All Clean

Friday, May 12, 2017

All Clean

Scripture:

Matthew 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Psalm 24:3-4
³ Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.

1 Peter 1:22-25

²² Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, ²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,²⁴ because

“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
²⁵ But the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

1 John 3:2-3

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

James 4:8

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Hebrews 10:22

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

James 3:17

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Ezekiel 36:25-27

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Hebrews 9:13-14

¹³ For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Devotional:

As a mom of small children, there are times when being “all clean” feels like a luxury. Some days, just having five minutes to undo the offensive odor is all the time available to dedicate to my personal hygiene. Before I was married, I dedicated no less than a full hour to bathing, hair and makeup, and choosing a clean, matching, and coordinated outfit for the day. My skin was moisturized, my hair was always clean and groomed, and my nails were (usually) nicely manicured.

As I describe this scenario, I almost want to laugh as I think how on most days, it’s a choice between fixing my hair or clipping my fingernails. Which one is going to be the most urgent? That’s the one I have time to do before someone in my family has a more urgent need.

Sundays are my one day when it’s understood, Mom is taking a bath and FIXING HER HAIR AND MAKEUP and putting on a pretty outfit. Even then, most times chaos ensues in that hour. However, after I emerge from my ritual, there is a feeling that I am “all clean.”

Being spiritually unclean is a feeling that I can also relate to. When I was single, about three years after I returned to the Lord, I found myself in a very familiar place one night. I felt completely raw, and all my faults and past sins felt as though they were being marched in front of me. I felt disgusting, horrible, dirty and rejected. I lay in my bed that night and cried out to the Lord as I writhed in pain feeling like a worthless wretch. Oh, how familiar this feeling was, and at times still is! I had turned on worship music in an effort to combat these assaults on my heart and mind. As I drifted off to sleep, I heard in my spirit an almost audible voice from the Lord:

“All clean.”

That moment in my history is forever etched on my spirit and on my memory. It was a profound turning point for me. Whenever I am under attack from the enemy trying to remind me of everything that the Blood of Jesus paid for, I can remember that moment when the Lord took less than a second to minister to me His truth that when I received Jesus, I became clean. Jesus’ sacrifice has provided the way for me to be cleansed, and I no longer have to believe that my worth is tied up in my past.

Sisters, the same is true for you. If you have received Jesus as Your Savior, He is the One Who now bears your mistakes. You have been cleansed by His Blood. If you are hungry for His Presence in your life, and have not come to a saving knowledge of Him, I implore you to ask Him to reveal his truth to you. He is the One Who provides this cleanness, this wholeness, this freedom.

Don’t believe the lies anymore. You are new, whole, remade in Christ!

You are all clean.

Prayer:

Father, I thank You that You are the Source of my life. You are the One Who makes provision for my wholeness and my cleanness. I can’t clean myself up enough to be good enough. I need You to do the cleansing work.

Father, I open my heart anew to You today and give you every corner. I hold nothing back, and thank You that You are faithful to cleanse me when I come to You.

I thank You for my child(ren). I ask that they would always come to You with their burdens, and that they would seek You for their worth. Let them always know that they are secure in You.

I lift up (area(s)) of need or concern. You are the One Who will perform the way out. I lift it to You and ask that You will give me peace as I pray.

You are my God, and I seek Your face today. Thank You for Your lovingkindness.

In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.