“According to God’s way of doing things, there are three steps to changing our behavior.” – Stormie Omartian

He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

What sins or mistakes do you need to confess to God?

During my two-way journaling time on September 3, 2008, Jesus told me, “Keep working hard to eliminate hurry from your life. Learn to say “No” much more often. When your desk is clear, you get 1-2 weeks ahead on your devotionals, exercise daily, and go to bed at 9-10 am most nights, you will know you are caught up.”

As I’ve prayed through my list of key messages from Jesus, this is one of those that has really stood out to me. So how am I doing? On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best, I would rate myself a 4. My 12 foot desk is mostly clear. For the past 4 weeks, I’ve been exercising 3 days per week plus walking lots. I’ve been going to bed before 10 am most nights, but also getting up too early. Of the 17 weekdays in January so far, I’ve sent Your Daily Blessing devotionals on just 8 of those days. That’s the worst I have done in the past 2.5 years.

Oh, I have plenty of good excuses – and that’s what they all are – excuses when I don’t obey what Jesus tells me to do. My top goal (and primary focus) in the past 7 weeks has been to complete my 200 page new e-book titled “UNCOMMON Journaling For Breakthroughs.” I initially planned to complete this before Christmas, then early January, and here it is Jan 26 and it’s still not quite done. This week I commit to finish my journaling e-book. That will mean saying “no” to almost everything else that is new.

Don’t get me wrong. My January has been very fruitful, albeit too busy. Five of the most significant things that happened from my perspective included:

1) Joining an “Experiencing God” small group that meets at Dr. Elizabeth Powell’s home
2) Launching a brand new weekly webinar series on Tuesday evenings (6 pm EST) called “Experiencing God Through Journaling”
3) Starting formal JIREH Marketing (Journaling + Coaching + Web 2.0) apprentice training for more than 3 people. One was my pastor, Matt Gregory.
4) Creating new blogs for at least 7-10 people. One was for Pastor Matt.
5) Joining a new small group “Managing Our Finances God’s Way” with my wife yesterday led by my pastor, Matt Gregory

During the 2.5 hour Financial Workshop on Jan 24, Pastor Matt said that 80% of our financial situation is a dependent on behavior, while only 20% is a result of knowledge. BEHAVIOR. Get it?

Yesterday morning while I was writing out my 2-way prayer with Jesus and listening to my scheduled iTunes playlist for Day #25, the message from Stormie Omartian in Chapter 25 of “The Power Of A Praying Wife” really jumped out at me, convicted me, and led me to repentance.

According to Stormie, “There is an epidemic in the world today of people who can’t admit they did something wrong.. According to God’s way of doing things, there are three steps to changing our behavior.” For Stormie’s entire message, which is outstanding, see today’s Link of the Day.

Prayer Power
Lord, I pray that you would convict me of any errors in my life. Let there be nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Matthew 10:26). Cleanse me from any secret sins and teach me to be a person who is quick to confess when I am wrong (Psalm 19:12). Help me to recognize my mistakes. Give me eyes to see Your truth and ears to hear Your voice. Bring me to full repentance before You. If there is suffering to be done, let it be the suffering of a remorseful heart and not because the crushing hand of the enemy has found an opening into my life through unconfessed sin. Lord, I know that humility must come before honor (Proverbs 15:33). Take away all pride that would cause me to deny my faults and work into my soul a humility of heart so that I will receive the honor You have for me. Thank You Jesus! I love You dearly. Amen.

Link of the Day
His Repentance – Chapter 25 of The Power Of A Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian  [see below]

Blessings to quick to confess your sins and then turn from your wicked ways!

Randy Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
The Connector – connecting people, ideas, and resources in Christ through the POWER of the Holy Spiirt

Growth Opportunities For This Week

1) “SEO Is Simple” free webinar at 11 am EST on Tues January 27. Our guest expert is Lynne Lee from the U.K. Are you ready to see for yourself how easy search engine optimization can be? Would you like more website visitors, quickly and easily without spending a fortune? Discover How To Drive Free Targeted Traffic To Your Website. Learn more …

2) “Experiencing God Through Journaling: Write The Vision Down” free webinar at 6 pm EST on Tues January 27. I’ll be sharing the global vision God hasrevealed to me for “God’s Voice Worldwide!”Learn to reccgnize the voice of your heavenly Father and come to know Him as your dearest friend. He wants to give you “Wisdom, Understanding, and Revelation For Every Area Of Your Life”

To learn more about these and other upcoming webinars, visit www.webinars777.com. The “777” represents Jesus, so Webinars 777 means “Webinars for Jesus.”

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His Repentance (Chapter 25 of The Power Of A Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian)

Suzanne prayed every day for years that her husband, Jerry, would stop using drugs. Over and over she caught him doing the same thing. Each time he would confess it, say he was sorry, and swear he wasn’t going to do it again. But time and again he fell. She never gave up praying for true repentance to happen in his heart—the kind that turns a man around to walk in a different direction. Unfortunately, Jerry had to learn some hard and painful lessons before God got his attention, but eventually there was a life-changing transformation. Today he is a new man, and together with Suzanne he has a public ministry helping people with similar problems. Suzanne was a praying wife who never stopped believing that God would bring her husband to repentance.

Everyone makes mistakes. That’s not the issue. But there is an epidemic in the world today of people who can’t admit they did something wrong. God says, “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). But first we have to be sorry about what we’ve done.

According to God’s way of doing things, there are three steps to changing our behavior. First there is confession, which is admitting what we did. Next there is repentance, which is being sorry about what we did. Then there is asking forgiveness, which is being cleansed and released from what we did, The inability or resistance to do any of these three steps is rooted in pride. A man who can’t humble himself to admit he’s wrong before God and before man will have problems in his life that never go away. “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12).

Does your husband have trouble confessing his faults? Or is he the kind of person who can say “I’m sorry” twenty times a day, yet the behavior he apologizes for never changes? In either case, he needs a repentant heart. True repentance means having so much remorse over what you’ve done that you don’t do it again. Only God can cause us to see our sin for what it is, and feel about it the same way He does. “The goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). Repentance is a working of God’s grace, and we can pray for it to be worked in our husbands.

Too many men have fallen because of pride and the inability to confess and repent. We see it all the time. We read about it in the newspapers. Unconfessed sin doesn’t just go away. It becomes a cancer that grows and suffocates life. Pray for your husband to be convicted of his sin, to humbly confess it before God, then turn from his error and cease to do it. God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). This kind of prayer can be very annoying to the one being prayed for, but it’s far easier to have God shine His light upon our sin than it is to experience the consequences of it. Your husband will be thankful in the end, even if he won’t admit it.

PRAYER

Lord, I pray that you would convict my husband of any error in his life. Let there be nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Matthew 10:26). Cleanse him from any secret sins and teach him to be a person who is quick to confess when he is wrong (Psalm 19:12). Help him to recognize his mistakes. Give him eyes to see Your truth and ears to hear Your voice. Bring him to full repentance before You. If there is suffering to be done, let it be the suffering of a remorseful heart and not because the crushing hand of the enemy has found an opening into his life through unconfessed sin. Lord, I know that humility must come before honor (Proverbs 15:33). Take away all pride that would cause him to deny his faults and work into his soul a humility of heart so that he will receive the honor You have for him.

POWER TOOLS

If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. – 1 John 3:21-22

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. – Proverbs 28:13

Search me, 0 God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:23-24

When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You for gave the iniquity of my sin. – Psalm 32:3-5

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. – 2 Timothy 2:24-26