So You've Messed Up.... Now What - Part 2

Ok, I hope you all weren't waiting on pins and needles till this one came. Ready to get grimy? Lets dig in...

1) Confess - Realize you've messed up and tell God

Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." (2 Sam 12:13)

I've always wondered what have happened if things went a little differently when Nathan confronted David about his sinning in the murder of Uriah and the adultery with Bathsheba. Lets imagine it went a little something like this...

As they were sitting at Starbucks drinking their fraps Nathan said to David, "David, a little birdie (God) told me that you slept with some mans wife and then had him killed so she could be yours. What do you have to say for yourself?" And David replied, "No I didn't!"

It doesn't sound too good does it. I for one am glad that David did not say that. He realized that what he did was wrong and he said so. His realizing that he made a mistake and then confessing it to someone and to God are just one of the reasons why many people say he was 'a man after God's own heart'.

Sometimes when we mess up we don't realize it until someone brings it to our awareness. What happens after that is our own choice. We can say "Yes, I did mess up." and then try to move forward, or we can say "No I didn't" and spend so much time trying to hide our mistakes that we only dig ourselves in deeper. If you did it than fess up. Words have power.



2) Forgive - Ask God for forgiveness and then forgive yourself

Sounds easy right? HA! I wish. Sometimes asking for forgiveness is the hardest thing. It ties in with confessing because you have to admit you've done wrong. I must say though, even if I think forgiveness is a hard thing, I know that God doesn't.

So many times through out the New Testament Jesus forgives those who sin.
Look at Mark 2:1-5. After Jesus heals the Paralytic he forgives him of his sin.
What about the 'woman who was a sinner' who cleansed Jesus' feet with her tears and hair? Jesus forgave her. Even when the pharisees questioned him he forgave. Not just that but she believed that she was forgiven.(Luke 7:36-50)
He even taught us a simple prayer to help us remember to ask forgiveness. You might know it...

'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
FORGIVE US OUR SINS, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one'

Matth. 6:9-13

So we've asked God for forgiveness for sinning against Him. Don't stop there. We have to learn to forgive ourselves. If God has forgiven us why can't we forgive ourselves. When we ask for forgiveness Jesus becomes our atonement (Rom 3:21-26) and takes our sins from us. The way I think of this it means that since Jesus took our sins, I don't have that sin anymore, so why not forgive myself. It's done!


So now we know that we need to CONFESS and ask for FORGIVENESS. It doesn't just end there. There are still three more steps to go.

3) Repent - Step away from the sin!!!
4) Accountability - Find someone or some people you trust who can hold you accountable and hold you up in prayer
5) LOVE - Learn to love God, yourself and others as God intended.


Again, if you have any thoughts or questions so far, please let myself or any of the leaders know. If you disagree with anything, please let me know, but make sure you can explain why you disagree. I'd love to know your thoughts.