2026 Lenten Season - Day 21 - Confession

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
***************************************************************************

It is impossible to excuse, deny, or minimize your sin without telling yourself that you do not need the grace of Christ Jesus.

Bill and Jenny had hit the wall again. A misunderstanding had devolved into a nasty, name-calling, trust-shattering fight. The air in their house was thick with tension, and the awkward silence between them was suffocating. It had been three days since the horrible fight, but there had been no rapprochement between them. Bill spent much of those three days telling himself that Jenny was the problem, and that all he was doing was defending himself against her attack. Jenny told herself that she was the victim of an emotionally abusive husband. They could not reconcile because they were unwilling to see their own sin, let alone to confess it to God or one another. Each denied their attitudes and actions, each excused his or her sin by pointing the finger of blame at one another, and both told themselves that what they did wasn’t so bad, given the circumstances.

It was a familiar scene for them, repeated again and again. There was never much true confession, but somehow they would move on without the wrongs against one another being addressed and then march to the next debilitating battle. But even more tragic than the toll on their marriage was their denial of their need for the rescuing, forgiving, and empowering grace of Jesus. In refusing to confess their sin, they told themselves that they did not need the grace of Jesus, purchased for them on the cross of Calvary. Because they did not own their sin and cry out to their Savior for his forgiveness and help, they did not grow in grace and love toward one another. Their marriage was stuck in a cycle of sin and hurt. Cynicism had replaced hope, self-defensiveness had replaced trust, and a repeated cycle of hurt hardened hearts that were once tender and loving.

It makes sense that you and I simply do not reach out for help that we do not think we need. We don’t long for what seems unnecessary. How is it possible to hold the cross as the epicenter of our formal theology while functionally denying our need for this radical sacrifice of love and grace? When you sin as a believer, your conscience will bother you. What you experience is the convicting grace of the Holy Spirit, and there are only four ways to respond to this gracious warning that you have done something wrong. 

Let’s look at each response in light of what the cross requires us to see and admit about ourselves.

1. Excuse. 

It’s hard to admit that you have done wrong, that it’s your responsibility alone. It is so easy to alleviate your guilt by pointing to someone or something else as the reason you did what you did. Here’s why blame-shifting seems so plausible and is so tempting. You live in a fallen world with broken things all around you, so there are many excuses to be found. You live with and near people who are less than perfect. They don’t always say and do the right things. They don’t always have good attitudes. They don’t always keep their promises. They are not always committed to your best interest. They are just like you, people in need of God’s rescuing grace.

You live with all kinds of systemic brokenness in your neighborhood, on the highways, at work, in government and education, at the stores where you shop, and the list could go on and on. In case you hadn’t noticed, this is not paradise, and the world doesn’t function the way paradise will someday function. Yet in all of this, God meets you with his heart and life-changing, empowering grace. It really is possible to do what is right in a world that has gone wrong. This life of right begins with recognizing your need for God’s grace, and that begins with a commitment to not deny your need for God’s grace by searching for excuses for the wrong that you have done.

2. Deny. 

It is also tempting to rewrite the history of a certain situation to make yourself look way more righteous than you actually were. This may sound needlessly repetitive, but it is worth thinking about: the ultimate denial of sin is denial. Saying that it never happened makes you hopelessly unapproachable, resistant to the thought that you need to change, and self-congratulatory when you should feel guilty. It leaves you without any neediness for God’s forgiving, restoring, and enabling grace. Denial never goes anywhere good; it is never good for your heart, it never deepens your relationship to God, and it never produces good in your relationships.

3. Minimize. 

One of the most tempting ways of escaping responsibility for your sin is not to excuse it or deny it, but to minimize it. Wrong becomes more palatable to your heart when you are able to minimize its size, importance, or impact. When you are able to make your sin look something less than a conscious moral rebellion against God or a willingness to wrong your neighbor for your own good, it doesn’t then feel so wrong to you. If you can make your sin look to you something less than sin, then you don’t need the grace that God offers sinners. You simply cannot minimize your sin without, at the same time, devaluing God’s amazing grace.

