Day 12

Most of you know I spent nearly 2 years trying to figure out if this whole faith thing was for real, I wondered if Jesus was the real deal or if there were more ways to heaven than through Christ. I came to know that He is the ONLY way and I put my trust in Him to save me from my sins. And because of the work He did on the cross I can know, without a doubt, that I have been reconciled with God. Can I hear an AMEN!! What I haven't said too many times is that the first year was spent determining if He was the real deal, the second year I spent trying to hide my sin from Him. I had put my sin on a sliding scale of those that were bad, not so bad and wow, really bad. To God, sin is sin. Our consequences are different but sin is sin and God can have no part of sin. The work Jesus did on the cross is for all sin, there is no sin that is outside the reach of God. All sin can be forgiven when confessed. Read the dialogue that happened recently between a patient and his nurse. The nurse told the patient he no longer went to church. The patient asked, "Why." "I sinned by killing people as a sniper in the war and couldn't be forgiven." The patient said, "What do you think Jesus died on the cross for? He died on the cross to forgive all our sins." Now, that is worth an amen!! The nurse recognizes he is a sinner but doesn't see the work on the cross as sufficient to forgive his sins. May this nurse find His Redeemer has already done the work, it is sufficient and it is finished, may he receive the free gift of salvation.

Day 12
The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer by Andrew Murray

What to Pray: For the Spirit to Convince the World of Sin

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement" (John 16:7-8).
Christ's coming, death, and resurrection was to take away sin. The first work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin. Without conviction there is no repentance. And without repentance there is no salvation. Unless the Spirit moves to convict and convince of sin, no deep or abiding revival and no powerful conversion is possible. Pray that the Gospel may be preached in such power that all may see how they have rejected and crucified Christ afresh, and that they may cry out, "What shall we do?"

How to Pray: Stir Yourself Up to Take Hold of God's Strength

"Let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me" (Isaiah 27:5). "No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins" (Isaiah 64:7). "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands" (2 Timothy 1:6). Appropriate God's strength. God is a Spirit. We cannot take hold of Him and keep Him with us but by the Spirit. Take refuge in God and secure from Him what He has promised: conviction of sin. Pray for the power of the Spirit to convince His people as well as the lost of their sins. There is no effective prayer apart from the Spirit. Give your whole heart to Him in prayer and faith that He will work and reveal to those for whom you pray the true state of their hearts and their need to confess their sins and be made right with God.

Your Own Prayer Requests:

~Don't keep secrets from God. If you are keeping secrets from Him tell Him why, what are you afraid of? Ask forgiveness for the secrets you have kept from Him. Let Him speak the truth of His love to you and into your heart. There is nothing...no thing...that you can do or have done that will have God love you any less or any more than he already does. He doesn't love you for what you do, He loves you because of who you are, He created you.
~Ask forgiveness for comparing yourself to others' sins. Are you using the same sliding scale that I used? We (me included) tend to compare ourselves to others to determine our worth in a positive light and even in a negative light. We see someone else's sin and immediately think we aren't so bad. When we compare ourselves to our sinless Savior we are sinners.

I finally told God my sins, all of them. He wasn't surprised, He already knew them, He just needed me to be in agreement with Him. Oddly enough, the conviction from the Spirit was so gentle and kind and encouraging. Satan wants to keep us quiet. The quieter we remain the more stewing goes on, the more we beat ourselves up and think God could never love us. I praise God for the freedom He offers through Christ. Oh, it is glorious!! Spend some time with God now. If you have already told Him everything, tell Him thanks for His forgiveness. If you are keeping secrets, stop hiding from Him, tell Him everything, He is big enough (and already knows). Once we confess, true repentance has taken hold and our salvation is secure. Amen!!