Introduction

Pillars of Truth to Declare Over Your Life

About the Book

This is a book that I wrote for myself. It was written to be used, and also as a kind of experiment. I know that may not sound very spiritual, but that's the truth. Many books are written from the perspective of, "I am enlightened and you are not, so read my book." Nothing could be further from the truth. I am struggling to become more of the man that I was created to be, and I have failed repeatedly. I do dumb things on a regular basis. I have done many things that I am ashamed of. I have hurt my wife and children repeatedly over the years and have had to ask for forgiveness.

So don't think that I am offering these ideas in the hopes that you would become like me. My hope is that you would become more like you—the true you, the you that God designed you to be—because this world needs "that you." Your wife needs "that you." Your kids need "that you." And I find it interesting that "that you" already exists in your spirit and in the mind of God: the you that is more like Jesus. The question is: do you want to let God bring out His best version of you?

The Premise

I have been learning some truths about the power of our words through multiple sources and realized how foolish I have been to miss out on the amazing opportunities that were right in front of me all those years. Not only that, I have been testing out these truths in my own life. Before we dive in, I want to clarify a few things about what this book is about and what it is not about. The words "confession" and "confessional" both have more than one meaning.

First, it is not about confessing your sins. I heartily agree that we should be doing that, but that's not the aim of this book. Second, I am not talking about a booth for confessing your sins to a priest. Third, I am not pulling the confessions in this book from a denomination's catechisms from the past.

"You say what you have and have what you say." —Charles Capps

So let's be clear about what my intentions were for this book and why. First of all, there are some very interesting principles about how God set up the order of things here on earth. I am not going to camp out here too long, but stick with me for a bit; it may help you stay motivated to give these confessions a serious try. Our adversary's chief strategy from the beginning has been deception. And with centuries of practice, I'd say he is far more proficient at deceiving us than we realize. I believe that one of the biggest deceptions he tends to exploit, other than our view of God, is our view of ourselves. If we believe that we are less than who God made us to be, we often live up to that lower standard.

Let's say you were born into a royal family and had the authority to influence a kingdom, but from birth, you were told that you were a poor, destitute nobody. You'd live differently. In one well-known study, teachers were told that a randomly chosen group of students were especially gifted, while the rest were not. Believe it or not, those students went on to outperform their classmates simply because of what was believed about them. If that's what someone else's belief can do, imagine what God's truth can do once you believe it about yourself. If you just had a red flag pop up in your mind, thinking, "Crap, this is just another 'believe in yourself' Disney movie, modernistic remix," then let me bury that red flag so that we can move on.

Spoken Seeds of Truth

My goal is not to meditate on our modern media's twisted worldview, but on short, powerful seeds of truth from the Bible—a confessional for men. So what do I mean by confessional? My definition: "Short, spoken seeds of truth about ourselves, our families, the church, the world, and God."

Why short? Men are typically compartmental in our thinking. One thing at a time. Also, it is easier for a short seed to take root than a complex web of multiple ideas.

Why spoken? God has given us dominion over the earth. God spoke the world into existence. As His children, we have been given authority. Our enemy has led us to believe that we are powerless, but that's not true. We as men, fathers, and husbands can speak God's truth over ourselves, our wives (or future wives), our children, our futures, our families, our homes, our finances, our weaknesses, our friendships, our churches…

How is this different from meditation? Psalm 1 was taught to me as a new believer.

"Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." —Psalm 1:2–3 CSB

I am not trying to replace the importance of Christian meditation; however, this is an additional powerful way to bring change. This is something that works as a complement. This is something that was missing from my spiritual life. Meditation is pondering or thinking upon God's truth, with the aid of His Spirit. And meditation and confession do overlap. In your time of meditation, you may receive an insight that you want to include in your daily confession. Confession is more a declaration of His truth over your life in the power of His Spirit and in the authority He has placed upon you.

"By what authority are you doing these things?" —Mark 11:28 CSB

Has He given us the authority to speak things into existence that did not previously exist? Let's take a look at what the Bible says about this.

"Proclaim these things; encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you." —Titus 2:15 CSB

The Faith Ingredient

Does confession mean that you actually believe what you are confessing? No, not necessarily. Sometimes—oftentimes—confession comes before belief.

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." —Romans 10:17 NASB

"But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ." —Ephesians 4:15 NASB

The 3 Ingredients of This Book

1. Truth

2. Confession

3. Faith or Belief

How to Use This Book

This compilation of confessions is made to be used or applied more than just read and pondered. Think of it more as a field manual or a battle resource. I'd rather you see it as something to be used than something to be consumed. I have designed the layout to make it as easy as possible to find the resource that you need. Bookmark the confessions that speak to you, or copy them into your phone. If you are making a confession, you need easy access so you can pull it up and take action.

Remember, I made this for myself. I wanted to change the reality of my life. I have also included sections for you to add your own confessions. And I don't have any qualms about you skipping over confessions that may not apply to your situation. Also, there is no particular order that you need to follow.

Sidenote: I have tried to avoid ranting. There is much going on in our Western culture that is very alarming, and in writing my thoughts, it's easy for me to be drawn onto side trails. That's not to say that I won't briefly address topics that may surface. Manhood is under assault like never before; however, this is not the book to address the myriad of manhood issues. But when God's truth is confessed, it may from time to time find modern masculinity in the crosshairs.

Sidenote 2: The accompanying confessional commentary is optional reading.

Sidenote 3: The confession readings are purposefully repetitive.

Final note: The confessions are intentionally short and simple. The goal is to plant a seed that has the best possible chance of taking root and growing in faith.