A sinning man stops praying; a praying man stops sinning.

Submitting to God requires us to deal with the sin in our lives. Sin

The Lord gave David plenty of time to repent of his sins, but when he didn't, He sent the prophet Nathan to confront him (see 2 Samuel 11—12). The guilt tore up David and made him physically sick (see Psalm 32:3—4). He finally confessed his transgressions to the Lord and received forgiveness (see verse 5).

To confess (homologeo) means to acknowledge or to agree. You confess your sin when you say what God says about it: "I entertained a lustful thought, and that's a sin"; "I treated my spouse unkindly this morning, and that was wrong"; "Pride motivated me to seek that board position, and pride doesn't belong in my life.

We are not sinners in the hands of an angry God; we are saints who sin in the hands of a loving God.

churches must come to terms with their past and genuinely repent, or there will be no future.

We all make mistakes. There's a place we can take those to. There's a thing we can nail them to." Her eyes close for a moment and she sees the cross in the shadows of the fading light. "You can nail it to the cross and let it go, Dan. You can let someone else take that burden.

The only real escape from the demands of the flesh is to find something more than the flesh to love; and that Mary is the refuge of sinners.

But listen, there will be more joy in heaven over the tears of a repentant sinner than over the white robes of a hundred just men.

Do not forget, do not ever forget, that you have promised me to use the money to make yourself an honest man.' Valjean, who did not recall having made any promise, was silent. The bishop had spoken the words slowly and deliberately. He concluded with a solemn emphasis: Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to what is evil but to what is good. I have bought your soul to save it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.

To be a saint is the exception; to be a just person is the rule. Err, stumble, commit sin, but be one of the just.

Almost all our desires, when examined, contain something too shameful to reveal.