“For every one look you take at your sin, take ten looks at Jesus.”
Robert Murray M’Cheyne spoke these words to his congregation
in Scotland in the early 1800s.
We do well to heed M’Cheyne’s counsel
as we regularly confess our sins to the Lord
and experience anew the assurance of forgiveness.

The regular discipline of confession (1 John 1:9)
enables us to grasp more fully
the beauty and wonder of grace
as we are made continually aware of the depth
of our need of the Gospel.

We often include a written prayer of confession in our worship service
as a tool to facilitate an honest and thorough confession
of our personal sins to the Lord.

Our time of confession should never lead to despair,
but always to joy, since our God
is one who pardons iniquity, delights in mercy,
and casts our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18-19).

One of the high moments of a worship service
occurs when we hear the words of the assurance of our pardon:
“If your faith is in Jesus Christ,
then I can assure you, based on the sure promise of the Word,
that your sins are forgiven.”

Oh what a blessing it is to know
that we are completely forgiven, totally accepted,
and deeply loved by our Lord!