'If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.'

This week I had a phone call from a friend. She sounded absolutely desperate and at first I assumed that something had happened to her husband or her children. It turned out that she had accidentally broken a fast. Having promised God that she would not drink wine or eat chocolate she was mortified when she realised she had eaten some chocolate without thinking. What will happen? she asked. What will God do?  I started off by sharing with her that I had nearly done a similar thing. I am trying to fast between 11 p.m. and 11 a.m. It means that I am not eating breakfast at breakfast time but I spend that time praying. In our house we always have a bowl of grapes on the dresser and Geoff and I just take one when we feel like it. I walked up to the dresser one morning and found myself picking off a grape without even thinking about it. As it happens I didnt eat it but I could well have done.

I was reminded of this verse. It is unfortunate that we all do things without thinking. It is even more unfortunate that we all sin even when we are thinking. If we pretend we dont then we really are deceiving ourselves. The verse says that if we deceive ourselves the truth is not in us. So what is the truth? Well God is the truth and He made us and loves us. He knows that we are weak and that we fall easily into sinful ways. I think it is a sin when we dont look after the wonderful bodies that God has given us. We need to take care of them by exercising, resting and feeding them properly. As we look after our bodies they become temples more suited to house the Holy Spirit and we are better equipped to fill our place in the body of Christ.

Confessing our sin is just the beginning of a process whereby we can be forgiven and carry on with God. How good are you at confessing.