James 5:16

James 5:16

Thoughts from Chelsee Sanchez

Dive Deeper

Godfidence- Swipe
Slide

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

James 5:16

Godfidence- Behind the Scenes
Slide

As we move into week two of our God-fidence series, we need to remember we have a God who loves us and wants the best for us. When He created us in His image, He did so knowing that community would be vital. God is a triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – He literally lives in community. Therefore, being created in His image means we were created for community.

Slide

So, what does that have to do with our passage today? Well, we see from James that we are to go to our community and confess our sins to them. Say what? I’m supposed to go to some stranger and “spill the tea” about myself? All my faults and sins (gasp)? Not quite. We are to live in community with our fellow believers, and if we model Jesus, then we will have our big community (think church), our smaller community (think small groups), and then our one (think bestie). So, we filter our confession appropriately through those communities.

Slide

One point of caution here – we should not confess in a way that will cause others to sin. If the sin was against God alone, then confess to Him and then have your close people pray for victory – without going into details. But, if you have sinned against a person, then you should confess to that person. Again, confession should be to the extent it is necessary to move on. Stating all the awful things you thought about a person would not be helpful – it would hurt them all over again. But confessing that you had bitterness toward a person brings the sin to light in a way that protects both of you.

Slide

The next thing James says here is to pray for one another. If we have someone come to us and confess something, we need to stop and pray for them. We can pray that they are healed from their sin and that they turn toward health. You see, sin is simply anything outside of God’s design for us. Not because God is a prude or old fuddy duddy but because He knows how our sins bring us to destruction, and as I said earlier, God wants the best for us.

Slide

We know that there is power in prayer, but I want us to see something else here. There is power in bringing a sin into the light. When we keep our sins hidden in the darkest recesses of our heart, they fester and grow like a fungus. But when we bring them into the light, confessing them to a trusted friend or pastor, they start to lose their power.

Godfidence- Make it Real
Slide

This subject is pretty personal to me. I have been in a couple of groups where we specifically talk about gaining freedom from our sins and trauma. Sometimes sins are committed against us that cause us to live in lies and sin in our own life as we grow and navigate in the faulty mind set of the trauma. The more I tell my story, the less power it has over me, and the easier it is to tell. I have a special bond with the ladies that I walked through those studies with. Not because we sat around and told our deepest, darkest secrets but because we found that we weren’t alone, and we prayed for each other and celebrated every victory together. God surrounded me with a community of ladies that would get it and fight the good fight with me because they were fighting a battle too.

Slide

If you don’t have a community of people that you trust and will fight your battles with you, on their knees in prayer – find one. You see, we have a very real enemy that is prowling around looking to steal, kill, and destroy us. If he can isolate us, he has won half the battle because he knows that he can get your thoughts spiraling around and around in your head. Once you get with a community of trusted people, he loses. You can start to process those struggles out loud and get some truth to fight with.

Slide

Are you in a community of trusted people? What would that look like? What will you do today that will move you toward freedom from your sin? Note: If you are not in a small group with ACF Church and would like to be, email colleen@acfak.org, and I would love to get you connected.

Godfidence- End in Prayer
Slide

Father God, I need You! I cannot fight these battles on my own, and when I get in my head about them, then I lose. Thank You for surrounding me with amazing people who will fight with me and pray for me. People who will carry me when I don’t have the strength to carry on and point me back to You. People who will call out the lies I’m believing and point me back to Your truth. And people who will call me out when I’ve hardened my heart to the truth. You are so so good to us! We thank You in the saving power of Jesus. Amen!!

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“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  

James 5:16

Behind the Scenes

As we move into week two of our God-fidence series, we need to remember we have a God who loves us and wants the best for us. When He created us in His image, He did so knowing that community would be vital. God is a triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – He literally lives in community. Therefore, being created in His image means we were created for community.  

So, what does that have to do with our passage today? Well, we see from James that we are to go to our community and confess our sins to them. Say what? I’m supposed to go to some stranger and “spill the tea” about myself? All my faults and sins (gasp)? Not quite. We are to live in community with our fellow believers, and if we model Jesus, then we will have our big community (think church), our smaller community (think small groups), and then our one (think bestie). So, we filter our confession appropriately through those communities.  

One point of caution here – we should not confess in a way that will cause others to sin. If the sin was against God alone, then confess to Him and then have your close people pray for victory – without going into details. But, if you have sinned against a person, then you should confess to that person. Again, confession should be to the extent it is necessary to move on. Stating all the awful things you thought about a person would not be helpful – it would hurt them all over again. But confessing that you had bitterness toward a person brings the sin to light in a way that protects both of you.  

The next thing James says here is to pray for one another. If we have someone come to us and confess something, we need to stop and pray for them. We can pray that they are healed from their sin and that they turn toward health. You see, sin is simply anything outside of God’s design for us. Not because God is a prude or old fuddy duddy but because He knows how our sins bring us to destruction, and as I said earlier, God wants the best for us.  

We know that there is power in prayer, but I want us to see something else here. There is power in bringing a sin into the light. When we keep our sins hidden in the darkest recesses of our heart, they fester and grow like a fungus. But when we bring them into the light, confessing them to a trusted friend or pastor, they start to lose their power.  

Make it Real

This subject is pretty personal to me. I have been in a couple of groups where we specifically talk about gaining freedom from our sins and trauma. Sometimes sins are committed against us that cause us to live in lies and sin in our own life as we grow and navigate in the faulty mind set of the trauma. The more I tell my story, the less power it has over me, and the easier it is to tell. I have a special bond with the ladies that I walked through those studies with. Not because we sat around and told our deepest, darkest secrets but because we found that we weren’t alone, and we prayed for each other and celebrated every victory together. God surrounded me with a community of ladies that would get it and fight the good fight with me because they were fighting a battle too.  

If you don’t have a community of people that you trust and will fight your battles with you, on their knees in prayer – find one. You see, we have a very real enemy that is prowling around looking to steal, kill, and destroy us. If he can isolate us, he has won half the battle because he knows that he can get your thoughts spiraling around and around in your head. Once you get with a community of trusted people, he loses. You can start to process those struggles out loud and get some truth to fight with.  

Are you in a community of trusted people? What would that look like? What will you do today that will move you toward freedom from your sin? Note: If you are not in a small group with ACF Church and would like to be, email colleen@acfak.org, and I would love to get you connected.  

Colleen McGeorge

Colleen McGeorge

ACF Devo Team

End in Prayer

Father God, I need You! I cannot fight these battles on my own, and when I get in my head about them, then I lose. Thank You for surrounding me with amazing people who will fight with me and pray for me. People who will carry me when I don’t have the strength to carry on and point me back to You. People who will call out the lies I’m believing and point me back to Your truth. And people who will call me out when I’ve hardened my heart to the truth. You are so so good to us! We thank You in the saving power of Jesus. Amen!! 

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