A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
I was already skeptical about the phone call when I heard the man’s British/Indian accent. He
said, “You have won a million dollars, and we are ready to send it to you today.”
“Sure, and you’ll throw in the Brooklyn Bridge as well?” I thought.
“All you have to do is send us $200,000 to pay the taxes on it.”
I said, rather wearily, “Sir, you and I both know this is a scam.”
“No, madam, this is not a scam. You really do own one million dollars.”
You’d say I should have hung up at that point. But I was tired of scammers and wanted to say
so. “Sir, may I ask you a question? When you go to bed at night, does your conscience hurt you
because you’ve tried to steal $200,000 from a little old lady in America?”
“Of course my conscience hurts me,” he answered readily, to my surprise. “That’s why I confess
my sins every night before I go to bed.”
In our last conversation together, I asked you to remember that when we trusted Jesus as our
Savior, we were “Forgiven!” We talked about the wonderful assurance we have that when we accepted
Him, He forgave every sin. He erases from our record every sin we’ve ever committed.
There are no “magic words” to quote when we come to Jesus. The thief dying on a cross with
Jesus said, “Remember me.” Zachaeus, the tax collector so short he climbed into a sycamore tree to get
a glimpse of Jesus hadn’t yet said a word to Him. But Jesus said, “Salvation has come to your house.”
The woman at the well in Samaria said, “Please give me some of that water.” Saul, the persecutor of
Christians, asked, “Who are you, Lord?”
It’s the heart cry, the acknowledgment that you need forgiveness, and that you want Jesus to help
you that gives you forgiveness.
This scammer “confesses” his sins every night. Is he sorry for his sin? Perhaps not, if the next
morning, bright and early, he intends to dial another phone number and give his deceitful spiel again.
Often, when we’ve have confessed a sin, we will have to confess it again, because, as Hebrews
12:1 says, we have “besetting sins,” temptations that come back to us again and again. That’s why we
need to set up safeguards against temptation. Romans 13:14 says,
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the flesh,
to fulfill its lusts.
When a man puts another six-pack in the fridge to prove he’s no longer tempted to get drunk, as
one of our church members did, that’s “making provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.” Sure enough,
the six-pack quickly disappeared, as did succeeding six-packs. “Making provision for the flesh” is like,
when you’ve decided smoking is bad for your health, you nevertheless put a carton of cigarettes in your
shopping cart just in case a friend wants a smoke. It’s like confessing to God that you lost your temper
and said unforgivable things to your spouse, but you have no intention of telling your spouse how sorry
you are. It’s like “borrowing” $50.00 from the petty cash drawer at work, and “forgetting” to replace it.
Genuine sorrow for sin will drive us to make what amends we can.
That’s why Jesus came to earth. He loves us so much He gave His life to redeem us. To receive
His forgiveness we must confess our need for Him, and take His gift of salvation. We can make no
promises not to sin again. But we will claim His help to resist temptation when it comes, as it certainly
will.