4. Confess. 

In the face of having done what is wrong in the eyes of God, this is the only option that the cross of Jesus Christ leaves open. If sin is excusable, deniable, and not really a big deal, then the cross of Jesus Christ is not necessary. Confession always recognizes the inescapable sinfulness of sin. Sin cannot be excused, it cannot be denied, and it is not honest to diminish its significance, so it must be owned and confessed to one who has the power not only to forgive, but also to deliver us from its hold on our hearts.

What is confession? Confession is admitting personal responsibility for your words and actions, without excuse of any kind or shifting the blame to anyone else. Confession is a welcome into a deeper appreciation of the presence, promises, and grace of God. It is a welcome to more humble, honest, approachable, and loving relationships with others. It is a welcome to no longer being afraid of knowing yourself or being known, because you know that nothing will ever be known or revealed about you that hasn’t already been covered by the blood of Jesus. Confession is an invitation to a life of internal rest and external peace.

So this season, as you reflect on the sacrifice of Christ on your behalf, and as the Spirit begins to reveal your heart and conviction sets in, don’t defend yourself with excuses, denial, or minimizing, and in so doing run from the grace of your Savior. Run to him, owning what you have done as you rest in the grace he offers to all who come to him in this way. “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, / but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

GOING DEEPER

Reflection Questions

1. You probably would give verbal assent to the idea that you need God. But do your actions, your attitudes, and your prayer life support that?

2. How do you usually respond when you are confronted with your sin—excuse, deny, minimize, or confess? What factors contribute to how you respond at different times?

3. What have you noticed are the effects of each of these responses: excuse, deny, minimize,  confession?

Read Psalm 62:5–8, humbling yourself in prayer before the Lord.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.

2026 Lenten Season - Day 20 - To Silence Complaint

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
***************************************************************************

It is good to silence complaint in your life by sitting down and taking the time to count your blessings.

So many blessings, so many graces, so many gifts, so much love. There is no rational explanation; there is no human reason; there is no scientific formula; no evolutionary theory; no political machinations; no cultural privilege; no chance; no fate; nothing earned; nothing achieved; nothing deserved; no right; no entitlement; no family inheritance; no right of passage; no reward for work done; no prize for achievement; no deserved recognition.

There is a miracle operating here; there is amazing favor; there is unprecedented mercy; there is boundless love; there is only one explanation; there is but one rationale. Blood was shed outside the city walls, a perfect man with the criminal element nailed to a torture tree, hung there by those he made. No words of defense, no actions of resistance. Favored Son, now willing Sufferer, carrying the sin of multitudes. Mocked by onlookers, forsaken by the Father, willing Lamb, acceptable sacrifice, planned from eternity, accomplished in time, so we would know so many blessings, so many graces, so many gifts, so much love.

During this season when you are thinking about the hold that the world still has on you, when you’re confessing your struggle with sin, and when you’re focusing on the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus that secured your hope in this life and the one to come, take time to count the many right-here, right-now blessings that the work of Jesus has delivered to you. You probably don’t need me to tell you this, but I will: it is more natural for sinners to complain than to give thanks. If you listen to yourself, you'll find that this is true. Our tendency to complain is one of the results of the selfishness of sin. Complaint reminds us that we keep sticking ourselves in the center of our worlds and making life all about us.

Gratitude is a powerful weapon against complaint. It is impossible to give thanks and complain at the same time. The more you spend time counting your blessings, the less time you’ll have to number your complaints. Complaint is a distorted and inaccurate way of looking at your life. For the child of God, a life of grumbling is the result of a factually inaccurate way of assessing life. It is factually inaccurate because it misses the ultimate facts of your existence: the intervention, operation, and generous blessings of God’s amazing grace. It focuses on what you don’t have and forgets the marvelous blessings that are yours that you could have never earned, achieved, or deserved in your own strength or based on your own performance. God’s grace unleashes into your life blessings that are too many to number. No matter what difficulties you are facing, they are outweighed by the storehouse of blessings that are yours in Christ Jesus.

So take time out of each day, if only for a few moments, to count your blessings. Buy a journal or open a Google Doc, and each day catalog the blessings in your life, from the smallest and most mundane to those that are huge and life-changing. Fight the battle with complaint by developing a day-by-day habit of gratitude. Begin counting your blessings, and watch how the practice begins to alter the way you look at your life. No one is more worthy of your praise than your generous, loving, faithful, wise, and gracious Savior.

