Betty And Bogie

Betty and Bogie

Bible Blast: Read 1 John 1:5-10

If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9

My friend Janet had two cats, Betty and Bogie (named after legendary Hollywood movie stars, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart). One evening while Janet was cooking, Betty jumped up onto the stove and landed on a hot burner. Betty let out a screech and jumped back down. She looked up at her owner with fear in her eyes as if to say, “Whoa! I’ll never do that again!”

But just a couple of minutes later, Betty jumped right back up onto the hot burner, screeched, and hopped off again. Betty the cat was not a good example of what true confession is.

Confession is made up of two parts: admitting your sin and turning away from it. When you’re confessing your sin to God, you’re telling him that you agree with his view of sin and that you don’t want it to separate you from him. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you’ll see that sin stands out glaringly. It doesn’t fit into the life of a believer—kind of like a round peg in a square hole.

In order for confession really to change your life, you have to turn from your sin—what is often called repentance. Janet thought Betty had learned her lesson after getting burned the first time. But Betty didn’t get the message, so she tried it again. Confession isn’t like taking a shower. You don’t confess your sins to God to clean off so you can just go get dirty again. Confession is meant to include a change in your behavior.

The Bible shares some neat stories about people who are good examples of true confession. Zacchaeus the tax collector gave back four times the amount of money he’d cheated taxpayers out of (see Luke 19:1-9). The apostle Paul went from persecuting Christians to preaching about the Good News. The change that comes from true confession is truly amazing.

Girl Gab: As you read today’s devotional, did anything come into your mind that you need to confess? If so, make sure you take care of that today, and don’t forget to turn from that sin so it doesn’t become a habit.