“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
The children in the attached photo are a handful of the students that attend school in Lauture which was established in 2003 in the Jacmel District in the south central part of Haiti. Prior to attending this Lutheran school, the vast majority of them had never opened the Bible, heard the good news of Jesus Christ, understood the need to confess of their sinfulness or probably had not even thought that they were living outside of God’s commands as they only knew of what the vodou priest had told them and their ancestors.
Then a person like you came along, brought the good news of a forgiving God and the promise of a meal where there was none and the understanding of the difference between right and wrong. The Holy Spirit worked through people like you to touch lives such as these. These children now accept the Bible as their authority and have learned to confess their sins and how important that is and how important it is to know that our sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ.
Confession is so important for those of us who profess our faith in the Triune God. We still stray at times, as do the children in Lauture, but we confess our sins and are forgiven. What will happen on the day when those still locked into the chains of the vodou priest meet our Lord Jesus on Judgment Day? I listened to an evangelist recently telling about what will happen when we meet Jesus and have to account for our life and then turned the radio dial and listened to the song “Please carry me home” by Jessi Colter; must have been a God moment in time.
“When the blood curdlin' scream of the fear in my veins pierces the darkness circlin' my brain. When the pain in my soul is too great to explain I reach out for you, I'm callin' your name. Lord, please have mercy on my troubled soul. You keep me together when there's nothing to hold. Lord, please have mercy, I've nowhere to go when the temptation is over, please carry me home. Would the jewel of deception rest in the crown upon the heaven, the tempter who's hand keeps me down. Living so carelessly, so easy to do. But now that I'm paying, I running to you. Lord, please have mercy on my troubled soul. You keep me together when there's nothing to hold. Oh, Lord, please have mercy, I've nowhere to go when the temptation is over, please carry me home.”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay