrow. You are more likely to remember if you say, "God, forgive me for losing my temper with...and for not trusting in you to provide instead of worrying, etc." Identifying, which we did when we did our inventories, helps remove the baggage we carry and frees us to move on. Things that weighed us down no longer have the power to do that.

Confess your shortcomings, resentments, and sins
Obey God's direction
No more guilt
Face the truth
Ease the pain
Stop the blame
Start accepting God

Then when you tell it to someone you trust, your sponsor or accountability partner, that too diminishes the power of the hold it had on you so you can start to heal and be free. It also lets us know when we admit to others, that we are not alone. There are a lot of other people who are dealing with the same thing and unless we share it, we would never know. We can lose the sense of aloneness. It will also give us humility and no longer live in denial - someone else knows.

Remember (you can read again below under Sponsor) that this is a person you can trust and someone who has been where you are and will not judge.

Sometimes we don't confess or admit because we are afraid of the consequences. Though we still will have to face the consequences of our actions, we can gain the freedom and healing to move on. Look at David, a man after God's own heart. After seeing and wanting Bathsheba (Samuel 11) David had her husband killed and then took her for his wife. This displeased God. But David confessed his sin and God forgave him, and blessed him as King whose throne would never end (Jesus was born of David's line). Still, David faced the consequences of his sin and his first born died, but God blessed him with the birth of Solomon. We still can have the healing to move on through whatever comes because God promises in James 5:16 that we will be "healed" - we were forgiven through what Christ did on the cross, but our confession and admitting our sin is what heals us.

The Battle Belongs to the Lord! Yesterday I received a phone call from a mother of a young man who had recently begun to attend CR. He had been working his recovery through AA and many other meetings having put 11 years between him and jail and on a Journey with God who he loved. He was helping his girlfriend through her struggles and towards God and in the short time with us, brought friends of his to meetings. He started attending church and was going to our Men's Monday night Step Study. Unfortunately, according to his mother, last Tuesday, life was just too overwhelming for him and he took his life.

I know many, myself included, have been wondering what could we have done differently? After soul searching, I believe that sometimes we do everything we need and can do, but sometimes it is just between a person and God and faith and hope. I am proud of how you have all stepped forward from the beginning to make him feel part of the group which is why he kept coming back. I watched several of you go out of your way to say hi at church and include him. I watched the men take him under their wing. I want to encourage each of us to continue to pray for his family and for his girlfriend.

This is the reason why it is so important to attend meetings - not just for your recovery, but for those who need the encouragement and support of others - it's not about us, but about them. That's why I visit those in jail and encourage you to write. Jesus said in Matthew 25:37-40 "...Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Sometimes it just a matter of listening. I want each of you to know that he is safe in the arms of Jesus and I am so grateful to have known him for such a short time.