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Day 3 – Confession
Written by: danielle bell

Matthew 5:23-24
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

image[3]“danielle, you are the Christian. shouldn’t you make things right?” those were the words spoken to me by an unbeliever concerning another relationship where i had allowed unforgiveness to come between us. the timing was not coincidental either. i was scheduled to leave in just a few short days to be a part of a prayer walking trip for a new missions outreach. i was so excited to be able to serve on this trip, but these profound words haunted me as the day to leave approached. (i can still tell you exactly where i was when those words were spoken to me over the cell phone.)

how could i go forward boldly in prayer when i was hanging on to much unforgiveness in my heart? i was far more concerned with my outward act of worship through serving than having my heart right with God. yes, there was reason for my hurt, but i had allowed my unforgiveness to become sin. the other person didn’t even have a clue, but it was becoming quite the stumbling block for my spiritual walk. i was literally tripping over my own sin on my way to serve.  how could i offer my worship through service when i was refusing to extend the forgiveness God has graciously given it to me?

your service is an act of worship to a Holy and deserving God.  before you begin a new year teaching/leading, spend some time in self-examination asking the Holy Spirit to reveal areas where you need to be reconciled to a brother or sister in Christ. (if you are like me, this is not just a once a year examination, but a constant one as you strive to worship with a pure heart.)

pray through matthew 5:23-24.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

spend some time today pausing in prayer; allow the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin involving another in which you need to repent and be reconciled.

if God reminds you of a situation where a brother or sister has something against you, go and be reconciled. confess your sin, repent, and then return to offer your service as an act of worship.

let’s not only teach Scripture to those God places in our path, may we be diligent about being “doers” of His Word even when it is hard.  then let’s serve in the freedom that comes with reconciliation and make much of Jesus.

this post is part two in the “pausing to pray” series.  you can find part 1 here and part 2 here

Day 2 – Confession
Written by: Jan Jones
Letting Go of Sin

Hebrews 12:1
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, …”

image[3] I take my coffee each morning on my front porch.  The porch provides a beautiful view of my “front yard” garden – yaupon hollies, autumn ferns, pots of annuals and hydrangeas.  In early June, I noticed a vine sprouting up between two hollies.  I thought to myself, “I need to pull that up.” I repeated that thought for over 60 days, but would promptly forget about it once I put my coffee cup down and began the day’s activities. The vine steadily grew and began to intertwine itself within the holly. One morning, I reached down to pull it up but the root was very strong, and all I was able to accomplish was to break the top six inches of the vine and strip several leaves off a branch. It also had developed small slivers of thorns. My effort to pull it up by myself convinced me I would need a small spade, garden shears, and gloves. And so, I didn’t put anymore effort into removing the vine.

I got use to seeing the vine in the yaupon. It began to blend in quite well with the shrub. It wrapped itself around the main stem and its tendrils began to reach out for branches and leaves. It became completely embedded to the yaupon. The yaupon is still there but all I see now is the vine – the price a lazy gardener pays for not pulling the weeds and vines while they were small.

The writer of Hebrews warns us in Hebrews 12:1 that sin “easily entangles” itself in our lives – it attaches itself to our heart, our thoughts, our actions. Usually our first interaction with sin is easily recognizable. We realize and admit that we must remove the sin. But life gets in the way and we never “get around” to addressing our sin. Other times, we feel that it really isn’t that big of a deal –  it’s not like we are thieves or murderers.  And so the sin entangles a little more into our lives, wrapping members of our body and holds our every thought captive.  Before we know it, sin (just a little sin, you say) has overtaken our lives and we have become use to it; not really noticing it anymore.

It takes work – some sins are easily “pulled up.” Others require additional equipment and effort (fervent prayer; Bible study; fasting; a willing heart and confession). This week, let us focus on sin in our lives that might be hindering us from running with perseverance.

 Ephesians 4:30:  “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
As you pray, thank God for the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin.  Ask Him to reveal to you the sin that has entangled your life.

 Psalm 36:2:  “For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.”
As you pray, ask God to open the eyes of your heart to recognize that your unconfessed sin is a form of self-flattery.

 Psalm 38:18, David wrote:  “I confess my iniquity.  I am troubled by my sin.”
As sin is exposed and we agree with God, ask God for the perseverance needed for Him to completely remove the sin from your life.

 Psalm 66:18-19:  “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.”
Praise God for changing your heart by revealing your sin.  Thank Him for hearing your prayer.

 Psalm 119:97:  “Oh, how I love your law!  I meditate on it all day long.”
Ask God to strengthen your resolve to study His Word thereby enabling you to easily recognize sin in your life.

 John 1:29:  “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
How glorious it is that God uses us, sinners, as spiritual investors in the lives of children.  We must remain diligent in eradicating any personal sins that hinder our usefulness in God’s Hands.  We have the privilege of introducing children to the Lamb of God who takes away their sin.  Ask God to keep you close to Him in the coming year – convicting you, loving you, and molding you into the image of His Son.

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Jan Jones recently retired after 28 years of ministry. She has served in countless roles including Minister to Children, Minister to Adults, and Minister of Christian Education. Her impact on children, families, women, adults, and other ministers is quite broad and continues as she now serves weekly as a faithful 3rd grade Sunday School Investors. You can see a glimpse of  her gift of leadership on another blog post found on this site here.

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