Monday - Darkness and Light

On Mondays, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The first statement in the Lord's Prayer; The first Beatitude; The first day of creation:

- God is in his kingdom and He is holy
- I'm in darkness and in need of help
- God enters into the darkness and announces, "Let there be light."

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My heart is in chaos, and God wants to change it.

Today is a day of focusing on God's greatness and my lack of it. This is about my heart and its condition. I split my thoughts into worshiping God for who he is, confessing my failings for who I am, and being thankful he reached out to me. I start my week trying (emphasis on trying) to be honest with God and myself.

For the past months I've been attempting to confess my sins - not that I'm a sinner, but the specifics of where I fail, why I fail and the impact it has.
- Thinking "I'm a sinner' is not very difficult. For me it's a cop-out.
- Saying my failings out loud, along with my motivations and how I think it's impacted others is a killer - and very effective.

Every Monday has it's moments of pain, but it's worth it. I love this practice, as I have never before felt honest in front of God. It's not as if he doesn't already know everything - this is an exercise in honesty and self-acceptance. I started this practice after listening to a series of sermons by Hassan Boyle on 1 John 1:9.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.