journal
Describe a time when you felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
meditate
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 NKJV
devotional
In the beauty of the spring, I will spend many hours on my knees in my garden, planting with the hope of a beautiful array of flowers. In the summer, I will often be on my knees pulling weeds in the same garden. God spoke to me about sin through a particularly hardy weed in Tennessee that I combatted week after week. I would dig down and pull out that weed only for it to pop up a few feet away. It had such an underground hold in that particular garden that it seemed impossible to pull up and root out.
Sin often has an underground root system similar to weeds. Repentance requires you and me to go deep down to the hidden motivations of our hearts. Repentance is changing your mind and perspective. It’s God’s goodness that leads you to repentance. The Holy Spirit reveals what’s hidden from sight.
Sin comes out of our heart through the confession of our mouth. Confession means that we are agreeing with God. Repentance provides a powerful opportunity for a changed life. Genuine repentance is a change of heart toward God and others and will lead to a new way of thinking about life.
Today, allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Acknowledge each wrong thought, word, action, or attitude in order for true transformation to take place. The Holy Spirit will cleanse and refine you from the inside out.
pray aloud
Merciful God, shine your light into the recesses of my thoughts and motives of my heart.
It’s your goodness, Lord, that leads me to repentance. Alert me to those sins and habits that keep coming back like weeds. I choose to tend to the garden of my life. Let your refreshing rains soften the soil of my heart. I love you. Amen.
declare
By God’s grace, I am pure.