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New Every Morning

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This week, we dug deep in the soil, revealing your underground network of sin. It’s hard realizing those little sins, which at first may seem so easily pulled out, are not so easily weeded as it seemed. It can feel defeating.

But we serve a God of love and faithfulness and mercy.

The work is difficult and vulnerable, but God has not left us alone. He has given us sisters and brothers in Christ, and, above all, he has given us the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26 says, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” We do this with God’s strength alongside God’s people for God’s glory. And we do this for our eternal good, which is wrapped up in God’s eternal, good kingdom.

Reflect back on your particular sin struggle. Is it a behavior or reaction that creeps up on you? A thought pattern you can’t seem to break? How are you trying to run from it? How are you trying to hide it from others? How are you trying to justify it?

Take a moment to confess your sin before God:

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts . . . We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done . . . O Lord, have mercy upon us.1

This sin is not unique to you. You are not alone, and you are not special in it. Who are you going to tell about this struggle this week? Find a trusted Christian friend or group of friends, confess your sin, and pray for one another.

God wants to take this burden from you, but it takes work. It requires your commitment and God’s strength. When you mess up, and you will, take it straight to God. “His mercies never come to an end” (Lamentations 3:22). God has made you. He knows you. And he is remaking you.

 

1 Book of Common Prayer (Huntington Beach, CA: Anglican Liturgy Press, 2019), 12.

 

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Comments (9)

Betrayal covers many subjects that are difficult especially when people like to stir troubles I can tell you I have seen trouble makers from all sides
We all know who we are
I can’t speak or go into complete details about anyone else or use judgement on anyone else because the Bible clearly advises us not to judge others because we ourselves will bring more judgement on ourselves by doing so yes some troubles have made me go past angry but I did for myself and my family just have others have done and I know so, at least I didn’t ever bring or start any kind of strife in any church
God always sits on his throne
I have enjoyed these bible studies

I’m thankful that God doesn’t give up on us. I’m thankful that his mercies never end and are new every morning. I’ve been fighting the same sin pattern that starts with thinking about "what iffs" for years. I can see progress, but it will be something that I always have to battle.

The hardest thing to face is yourself. Knowing in your heart you have failed and have no strength to amend your wrong doings. Knowing that if others see your weakness you will be rejected and turned away. What a relief to know that God does not think that way. He doesn’t see us as ugly failures, but as his child who he has great fatherly love for. He wants us to succeed and will help us to do so. What a relief to know that I can take my sins to God, my heavenly father, and he will provide me with the strength to change my ways.

This morning I confessed my sins to 3 friends and I have been in a very dark place for awhile. I’ve been sick in bed for 3 weeks with out being able to eat much of anything. But after I confessed GOD finally answered. My friends were very understanding. He answered now I know why HE’S been so distant. I really don’t know except for HIS help will I be able to overcome my sin? I really appreciate what Angela and Linda shared. I know I’m going to always battle with this sin! But I know my Father in Heaven will help me HE wants me to overcome.

Thank you for being real and transparent. Sin is something we will all continue to deal with until we go home to be with our Lord in Heaven. The reality is that the Holy Spirit who prays in groans on our behalf is a mighty prayer warrior. I have a couple of Scriptures on my bathroom mirror Psalm 141:3 to remind me to keep a lid on what my mouth would like to spew out. Thankfully the daily reminder helps me not always say what’s on my mind. The second Scripture verse on my mirror is Philippians 2:12 to do EVERYTHING (emphasis mine) without complaining or arguing. I do much better at work than at home with these reminders, but not always… Now I have to work on what’s I am thinking which says I need to continually need to put in what’s pure, lovely, excellent and worthy of praise so the negative thoughts aren’t formed in the first place. If I put garbage in my mind then it makes sense that garbage will come out. If I put God’s Word in my mind and his Truth then the Holy Spirit will enable me to become more like Him day by day. Thankfully sanctification is working, however, as we heard earlier we want instant change in a process that will take a lifetime. The closer we get to God and see His holiness, the more we are aware of how far our ways are from His ways but God sees us and loves us because He sees our potential and wants nothing more than for us to confess to Him and to others that we’ve fallen short, we want to change and ask Him for help and He will help us because He is faithful. As Angela reminded us, the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness came to mind and the words "morning by morning new mercies I see". May you rest in the blessed assurance that we are not alone and God will answer our prayers to help us to become more like Jesus. Thanks for being my partners on this journey.

I have been asking the Holy Spirit to help me identify the sins which I commit every day. This has caused me to better fulfill the fruit of the Spirit and to better serve me husband. I am also much more quick to apologize when I say or act in anger or frustration.

I am so grateful to have stumbled on to this study. I have been feeling so many emotions as I go through each day at my own pace, as God is revealing more and more of Himself to me as well as more and more of my sin. I am grateful for His forgiveness and mercy as we continue on our journey of sanctification. If anyone ever thought being a Christian was easy, they haven’t dug deep enough. I love how these writings and questions help me pull back more of what God wants me to know, even when it’s hard.

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