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"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." (NASB)

Last week we marveled in God's promise in 1 John 1:9 that he will forgive us and cleanse us if we'll confess our sins. I hope that you've been practicing the discipline of confession this week and enjoying God's cleansing and forgiveness. Today by focusing on repentance, we continue along the same path that we began last week. Notice the emphasis of Proverbs 28:13-it is on confessing and FORSAKING our sins. Confession will result in forgiveness and cleansing on God's part and repentance on our part. We are not supposed to sin, confess, and then return to the same sin. We're to confess our sins, then forsake them. Because when we view our sins in the same way God does-a vital component of confession--we will become disgusted by our sins and forsake them. 

Is that happening in your life? Are you finding that your confession is leading to repulsion for your sins and a desire to forsake them and walk closer to God?

So how is your walk with the Lord? No, really?

Do you yearn for a closer walk? This week I spent quite a bit of time reading what the prophets had to say about repentance. One of the passages that I read was Isaiah 44:22 NASB

It says, "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud, And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." I know that I've read that verse before, but living on the Monterey Peninsula, it takes on a new meaning for me. What would you describe as the perfect Monterey day? For me, it would begin with a thick, soupy fog and marine layer. I don't like sustained fog, like the Tule fog in Central California, but the early morning fog that we get here is the primary reason our weather is so moderate, and I love it. But by about 9:00 or 10:00, the sun has burned it off and we're left with blue sky, warm sunshine and shirtsleeve weather. Doesn't this verse remind you of a perfect Monterey Day? God comes along and wipes out our transgressions like a thick cloud, and our sins like a heavy mist. 

Do you yearn for that kind of relationship with God? One without pretense or secrets. One without dark clouds or thick fog. One that is earthy and honest. Jeremiah summed it up in Jeremiah 24:7 NASB, "And I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart." Don't you yearn for a heart like that? A heart that compels you to know God, to forsake your sins and return to Him wholeheartedly?

I think that's what Ezekiel had in mind in Ezekiel 11:18_20 "When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it. [19] And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, [20] that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God." (NASB)

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