PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
James 5:15–16, 19–20
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. . . . My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
CONSIDER THIS
Cybersecurity is a real concern. Many of our banks, large corporations, and even personal accounts are vulnerable to financial attacks and identity theft so new measures of authentication and protection are constantly being developed. And once again, the world of God’s kingdom is upside down when compared to today’s culture. While the world is putting up firewalls and protective measures, the Lord is telling us to tear walls down and give access to our lives through accountability partners because it is only in opening ourselves up to Jesus and to other believers that we will experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
We have walked faithfully through this Lenten season, learning about the Old Testament’s sacrificial system, studying altar stories where people have encountered God, and we have been challenged to embrace a life of surrender. The day after the disciples witnessed Jesus surrender His own life on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice, they must have felt confused, devastated, and vulnerable. The chief priests even went to Pilate and asked him to place soldiers by the tomb in case the disciples tried to “steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead” (Matt. 27:64). But it was never going to be by force or deception that the followers of Jesus would experience restoration. It would be through the power of Christ to roll back the stone. It would be through our willingness to confess our sins and lay our own offering on the altar of our life.
Our passage today is not one we typically read on Holy Week, but this letter written to the early Christians reminds us that walking a life in the example of Jesus is hard. We will fall. We will make mistakes. We will fail to be obedient. But we are also gifted with a community of other believers who are there to encourage us and lead us to confession.
I can only imagine the conversation the disciples were having after Jesus was placed in the tomb and as they gathered together. Were they comforting each other? Reflecting on all that Jesus had taught them? Or did they feel vulnerable? When this happens to us, it’s important that we have a small discipleship band or accountability group where we can confess our shortcomings, our sins, and our insecurities. Our sin will grow in the darkness, but salvation comes in the light that Jesus brings. As our brothers and sisters wander, we can bring light into their darkness through prayer and forgiveness. Our lives are the altars where we choose to lay our lives down for Christ as He laid His life down for us. Every time we share our hearts with other believers and confess our sins, we are practicing surrender and we are being transformed. As we wait for Christ to come again, let us band together with other believers to shine the light of the Holy Spirit on each other and for the world to come to know the Lord.
THE PRAYER
Lord, in the waiting may we find peace. In the silence of the dark tomb may we hold on to hope. As the dawn breaks may the light of Your victory be the light of our salvation. Amen.
THE QUESTIONS
Is there any reason you would not feel comfortable confessing your sins to another person? If you are already in a discipleship band, what is the biggest benefit you have experienced? If you are not in a discipleship band for accountability, are you ready to join one? Check out discipleshipbands.com.
For the Awakening,
Susan Kent
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2 Responses
I personally believe that the biggest obstacle for believers to be involved in either a class or band is the lack of trust in the other members of said groups to keep confessions of one’s sins private, to never become public knowledge. It takes time to establish the level of trust required to reap the benefits of these types of relationships. Nevertheless, I agree that these types of small group interaction are definitely key to achieving growth in spiritual maturity. And yes, confession of one’s sins and struggles to trusted fellow believers is freeing.
Access Granted
Since the all-powerful God already knows everything about you, it makes no sense for you to hide it from other people. You’ve already been found out. Your secrets are showing on the screens of heaven, yet God is offering you forgiveness and restoration. Access granted!
Once you truly accept, receive, and live in God’s offer of forgiveness and intimate relationship with Him through the Cross of Christ, you can begin to be incredibly honest. You become free to share your heart with other people. You’re ready to openly and humbly admit your sins, shortcomings, and insecurities. You’re willing to give people full access to what’s really going on inside of you. You are set free from the burden of secrecy, suspicion, and self-consciousness.