JIMNSC

Trust and obey. If we are obedient we will keep His commandments. Doing so requires constant thought and vigilance and leaves little time for an idle mind prone to sin (including character flaws). When we fail we need to trust that He will forgive us provided we ask for forgiveness and turn away from that sin.

I am comforted in the fact that Jesus makes intercession for me to God the Father.

Confessing is admission of guilt but repenting of what we confess is key.

He or she is a liar and the truth is not in them. We do have character flaws that are sinful, I believe we know they're sinful but may have put that knowledge on the back burner in order to participate with others on their level at the time. We have a sinful nature and it is easy to slip because of these flaws.

It is extremely hard (and really impractical) to be willing to "bear your soul" with any but your closest, most trusted, Christian friends. You may be the most sincere and trustworthy of folks when it comes to relationships but unless that "other" person has given you reason to believe they are just as sincere, you aren't likely to go below a surface relationship with them. One needs to believe that what we share with others is treated with respect and not twisted into some exciting phone calls later. John 17:22

Hello from South Carolina. My name is Jim and I'm a 68 year old, born again, Baptist who is looking forward to this study. Hope to meet some of you good folks along the way. Jim

Hello - Old retired man here from Boiling Springs, S.C. Like 'With Grateful Heart,' we are starting a study of Ephesians next week in our church and I wanted all the additional help I could muster. Looking forward to this one! Jim