Confession Alone Is Not Enough

Jeremiah 14:7-8-  The people say, "LORD, our wickedness has caught up with us. We have sinned against you. So please, help us for the sake of your own reputation.  O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble! Why are you like a stranger to us? Why are you like someone passing through the land, stopping only for the night?

 

The city was in the middle of a horrible drought. The people had no more food….even the animals were becoming confused.  The grass that began the great food chain in motion was disappearing…..and with it life hung in the balance. Jeremiah had been telling them that God was going to punish them…but they hadn’t listened till now…when Life was threatened.

 

The people knew they had sinned…they confessed that….but they wouldn’t change their ways.  They wanted God to come down and save them…just because he was God. They wanted God to save them….for the sake of God’s name alone. They wanted to confess to God their sin….but keep sinning…and never change their ways.

 

God was so tired of the routine they had developed to justify their selfish desires and actions.  They showed up with the right offerings and sacrifices at the temple….when it was time. They prayed all the right prayers. Then they left that holy place and did exactly what they had done before…anything they wanted too…whether it was part of the covenant they had made with God or not.

 

God doesn’t want our offerings….our prayers….even our worship…if it doesn’t focus so completely on him that it changes our heart. Spending time with him should change our hearts for what God wants.  We won’t want to  talk like we used to talk….give like we used to give….pray like we used to pray…or live like we used to live.  His love should transform us into different people.

 

Confession alone does not do it….we have to repent and change our ways if we really want to have a relationship with God that is more than a Sunday or Wednesday night service….more than a Sunday school or Bible study….more than a prayer or two at night.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to confess my sins…AND….repent of them to feel your full presence in my life.  Forgive me for the times that I did what I wanted…just because I wanted too.  Help me to really listen to you and discern your will in all the things I do. Let my worship….my prayers…my Bible study…..bring about real changes that make me more like you.  Amen.