Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001

Subject: Hit the DELETE Key

Dear Ethan & Emily:

Yesterday, we talked about forgetting our past sins and moving forward in our walk with the Lord.  Today, I just want to complete the loop by emphasizing that as we forget what we have done in the past, we want to make sure that we do so after confession and forgiveness…so that “your joy will be complete.” 1 John 1: 4.

As we confess our sins, we have God’s promise that He will forgive us.  One of the Bible verses I think of most often is 1 John 1: 9:  “But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

I like to think of “confession” as our sin “DELETE” key.  Use it as often as needed, and don’t let your sin “baggage” pile up, as unconfessed sin doesn’t mean we lose our salvation…only that it restricts our fellowship and communication (remember the sin “static” we talked about) with Him.  And as we are restricted in this way, we lose the power and blessing that He so lovingly wants to provide us.

Remember also that “…God himself has commanded that we must love not only Him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.” (1 John 4:21).  In an interesting passage in Matthew 6: 14, we are reminded by Jesus Himself:  “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

So…let’s resolve to get used to using our sin DELETE key so that we can enjoy the splendor of “living in the light of God’s presence”…where “we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus…cleanses us from every sin.” (1 John 1: 7)

Make this a DELETED and cleansed day….

My love,

Dad