The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Christian and the Day of Atonement, #16

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. (I Corinthians 11:31)

Confess to the Lord Jesus every aspect of the problem, from the moment that you first began to entertain the spirit of preeminence or of favoritism in the area of sexual behavior. Ask the Lord to judge the situation. Ask Him to show you the truth, and believe He will do it.

Do not be proud of your spiritual discernment, experience or abilities. Never fear that you will lose something of God by asking the Lord Jesus to judge your deeds, words, imaginations, and motives. God will not be insulted and draw away from you even if the word and desire you thought you received actually was from Him. Remember, Satan wants you to keep away from the light, away from Christ's judging and delivering power.

It often is true we are attacked in the area that in the future will prove to be our destiny, the destiny for which our personality is best suited. The appeal may be to the strongest part of our personality. The temptation comes as a warped, perverted form of what some day will be our inheritance. All elements of our personality, the great and the small, must first be brought down to the death of the cross before they can be elevated to eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

The Lord Jesus was tested by Satan in the three areas that today are His inheritance in the Presence of the Father.

When you confess your sins, doubts, fears, or questions, God will receive you. He understands all about the battle.

Anything God has given to you can stand any reasonable examination to which you wish to subject it.

The wisdom that comes from above is gentle, always willing to be questioned and investigated. Righteousness always runs toward the light that its deeds may be shown to have been performed in God.

It is Satan who desires that ideas be buried in the darkness of your mind and heart, and who floods you with fear when you attempt to bring your imaginations and motives out into the open. Satan cannot stand the light but God dwells in the light. When you confess your deeds, words, motives, and imaginations, you are bringing them to the light of God so they can be judged.

Confess the thoughts and deeds of preeminence, lust, hatred, or whatever you are suspicious of and troubled about in your heart and life. Ask God to judge your behavior. Be specific when you name the behavior in question. Beseech God to put His fire on the questionable thoughts or actions.

If you are troubled and bound, filled with guilt and fear, confess your problem to a mature Christian of the same sex as yourself. Ask him or her for prayer and counsel. "Confess your faults (sins; offenses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed" (James 5:16). God is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, as well as to heal us physically.

From this point onward, resist the wicked thoughts and deeds, resting in the strength of Christ as you do so, and Satan will flee from you. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Never, never, never give up! God does not change His mind. We are in a warfare.

To be continued.