Confession and repentance

By Yvette van Niekerk Ezekiel 20: 43 You shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. It amazes me that when I do not confess my sins and repent of what I have done that is so offense to myself I seem to loath myself. The self-loathing of unconfessed and unrepented sin drives me to tears and my own image becomes distrauted and I seem to believe I am not worthy. Feelings of guilt and failure seem to drive me crazy, I wake up in the morning thinking of the Lord, in within minutes I am reminded of something I said or done. I completely stop my prayers and focus on the wrongs I have committed. This has been a pattern in my life for so long it is so scary. My prayer lately is Lord please reveal to me what I need to confess and repent off. I realise that when I want to keep on to a grudge or a hurt, it weights me down and I seem to fall into despair and my heart is heavy and I feel useless. When I start meditating on God’s Word, praying and thinking about the situation that makes me miserable I confess my part in the problem, I ask God to forgive me and I repent of the thoughts that plague me. I know God’s word say that God knows the secrets of our heart Psalm 44 verse 21. I want the Lord Jesus to break every stronghold in my life. Ezekiel 18 verse 31 says Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die? Lord Jesus, I speak Your Name into my own life, I confess that I am a sinful person, I sin and try and get away with it. Today I am asking You Lord Jesus forgive me. I repent of my negative actions. Forgive me. It is my heart’s desire to be quick to confess my sins and repent. It is my desire to live a life in truth and to serve You Lord. Prayer Lord God, You have never failed me yet, I am calling out to You Lord, help me today. I am still in Your hands today, You have never failed me yet. Lord, as I seek and draw near to You, help me today. Your Word will come to pass; my heart will sing your praise again. Jesus You are still enough, keep me within Your love. My heart will sing your praise again. Your promises still stands, Lord great is Your faithfulness, You never fail me. I love You Lord Jesus, thank You for being faithful even when I fail to be faithful. Thank You Lord, Jesus. Amen

GOD today, I am asking You for wisdom and Your direction.

by Yvette van Niekerk

When I was young we used to go to the sea on vacation with my parents. My Dad always told us remember the sea isn't your friend, you need to respect it. We would play around on the beach and then venture out into the water. Sometimes the ocean bed would be high and we needed to walk through the water. There were places on the ocean bed that would fall away from under out feet and we would be in very deep waters. That used to frighten me, I didn't like that and then would make sure I am out of the water in minutes. God watches us and He knows the where the shalow waters are and where it is deep. We should actually be asking God to give us wisdom to hear Him and ask Him to direct us. I don't know lately I have not been listening for God's direction nor have I been praying for wisdom. It's been difficult as I seem to think I know it all and guess what I have been going through deep waters for too long. I have started to pray and ask the Lord to please forgive me and to give me wisdom and please guide and direct me. It’s clear I have not been connecting with God on a regular basis, I have not been praying “Abba, Father, guide me so I won’t fall.” sure that if I had been praying this prayer my Lord Jesus would lead me away from the edge. I know I have missed the mark on so many occasions. 1 Corinthians 2: 14 says: “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Hmm, so this reminds me the minute I take my eyes off of the LORD my natural man starts up and is in the driver’s seat. Directing me as I see fit. My husband said that he thinks I am making mistakes, it seems crystal clear to him. I don’t see it at all. From my perspective I am doing great. I am experiencing the consequences right now, not fun. It’s been a journey and I am praying on a regular basis please LORD let me have wisdom with a clear understanding and insight. It is clear I don’t know how to apply the truth in every situation lately. I don’t seem to discern right from wrong. John 16: 13 “When He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” I have learned that making impulsive decisions and not praying about it, is detrimental to my circumstance. The past couple of days I have been praying “Abba, Father, Lord my God, please give me wisdom in everything I do. Please Lord, help me to walk in wisdom every minute of today.” Scripture: Psalm 37: 30 – 31 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, ad his tongue talks of justice. The Law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. Jeremiah 33: 3 Call on Me, and I will answer you, ad show you great and might things, which you do not know. Proverbs 2: 3 – 6 If you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Prayer Dear Lord Jesus, I want to ask please give me Your Wisdom and Your understanding in everything I do today. You teach me that wisdom is better than gold and that understanding is better than silver. I seek Your wisdom today, enrich my life with Your wisdom and make me wealthy with Your understanding. Oh, Lord, help me in making right decisions, I seem to lack wisdom and insight when making decisions. I have lost the plot too many times. I am asking You to guide me and give me discernment when making decisions. Please counsel and guide me. I am studying Your Word. I am listening to it as much as I can. I pray remove the scales from my eyes and open my ears so I may hear YOUR WORD. You know I delight in listening to Your Word as much as I can, You know I love and adore You. Please LORD, help me to draw near to You so that I may draw from Your stored sound wisdom … Proverbs 2: 7. Please LORD, help me to find the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge in YOUR Word. Bless me and help me as I keep on seeking Your kingdom. Forgive me when I fall, I pray in Jesus Christs name. Amen