Confess like the Pope!

Scripture:  James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

Thoughts: Holy Smokes – we have an American Pope!! And just today did I realize, “I bet that’s where the phrase ‘holy smoke’ comes from!!”

A friend recently sent me a video of an American Protestant pastor explaining the significance of the various parts of the Roman Catholic mass with great admiration…and it was as if he’d never considered that the main worship service of the Catholics would have much value or meaning. Well, it’s been around for a couple thousand years, it traces its roots back to the earliest Christians, and it is meaningful for about a billion people these days, so…yeah…it probably has some meaning to it, folks! Ha!

Most Christian worship services of any denomination or no denomination that are actually effective at drawing us close to God have similarities to them. It’s well known that the Catholics, even the Pope, have rituals of confession in which people tell the truth about what they’ve done wrong. But ALL Christians who get close to God and grow in holiness have some version of the practice of Confession. As the book of James declares in 5:16, you should “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

Action: Tell a friend, and tell a stranger some sin you’ve committed or struggle with – and see what happens. A true friend will pray for you, and a stranger will realize they aren’t the only ones who struggle against sin! And finally, be sure to confess to God – both generally, and specifically.

Prayer: “Father, forgive me my sins, as I forgive those who sin against me.”