Sunday, October 3rd, 2010
Today's Passage: 1 John 1:5-10; 2:1-2
Memory Verse: Psalm 51:10
There are a few people in this world who actually love to clean. I mean, they have a sincere love for it, and are very happy when they find themselves performing cleaning chores. I am not one of those people. For a long time, I wondered why it always took me so long to get a cleaning task done. I've just figured out why that is: I DON'T ENJOY CLEANING. But, like every responsible wife and mother, I know that this is something I need to do so that my family is comfortable and safe. So I do it with my focus on the results. I try to get down to where the real stuff is that I've been avoiding. Under or behind the furniture, I tackle dust mites and stubborn dirt that could harm us even though it is unseen.
Well, every once in a while, you just have to get down and dirty in the spirit realm. Hidden in the recesses of your soul (where your mind, will, and emotions reside), you will find thoughts and feelings that don't leave just because you pushed them to the back. They're still there, waiting to create clutter in your spirit and cause just enough trouble to stop you and God from communicating fully. As long as they stay there, hidden away from everyone else, we may think we're okay. But if you truly want to walk in fellowship with the Father, you must expose those things to the light of His Spirit.
Today's passage shows us how David accomplished this necessary spiritual task. He knew what some of us also know but try to hide: that our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. If we try to pretend it doesn't hold on to thoughts and emotions that are contrary to the Word of God, we keep the light from penetrating, and we harm our relationship with God. But if we are bold enough to say where we've gone wrong, God is faithful and just to forgive, cleanse us, and set us back in right standing with Himself.
As you prepare to go into the house of the Lord today, let His Spirit gently guide you through the cleaning process. Expose those things you may have been harboring : you and He know what they are. Then go to your place of worship and thank Him for His mercy, renewing your resolve to continue serving and being totally devoted to Him. Whether in the spiritual or the natural, clean feels good.
Prayer: Father, create in me a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within me. I desire to be close to You, and I want Your joy to be my strength. In exchange for all that, I release every sinful thought and feeling, embracing only those thoughts that please You. Cleanse me from unrighteousness, and bring me back into right standing with You as only You can do. I love You and thank You for Your amazing grace. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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