Gratitude silences complaint.

GOING DEEPER
Reflection Questions

1. Looking at a typical day, what percentage of your time is spent grumbling and what percentage is spent giving thanks?

2. Why do you think it is so difficult for us to remember to give thanks? What practical things can you do to draw your heart away from complaining and toward praise?

3. Have you ever kept a gratitude journal? What benefits did this have—or could it have if you haven’t tried it yet—for you?

Read Psalm 103, and thank the Lord for his many blessings.

A psalm of David.

1 Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4 He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 5 He fills my life with good things.My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

6 The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly. 7 He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

13 The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. 14 For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. 15 Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. 16 The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here. 17 But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children’s children 18 of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!

19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything.

20 Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands. 21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will! 22 Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

2026 Lenten Season - Day 19 - Not a Simple Occasion

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
***************************************************************************

You and I have three problems that only the Redeemer has the power and willingness to solve.

Psalm 51:1-17

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Psalm 51 records one of the most important prayers in the entire Bible. It is a prayer that everyone should emulate, because it is a model of the heart of true confession. King David, a chosen servant of the Lord, had used his position, power, and resources not only to take another man’s wife, but to murder that man as well. It unpacks for us the kind of confession that comes from a truly sorrowful heart. 

You see the character of this confession from the very first verse. David immediately acknowledges that his problem is not simply this occasion of sin, but something larger and more deeply serious than that.  How do we know this? We know this because of the three words David uses to describe what he is dealing with: transgression, iniquity, and sin. These words are not synonyms but careful descriptions of the different aspects of the nature of sin. Sin is a trifold problem, not just an occasion of wrongdoing. Let’s examine these together.

1. Transgression. 

Sin is much more than a moment of weakness that leads to doing what is wrong in the eyes of God.  Surely, we all have those moments. But transgression concerns something deep inside us that makes us susceptible to temptation’s draw and that weakens us in our battle with sin. A transgression is a willful stepping over of God’s boundaries. Transgression is seeing the No Trespassing sign and climbing the fence anyway because there is something you want to get to on the other side. Transgressing is intentionally parking in the No Parking zone because you would rather save a few steps than obey the law. Transgression is yelling at your wife when you know it is wrong because you want something from her and will do whatever it takes to get it. Transgression is pilfering pens from work when you know very well that they weren’t supplied for your personal use.

Transgression is a spirit of rebellion. It’s putting yourself in God’s place and writing your own rules. It’s wanting your own way more than submitting to God’s way. Transgression is a condition of the heart that turns every sinner into a rebel in some way. True confession confesses to more than weakness; it confesses to the rebellion of heart that causes you to be weak in your struggle with sin.

2. Iniquity. 

Something even deeper than a spirit of rebellion lives in me. It is the thing that causes me to be rebellious. Consider the words of Titus 1:15: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” The only way we would ever perfectly obey God is if the thoughts, motives, desires, and intentions of our hearts were completely pure. But sin defiles the heart. Iniquity is moral uncleanness. It is like water that is no longer pure, but has corrupting elements in it. Iniquity is like breathing polluted air. You can’t see it, you don’t realize it, but it contains impurities that will harm you. I wish I could say that my heart is pure. I wish I could say that there are no artifacts of moral corruption in me, and because there aren’t, I am impervious to temptation. But sadly, I cannot say that, and neither can you as long as sin still resides in your heart. So confession doesn’t just admit to a moment of wrongdoing and a spirit of rebellion, but it also acknowledges the moral impurity of heart that is the seedbed of that rebellion.

3. Sin. 

Finally, our confession of sin is a confession of a specific instance of weakness and failure. The word sin connotes falling short of God’s wise and righteous standard. It’s more than pulling the bowstring back and missing the target. It is pulling the bowstring back again and again, and every time falling short of the target. Confession of a specific sin against God and others is an admission of weakness. It is an admission that, when left on our own, even in our best moments, we would still fall short of God’s holy requirements of us. Embedded in the word sin is a cry for help. It is a cry to be rescued from your bondage to yourself. It’s a plea to not be left to your own weakness, but to be forgiven and rescued by one greater and more powerful than you will ever be. Confession of sin carries with it a commitment to be ever more dependent on the Redeemer for the help that he alone can give. Confession of sin is an admission that this instance of weakness and failure stands as a testament of your ongoing need for God’s grace.

