In the Old Testament, God gives us a picture of living in sin, right from the time of Adam and Eve. He shows how sin leads us into bondage and darkness, when the Israelites were in Egypt. Also throughout the Old Testament, God gives us a promise of salvation. God saved His people from bondage, and brought them out of Egypt. But once in that Promised Land, they needed to fight and destroy the enemy so that they could live in peace. God didn’t just wipe out the enemy for them; they had to “work out their own salvation,” so to speak. They had to continually be on guard, keep up the defenses, and be ready to fight. Sometimes they gave up. Sometimes they didn’t care. (Ezekiel 13.5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.)

God chose David to be a victorious warrior, to take back the ground God meant for them to have. He and his son, Solomon, set the kingdom up to live in peace. Sadly, Solomon did not keep up the defenses, primarily the defense tool of honoring God and obeying Him.

Salvation gives us peace, a relationship with God. Our responsibility is to follow and obey Him. Sin puts up a wall, prevents us from receiving His blessings (we give ground to satan, Ephesians 4.27). When we confess sin, it’s not that we tear down that wall or take back that ground; it’s that we confess we can’t, and ask God to deliver us.

Our responsibility is to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2.12). We are to draw near to God, cleanse our hands, and purify our hearts (James 4.8).

When we confess, purify our hearts, and walk in full obedience to God, we cannot even imagine the blessings He has in store for us.

1 Corinthians 2.9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Daily Confessions

Fall on your face before God Almighty, and ask Him to reveal your sin to you, that you can confess to Him, and receive His forgiveness:

Psalms 139.23, 24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

• Did I spend intentional time with God today? Did I read, and learn from, His Word?
• Did I love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind soul, and strength?
• Did I fail God in any areas of personal conduct?
• Did I miss an opportunity / did I avoid doing something I should have?
• Was I honest in my dealings with others? Myself?
• Did I depend on myself or on God?
• Have I looked to any source other than God to fill / strengthen / guide / quiet me?
• Were my thoughts pleasing to God?
• Was I wasteful with my words / time / money / words / home / people / food / family / friends / other relationships or resources?
• Did I honor God with my actions? Words? Thoughts? Attitudes? Did I give Him glory?
• Did I forgive others? Did I ask forgiveness?
• Did I steal?
  • Material items
  • Time
  • Money
  • Joy
  • Name / reputation
• Did I cause, condone, or promote bitterness or strife for those in my life?
  • Home
  • Church
  • Community
  • Leadership
    • Home, local, state, nation, world

Confessions: Digging Deeper

• Do I deal with strongholds in my heart? Are they generational? Did I inherit them, or invite them of my own accord? Strongholds may include:
  • Thievery / greed
  • Fornication (inappropriate sex, pornography, etc.)
  • Addictions (food, sex, alcohol, pornography, drugs, video- or other-gaming, gambling, cell phone, etc.)
  • Issues of the tongue: speech / words / lying / gossiping
  • Curious or “familiar” spirits / worship of idols (crystals, figurines, magic/magi, tea leaves, tarot cards, sorcery, etc.)
  • Control / lack of control issues: fear, worry, manipulation, dominance, anorexia, bulimia, hoarding, chaos, gluttony, anger, OCD; issues of the tongue: gossip, lying, interrupting, cutting/tearing down
  • Depression
  • Bitterness
  • Shame (general condemnation of a person as bad or not good enough)
• Do I invite satan into my heart or home?
  • Movies, videos, TV, games, magazines, books, guests, phone calls, texts, etc.
  • Thought life (vain imaginations)
• Am I careful in what I teach my children?
  • Purposefully
  • By example
  • By accident
• Do I call out to God when faced with temptation, or do I decide that I want to give in and do it / take it?

Psalms 107.13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. 15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

When you confess your sin, when you receive the forgiveness God so freely gives, be sure to fill your heart with God and His Word. No one can keep an empty house.

Matthew 12.43 – 45 43 When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

Tearing Down Strongholds:

We have no power to take back the ground that satan has claimed in us. Cry out to God, confess, give it over to Him (humble yourself / surrender 1 Peter 5.6). If you or a family member is under the power of sin:

• ① In Jesus’ name, bind satan (Mark 3.27, Matthew 16.15-19); pray a hedge of protection (Job 1.10, Ezekiel 13.5)
• ② Prayer and fasting: Pray God’s protection around him/her (Psalms 59.1, Psalms 17.5 – 9, Mark 9.29)
• ③ Pinpoint and cast out the lies (2 Corinthians 10.3, 4)
• ④ Conquer every wrong thought (Romans 12.2, 1 Corinthians 2.14-16, 2 Corinthians 10.4 – 6).

When you have confessed, repented, and received forgiveness (and you can repeat this as many times as you need to), be sure you receive His forgiveness and don’t take up the guilt of your sin again.  God has removed your sin (Psalms 103.11-13). Let it be removed and remain removed.

Psalms 103.11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him

Cast out lies with God’s Truth.

Do not let sin entangle you:

Hebrews 12.1 Therefore we also, having such a great cloud of witnesses encompassing us, having laid aside every weight and the sin easily entangling, should run with endurance the race lying before us

Confess and be accountable to a reliable person. (James 5.16) Do you and / or your church need to have a communal time of open confession? God gives us the gift of relationships for so many reasons: one of which is to be accountable to each other, and support and edify one another, in the love that His Holy Spirit pours out upon / within / and through us.

Read your Bible. All the epistles teach us how to live in the Promised Land, how to fight and be ready. That Promised Land is the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks so often. Read the gospels.