21 Days of Fasting and Prayer
As we enter 2025, many are eager for a new beginning. Amid the chaos, there is a longing for answers and tranquility. This serves as a powerful reminder that true peace is found in God. Let’s make 2025 a year of deepening our relationship with Him like never before. This year, as we embark on a collective fasting journey, let’s come together with others to form a community that rejuvenates our hearts and minds. We invite you to participate in this year's Fast. Together, as we seek God, we can conquer any challenge.
Today's Devotion
Repentance & Forgiveness
Friday January 10, 2025
It isn’t enough to simply be forgiven, though it is essential; we must also repent and turn in a new direction with God’s help.
It isn’t enough to simply be forgiven, though it is essential; we must also repent and turn in a new direction with God’s help.
Today's Scripture
- Ephesians 4:29-32 (NKJV)
- “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
- John 16:7-11
- “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Devotion
The story is told of a critical person who approached Methodism founder John Wesley at a church service, saying, “My talent is to speak my mind.” Wesley allegedly replied: “That’s one talent that the Lord would not care a bit if you buried!”
Humorous as it is, there is nothing funny about the unwholesome and unconstructive talk that so often comes out of our mouths. We are exhorted to get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and malice. That’s a good start; however, it doesn’t end there.
We must then replace it with that which is much better: kindness, compassion, forgiveness and love. This transformative process is a work of the Spirit. Our appropriate response to the work of the Spirit is repentance, and the bearing of spiritual fruit in keeping with that repentance.Not everything in the Bible is easy to understand, but there are passages of Scripture that are quite clear.
The story is told of a critical person who approached Methodism founder John Wesley at a church service, saying, “My talent is to speak my mind.” Wesley allegedly replied: “That’s one talent that the Lord would not care a bit if you buried!”
Humorous as it is, there is nothing funny about the unwholesome and unconstructive talk that so often comes out of our mouths. We are exhorted to get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and malice. That’s a good start; however, it doesn’t end there.
We must then replace it with that which is much better: kindness, compassion, forgiveness and love. This transformative process is a work of the Spirit. Our appropriate response to the work of the Spirit is repentance, and the bearing of spiritual fruit in keeping with that repentance.Not everything in the Bible is easy to understand, but there are passages of Scripture that are quite clear.
Prayer Points
- Reflect on these scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to come alongside you, helping you get rid of that which ought not to be in your heart, and replace it with something much better.
- When approaching challenging situations, pray Psalm 141:3 over your life: “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (NKJV).
- Have you been speaking your mind in an unwholesome way, whether to a person’s face, behind their back or online? We can’t undo the past, but we can repent of it.
- Take a moment to repent, seeking forgiveness from the Lord and, perhaps, even from any particular person you’ve offended.