WEEK 2 - REPENTANCE - TURNING FROM OUR UNHOLINESS
This week, we will allow the spotlight to turn inward. As we pray, we will open our lives to a deep search and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. While repenting of our own sinful attitudes and behaviors, we will also pray prayers of repentance for our nation, which has turned away from God and His truth and has not valued the precious gift of life.
DAY EIGHT - THE HOLY SPIRIT’S CONVICTION BY LANTZIA C. THAO
1 Thessalonians 1:4-7
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
We live in a sinful world and have fallen short of God’s standard. As Christians, this reality affects us as it did the prophet Isaiah when he saw God and exclaimed, “Woe to me! . . . I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (6:5a). It is the work and conviction of the Holy Spirit that brings us to such a realization. In 1 Thessalonians 1:4–7 Paul shed light on this truth, describing how the gospel first came to the believers “with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction” (5a). Although they were suffering severely, the Holy Spirit helped them to welcome the gospel with joy. As a result, they “became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (7).
As the Body of Christ, we are now in great need of the Holy Spirit’s conviction in our lives, our churches, our districts, and the C&MA. He is our helper in convicting our community, our country, and our world regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment (see John 16:8). Therefore, let us spend time conversing with God, seeking His direction and conviction of our sins, or unholiness, in the following areas.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Ask God to show you what He wants you to do regarding yourself and your church.
2. Ask Him to show our district superintendents what to do regarding our districts.
3. Ask God to show our C&MA president and his staff what to do regarding our denomination.