So in this season of personal reflection and confession, may your confession be as deep and broad as David’s. And may these three biblical words, transgression, iniquity, and sin, guide that confession. And as you confess, may you be comforted by God’s promise that he will never turn his back on you. He will never despise one who comes to him with a truly broken and contrite heart. Confession is God’s welcome to enter into a deeper experience of the majesty of his grace.

GOING DEEPER

Reflection Questions

1. In the last week, how have you transgressed God’s law, rebelling in spirit against him?

2. When was the last time you confessed your iniquity, your general impurity? If this is not a regular part of your prayer life, how might you incorporate it more often?

3. Does your confession of sin often feel like a cry for help? Why or why not?

Return to Psalm 51 at the top of this post, and use it again as a template for prayer, allowing the definitions of transgression, iniquity, and sin to deepen your time of confession.

2026 Lenten Season - Day 18 - Surprised Again

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
***************************************************************************
The story of our redemption is historical proof of God's unstoppable sovereignty.

Surprise is a normal part of life for all of us. We are greeted with mystery again and again. We get caught up short, unprepared for what is coming down the line. The redemptive story confronts us with the fact that God is not like us. He saw our need, he planned how to meet that need, and everything happened just as he planned. In the vast expanse of time, the huge company of people, and the multitude of locations that were the setting for his plan of grace, he was never surprised, never unprepared, and
always in control. Christ’s march to the cross reinforces for us that our rest and hope are not in our knowing, but in his ruling. The God who knows no surprises will surprise us again. But it is okay,
because what we don’t know, he knows; what we can’t control, he controls, and because he does, we can live with mystery and surprise and not be afraid.

May the words below stimulate rest in the middle of surprise.
Surprised again. Quiet conversation erupts into heated debate.
Surprised again. Sickness interrupts well-being.
Surprised again. A loved one is unexpectedly lost.
Surprised again. A long-trusted leader falls.
Surprised again. An unexpected gift alleviates need.
Surprised again. Opportunity’s doors open wide.
Surprised again. A sleepless night plunders rest.
Surprised again. Sudden conflict crushes peace.
Surprised again. An emergency alters the day’s schedule.
Surprised again. Divine provision propels a plan.
Surprised again. Sudden mystery sows confusion.
Surprised again. Grace proves too big to grasp.
It is the story of my life. I am surprised again and again.

Surprised again, reminded again and again, that I am not sovereign. I am surprised again but not afraid. My surprise, my misguided expectation, the mystery I live with, my lack of control, does not mean my world, my life, my present, my future, is out of control. Yes, I will be surprised again and again, but I am not afraid, because You, Lord, are incapable of being surprised.

GOING DEEPER
Reflection Questions

1. Do you like surprises? Why or why not? What emotions do surprises evoke for you?

2. When has life surprised you? When has God surprised you?

3. How can a perspective on God’s sovereignty help you deal with the surprises of life? What are some things you can do to live with joy and hope amid the uncertainties of life?

Read Isaiah 46:5–13, Take courage and comfort in the (ofttimes surprising) sovereignty of God.

Isaiah 46:5-13 New Living Translation

“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?
Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it! They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.  It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind! Remember this, you guilty ones. Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding. I have said what I would do, and I will do it. Listen to me, you stubborn people who are so far from doing right. For I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future, but right now! I am ready to save Jerusalem and show my glory to Israel."

Promise for Today - Your Will

Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Psalm 36:5 NKJV

What a powerful phrase! “Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” God's unwavering faithfulness is beyond our human understanding. Everything about Him is immense, boundless, and incomparable. He never forgets, never fails, and never breaks His word. To every promise or prophecy, the Lord has remained perfectly true; every covenant He has pledged He will fulfill, for “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). And in Lamentations 3:22-23, the prophet writes, "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."

