Day 5                                        “Wash your hands!                                  1:9

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

              Family is about closeness.  The problem with closeness:  “the tighter the tolerances,  the more the friction.”  A car engine is an example of tight tolerances.  A crankshaft is only 2 to 3 thousands of an inch smaller than the bearings it sits in.  Because of those close clearances,  an engine needs oil.  It can’t survive without good lubrication to every close relationship.  One of the purposes of oil is to take any debris from the engine and remove it through a filter.  With the close tolerances,  a small particle of debris can ruin an engine. 

            So it is in the church.  If we want to have a close relationship with people in the church,  the result will be friction.  There will be problems because we sin.  1 John shows the importance of fellowship but then it immediately states, 

1 John 1:8   If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

           Because we all sin,  there will be times when we will be self centered;  when we will be filled with envy and jealousy.  We will not react the way we should to the body of Christ,  our family of believers in church.  The result can be hurtful and destructive.  This is where “confession of sins” becomes important.  Confession of sin is the means by which we clean the debris out of our life that can cause hurt.  “It doesn’t take a large pebble in the shoe to produce a great hurt.” 

          When we confess our sin,  He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.  Through cleansing and the “oil” of the Holy Spirit,  the body can function in love without damage. 

          As a young person,  we have all been told that we have to wash our hands before we come to dinner.  There were times in my house,  when my mom would stop serving the food and tell us boys to get in the bathroom and wash our hands.  No one was allowed to sit down until their hands were clean. 

         We need to be reminded by the Lord of the problem of sin and the solution of confession.  Sin will separate us from fellowship with God, and with our spiritual family.  God in His grace has provided us a way to come together without the debris that can hurt our family. We need to bring our sin before our Lord and ask Him to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!