JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)

"Repent and Experience Refreshment and Revival"

James 5:16  "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

1 John 1:9  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Psalm 32:1-7  "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.  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. Selah. 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 forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah."

Insight: Saved believers in Christ need to confess their sins to God.  On a daily basis, we need to examine ourselves and repent from our sins.  When we do this, we will experience wonderful times of refreshment and renewal.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us.  Reveal our sins to us.  Help us confess them to You.  Thank you for having patience with us and mercy on us.  Forgive our sins.  Help us to identify the changes we need to make.  Praise You for being a good and loving Father.  There is no other like You!  Let us see our sins as You see them and quickly remove them.  We love You, Lord.  Draw us closer to You.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Abigail Adams (1744-1818), was the wife of 2nd President, John Adams and the mother of 6th President, John Quincy Adams.  At the age of twenty she married John Adams and they had five children.  She strongly supported her husband's career.  Her letters and memoirs are now considered major historical documents revealing life during the Revolutionary era.

On October 16,1774, just prior to the outbreak of war with Great Britain, Abigail wrote to John Adams from their home in Braintree:

"I dare not express to you, at three hundred miles distance, how ardently I long for your return ... And whether the end will be tragical, Heaven only knows.  You cannot be, I know, nor do I wish to see you, an inactive spectator; but if the sword be drawn, I bid adieu to all domestic felicity, and look forward to that country where there are neither wars nor rumors of war, in a firm belief that through the mercy of its King we shall both rejoice there together...  Your most affectionate, Abigail Adams ." ¹

On June 18, 1775, in the midst of the conflict with Britain, Abigail Adams writes to her husband John:

"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but the God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto His people.  Trust in Him at all times, ye people, pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us.  Abigail Adams." ²

Near the time of November 5, 1775, Abigail wrote to her friend, Mercy Warren:

"A patriot without religion in my estimation is as great a paradox as an honest Man without the fear of God.  Is it possible that he whom no moral obligations bind, can have any real Good Will towards Men?  Can he be a patriot who, by an openly vicious conduct, is undermining the very bonds of Society?...  The Scriptures tell us "righteousness exalteth a Nation." ³

On February 8,1797, Abigail writes to her husband John at the occasion of his election as the 2nd President of the United States:

"You have this day to declare yourself head of a nation.  'And now, O Lord, my God, Thou hast made thy servant ruler over the people.  Give unto him an understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and come in before this great people; that he may discern between good and bad.  For who is able to judge this thy so great a people?' were the words of a royal Sovereign; and not less applicable to him who is invested with the Chief Magistracy of a nation, though he wear not a crown, nor robes of royalty.

"... though personally absent... my petitions to Heaven are that 'the things which make for peace may not be hidden from your eyes.'  ...That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself, with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to this great people, shall be the daily prayer of you.  Abigail Adams."  4   

¹ October 16, 1774, writing to her husband John Adams form their home in Braintree.  Letters of Abigail Adams to Her Husband (Old South Leaflets, No. 6, Fourth Series, 1886), pp. 1-3.  Catherine Millard, The Rewriting of America's History (Camp Hill, PA: Horizon House Publishers, 1991), p. 85.

² June 18, 1775, in writing to her husband John Adams.  Charles Francis Adams, ed., Familiar Letters of John Adams and his wife Abigail Adams - during the Revolution , p. XXVI, pp. 3-4.  Catherine Millard, The Rewriting of America's History (Camp Hill, PA: Horizon House Publishers, 1991), p. 88.

³ L.H. Butterfield, ed., Adams Family Correspondence (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1963), Vol. I, p. 323, from Abigail Adams to Mercy Warren, circa Nov. 5, 1775.  David Barton, The Myth of Separation (Aledo, TX: WallBuilder Press, 1991), p. 95, 249.  Also Jan Payne Pierce, The Patriot Primer III (Fletcher, NC: New Puritan Library, Inc., 1987), p. 44.  Warren-Adams Letters, Vol. I, p. 72.  Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart 'N Home, Inc., 1991), 3.11.

4 February 8, 1797, in writing to her husband John at the occasion of his election as the 2nd President of the United States.  Charles Francis Adams, ed., Familiar Letters of John Adams and his wife Abigail Adams - during the Revolution. p. XXII.  Catherine Millard, The Rewriting of America's History (Camp Hill, PA: Horizon House Publishers, 1991), p. 86.

If you'd like to see more quotes from those that framed and founded America, please click here: http://jcsm.org/AmericasFounders/.

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and gives over 4,000 answers to alleged Bible errors, regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.  There is also a 300 question workbook that accompanies the CD-ROM.)

God's correction proves His love.

It's wise to examine yourself and make sure you're saved.

Does your life demonstrate your faith?

You should have a hunger to please God and conviction when you don't.

Love is the Christian's spiritual birthmark.

When you love someone, you serve them.

Do you realize that your family and friends are going to Hell without Christ and do you care?

These quotes came from David Rosales, myself, and the Holy Spirit's inspiration.

If you'd like to read more quotes, we have thousands in our archive!  Visit http://quotes.jcsm.org.  Plus, if you'd like to read a new quote every day, please go to http://jcsm.org/Wisdom.htm and bookmark it!