God's faithfulness is a key theme throughout the Bible, highlighting His constant and consistent reliability, trustworthiness, and unwavering commitment to fulfilling His promises and covenants. God's faithfulness should be the foundation of our understanding of God's nature and His relationship with mankind.

No wonder it's the very characteristic of God that satan tries to impugn! Think about it. The Word says God HEARS and ANSWERS our prayers. Now, as you read that, I wonder how many thought, "Not all of them," or "Not mine." 

See? That right there is an evil, subtle, and effective lie of satan - designed to destroy our faith in God and His willingness and ability and yes, His faithfulness to answer our prayers. If we believe God doesn't hear our prayers and doesn't answer them, how do we put our faith and trust in Him? Even when the answer is not the one we want, our prayers have been heard and answered. Sometimes the answer is no.

Matthew 26:39 NLT, Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine.” Jesus had done everything right - everything God had told Him to do. He did not deserve to be punished. He did not deserve to be crucified. Jesus had never sinned once. Not one time! And as a man, Jesus did not want to suffer the whole crucifixion ordeal. He hadn't done anything to deserve it! He prayed and pleaded more than once to not have to do it, yet always ended with "Your will be done."

Do we understand that without Christ's perfect submission to our Father's will and plan, all of mankind would have been eternally lost?!? There would be no forgiveness of our sins! There would be no redemption! There would be no way back to right-standing with God!

Not everything bad that happens in our lives is from satan. Sometimes, it's part of God's plan and can be used for God's glory when we submit it to Him. To witness to someone, to point someone toward salvation. An opportunity to cross paths with someone who needs to be a witness to God's love in action. Pray as Jesus taught us to pray, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine." By all means, pray and ask God to deliver you from it, but like Jesus, "Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine."

Prayer:

Father, 
           We pray as Paul prayed in his letter to the Corinthians. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by You. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Father, that is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. Open our eyes to see that our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. That they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! Lord, be the Lifter of our heads so we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. Thy will be done, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

2026 Lenten Season - Day 17 - Finding Your Treasure

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
***************************************************************************

The Christian life is a battle of treasure. Whatever treasure captures your heart will control your life.

As I would walk with my children through the streets of Philadelphia, I would tell them to keep looking down every once in a while, because on the edge of the street at the curb, there was treasure to be found. My kids loved finding nickels and dimes and little metal trinkets, but they fantasized about finding real treasure. We found no diamond rings or collectible old coins, but my children never stopped hunting and hoping for treasure.

Every human being is a treasure hunter. We’re all looking for that thing of value that will give us life, or at least change our lives. So we hunt for treasure in relationships, careers, possessions, achievements, education, positions of power, or in physical strength and beauty. We never seem to find that pot of heart-satisfying gold that we’re looking for, at least not in the physical, created world. But sadly, many of us keep looking. With desperation or determination, we look again and again, telling ourselves that the next thing will deliver what it was never designed to deliver: life.

Matthew 6 reminds us that there are only two places to look. You can attach the desires of your heart and the hope of your life to earthbound treasure or heavenward treasure. You are searching horizontally or looking vertically for that thing of such rare and amazing value that it would have the power to finally satisfy your heart and give you meaning, purpose, and security for the rest of your life. What people fail to realize is that they are searching not for a thing, but for a person. The search for treasure is, in reality, a search for a savior. This is why where you look is so terribly important. Millions and millions of people every day surrender the hope of their hearts to false saviors. They look to the created thing to do what only the Creator can. This vain search that somehow captures us all began with Adam and Eve when they looked for life away from God and toward something else. Where you look for treasure will not only control your heart, and therefore, your words and behavior, but it will also determine your destiny. Treasure decisions have huge consequences here and now and in the life that is to come.

Listen to this parable of Jesus found in Matthew 13:44: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

This is the kind of story that excites us all, the kind that makes you say to yourself, “I wish I were that guy!” He found what we’re all looking for, and he is so filled with joy that he has no problem whatsoever in selling everything he has so he can be certain that this treasure will be his. It’s a story that’s meant to stop you in your tracks, to get your attention, and to capture your imagination.

