Integrity Begins with Confession

[Integrity Begins with Confession](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) Current Teaching Series [Building Character](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) [Listen to Today's Broadcast](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) [Integrity Begins with Confession](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) By Rick Warren — January 13, 2020 [Facebook](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) [Twitter](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) [Pinterest](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) [Email](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) [Devotional image from Rick Warren](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) “There’s not one totally good person on earth, Not one who is truly pure and sinless” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 The Message). God wants you to agree with him about your sin. He’s not asking you to agree so you’ll feel bad; his purpose is to free you from your sin and guilt so that you can live a life of integrity. Stepping into a life of godliness starts with confession. Augustine is credited with saying, “The confession of bad works is the beginning of good works.” What is confession? It’s agreeing with God that we’ve failed to live according to his standards, that we’ve ignored his commands, that we’ve broken our promises to him. When you start thinking about your failures, it’s easy to criticize yourself and think you’ll never be able to get things right. You’re not alone in that feeling. We all fail at times, even when we’re trying to live with integrity. The Bible says, “There’s not one totally good person on earth, Not one who is truly pure and sinless” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 The Message). God is not surprised by your sin. He knows all about it, yet there’s nothing you can do that will make him love you less. And so confess. Don’t hide your sin. Don’t excuse it. Confess it. Instead of condemnation, God gives us grace. It’s why Jesus came to die on the cross for us. When we place our trust in Jesus, he is faithful to give us forgiveness. First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right” (NCV). Confession is the first step into a life of integrity. Why not take that step today? Perhaps you need to take one other step: Trusting Jesus to present you clean before God and giving him control of your life—including the decision you make about integrity. If that’s what you want to do, then here’s a prayer you can follow: “God, I’ve blown it. I know you’ve created me to live a life of integrity, but I’ve not been doing that. I’ve lied. I’ve cheated. I’ve acted one way to hide what I’ve actually been doing. “I’m sorry, and I confess my sin. You promise that if I confess my sin and place my trust in Jesus as my Savior, I will be saved. I trust you when you say that forgiveness and salvation come by grace, through faith, and not by anything I do. Jesus, today I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. Teach me how to live my life, and help me be a person of integrity.” If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free material to help you as you begin your journey with Jesus. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) Talk About It - As you read this devotional, did particular failures come to your mind? Confess them and faithfully believe that God forgives you. - How does understanding that everyone fails and makes mistakes change your perception about your own failures? - If you haven’t confessed your sins to God, what is holding you back? 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Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r) is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book The Purpose Driven Church was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded The PEACE Plan to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](6WdKyTbzN:m:1:2618166767:4F195B6CB7697B1866A9DB890B946ED5:r). © 2019 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. This message was intended for: {EMAIL} You were added to the system December 23, 2016. For more information [click here](. [Unsubscribe](