But I want you to think about something. We’re all that man. We’re all traversing the fields of life, and we all have our heads down looking for something that will give us hope, something that will fix what is broken in and around us, something that will satisfy our hearts. We’re all looking for that thing that is worth all of the sacrifices we have made for it. Whether we know it or not, we’re all searching for the one thing that we would sacrifice everything for, with no buyer’s regret and no fear that we would ever wonder if we had made the wrong choice.

We all make sacrifices every day for things that we think are valuable, things that we think will carry our happiness, satisfaction, and joy. No one lives a sacrifice-free life. We give up things all the time in the hopes of possessing and experiencing something better. You can’t be a human being, with the treasure orientation that is wired inside us all, and not do this. How many men have sacrificed their families for the hope of business and career success? How many teenagers have suspended their morals for the hope of acceptance by their peers? How many politicians have dealt away their allegiance to their electorate for the hope of political power? How many people make financial and relational sacrifices to win bigger houses and better cars?

Every day, we all make sacrifices for treasures that we have placed our hope in. If I could have a window into a month of your life, what sacrifices would I see you making? What would I conclude is the field that you are willing to give up precious things for? This story is not designed just to get your attention; it is also designed to cause you to ask one of the most important questions of all: “What am I really living for?”

Resist giving the “right” answer here. Regular church attendance, regular giving, along with episodes of ministry can sadly live right alongside a heart that is captured by and shaped by the sacrificial pursuit of earthbound treasure. What really does give you joy? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What has made you so content that you’re not only willing to make huge sacrifices for it, but you’re so satisfied you don’t have the desire to search anymore? What captures the imagination and desires of your heart? You are making sacrifices, but in what field and for what treasure?

This thirty-four-word parable is meant not just to get your attention or to cause you to ask deeply personal questions, but also to confront you with a truth that every human being needs to hear and understand. The only thing that is worth sacrificing everything for is the kingdom of heaven. That kingdom is not a place or an earthly political reality. No, it is the rule of the King of kings. He comes not only to rule our hearts, but to rule over everything for our good and his glory. In his rule is the grace of forgiveness, the patient love of personal transformation, and the sovereign guarantee of life to come that is free of all the sin and suffering that so marks the here and now. His rule is the place where I am freed from my bondage to the created thing and swept up into the transcendent and glorious. This King alone is able to satisfy the cravings of my heart and grant me joy that the disappointing circumstances of life cannot take away. It really is true: the kingdom of heaven is the only thing worth giving up everything for.

So in this season of quiet spiritual reflection, stop and pay attention, ask deeply personal questions, and make a treasure evaluation. Be willing to confess where you’ve placed your hope in earthbound treasure, sacrificing to get what it could never deliver. And give yourself in a new way to make sacrifices in the service of the King of kings. He never promises what he cannot deliver, and he is able to do in your heart what nothing else or no one else can do.

GOING DEEPER
Reflection Questions

1. How does the way you spend your time, money, and energy reveal what you truly treasure?

2. Looking at the objective evidence of your life, do you more highly treasure the kingdom of God or earthly things?

3. What sacrifices are you willing to make for the treasure of God’s kingdom?

Read Matthew 6:19–34 and 13:44 – 46, and meditate on where you are setting your heart.

Matthew 6:19-34 New Living Translation - Teaching about Money and Possessions

19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

22 “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 13:44 – 46 Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

2026 Lenten Season - Day 16 - Unnatural Confession

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
***************************************************************************

No sacrifice is more pleasing to your Lord than the sacrifice of words in the form of humble, honest, heartfelt confession.

Something inside us naturally resists confessing. It is easy for us to rise to our own defense. It is easy for us to blame someone else. It is easy to argue within ourselves that what we did was not that bad after all. It is easy to compare ourselves to others and conclude that we’re not doing as badly as them. It’s easy to be self-righteous and defensive when approached with a wrong. But confession is counterintuitive. Every parent knows that an honest, humble confession is unnatural. If you ask your child why he did what he did, he won’t talk about himself. He’ll point to his sibling, or he’ll point to the situation, but he won’t say, “It was me. I am a rebel and a sinner, and I alone am at fault.”

I have an embarrassing personal example of the difficulty of confession. I was on a speaking trip and staying at the home of one of the families in the church. It was a lovely, well-decorated house filled with fine furniture. In my room was a large and beautiful leather lounge chair. When I speak, I like my clothes to be wrinkle-free, so, before the days when I would stay in hotels where irons are provided, I always traveled with a small iron. I looked around for a place to iron my clothes, and the big leather chair seemed like the best option. I put a towel on it, heated up the iron, and began to press my clothes. I had pressed my pants, set the iron upright on the towel, and walked over to get my shirt. I turned around only to discover that the iron had fallen. It had landed facedown on the seat of that chair and burned the leather. I couldn’t believe it. I then spent way too much time thinking about how I would break the bad news of how my hosts’ beautiful chair now had a large burn mark, but I spent even more time trying to convince myself that this wasn’t actually my fault.

I was the only one in the room. I was the one ironing. I was the one who made the decision to iron on that beautiful chair. I had walked away and left a hot iron in a precarious position. It was my fault. I had to go downstairs and tell my host what I had done. The fact that it was so hard was a humbling spiritual lesson for me. This is why confession is such a pleasing sacrifice to your Lord. It requires you to silence all the self-aggrandizing, self-righteous voices in your life. It forces you to admit that you’re way more spiritually needy than you would like to think you are. It asks you to admit that you’re a person in constant need of forgiveness. It causes you to admit that your biggest problem is not your history, your family, your friends, your culture, your economic situation, your church, your neighbors, your age, or your physical condition. Confession requires you to admit that your biggest problems live inside you, in your heart. It smashes any delusion of comfortable independence. It yanks you away from spiritual self-reliance. Confession drives you to the feet of God as your sovereign Lord and Savior, to honor him for who he is, and to cry for help because of who you are. Confession is pleasing to God because it puts you right in the middle of the position you were created to be in: humble, honest dependence on him.

No passage captures this better than Hosea 14:1–3:
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, 

for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

Take with you words and return to the Lord; 

Say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, 

and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. 

Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses;

and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. 

In you, the orphan finds mercy.”

Hosea is a message of exhortation and warning to people who have wandered away from God. The word picture for this warning is marital adultery. God’s people have committed spiritual adultery.  Spiritual adultery is loving something more than God, causing us to desire and do what God has prohibited. Sin is spiritual adultery. In the face of this, Hosea calls God’s people to return, as an adulterous spouse would return to the one he promised his lifelong love to. But at the center of this call to return is this request: “Take with you words . . . ‘we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.’” It is a bit hard in the English translation to understand what is being requested here. God is saying, "There is a sacrifice I want you to make; it’s the sacrifice of your lips, that is, confession.” God wanted them to do more than just bring the required animal sacrifices. He wanted them to bring a far more costly sacrifice: honest, humble confession, free of excuse or blame-shifting. Confession is hard, but it is simple. Confession only takes three words: “I have sinned.” Confession is naming and owning the sin with no contingencies added.

But there is another part of the sacrifice of your lips. It is acknowledging that your only hope is the forgiving and transforming grace of the Lord. “Assyria shall not save us; / we will not ride on horses; / and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’/ to the work of our hands. / In you the orphan finds mercy” (Hosea 14:3). Sin is a mess we cannot independently get ourselves out of. Sin cries out for grace because grace is the sinner’s only hope in life and in death.

So this Lenten season, don’t just give up physical stuff. How about coming to God with the pleasing sacrifice of confession? Come to him this season and place your pride on his altar, confessing your wandering heart and acknowledging once again that you are a person in need of mercy, and the mercy you need is found only in him.

In this season of sacrifice, take words with you and return to your Lord.

GOING DEEPER

Reflection Questions

1. Why do you think confession is so difficult for us?

2. What are the essential aspects of confession? Break it down into what actually needs to be admitted and what must not be said in order for it to be a true confession.

3. Think of someone you have wronged today, or in the past week, and go to that person with a real, honest confession of your guilt.

Set a timer and spend fifteen minutes in honest confession, using Romans 3:10–18 as a guide.

Romans 3:10-18 New Living Translation

10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one.
11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16 Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”
18 “They have no fear of God at all.”