Clean

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."-Psalm 51:10

Everyone sins. You sin. I sin. If you have flesh...you sin (Romans 3:10). You lie (Isaiah 29:13). Cheat (Proverbs 20:17). Steal (Malachi 3:8). Lust (Matthew 5:27-28). Kill (1 John 3:15). The list goes on and on. And in the scripture listed above, we find David in a situation where he is crying out to God for a "clean" heart and a spirit that is pleasing to his Heavenly Father.

What for? He's just going to sin again, right? I mean, its like why take a shower when you're bound to get dirty again. NO (Romans 6:1-3). No one does NOT take a shower because they think its a lost cause...well maybe some do. But the point is, David finds his heart in a dirty condition , in desperate need of a cleansing that a shower could not accomplish.

Does life ever make you feel dirty? Muddy? Sweaty? Just plain icky? Easily, you can physically put your body in any of the mentioned states, but what about when the inside feels just the same. What do you do then?

In Psalm 51, David cries out for purity. He recognizes his sinful nature and is disgusted. (For those of you who don't know the background behind this psalm: David has an affair with a married woman-he was married too...she becomes pregnant...long story short he ends up having the woman's husband killed to cover up his sin. Pretty hardcore stuff. You want action and drama...pick up the Old Testament!) But I think the most awesome part through these events is the fact that he realizes: God ("O God of my Salvation" vs.14) is the ONLY one who can satisfy his plea.

Who do you turn to when your heart is dirty?

What do you seek when your mind is dark?

How can you clean your heart if you don't present it to the one who can cleanse it?

How much longer are you willing to carry on with the junk of your sin weighing you down?

What I admire about David is the fact that he was willing to trust God to be God and Savior of his heart. He approaches God with a divine confidence of assurance and security that his sins have been washed away while still being able to acknowledge the reality of sin and its presence from his very own creation (vs. 5). He is fully aware that he was born a sinner, but doesn't use it as an excuse to keep on sinning. He repents and as a direct result of his own salvation, David then commits his very own life to teaching other sinners the way to righteousness. (vs.13). And out of joy David, wants nothing more than to praise God for his awesomeness (vs. 14-15)! Yea!!!

While it may not be adultery like in David's case that brings you to your knees and humble before a mighty God, maybe its just the way you talk. (Are you building others up in what you say?- Ephesians 4:29) The things you think about-Philipians 4:8 (Would you want those things you think about plastered on the jumbo screen at church for all to see). The people you do life with...are they still lost?
 If you know your heart is not in the right place for whatever reason and you feel disconnected with the mercy that changed you when you first found His crazy love...I urge you to get like David. The more time I spend in  this world, I find myself in need of a clean heart and renewed spirit on a daily basis.

One of the fruits of this repentful heart is the urgency to want to share the message of Christ's cleansing blood with others:

Hey, I was once dirty. I couldn't get free of my own mess no matter how hard I tried. I tried lots of other stuff all promising the same results and never was satisfied. I use to think it was all the same.  And now, I'm here to tell you that I have found the best soap ever! There is nothing on this earth like it...and it lasts forever! It can't be bought, its completely free no need to try and pay for it (Isaiah 52:3). It's been paid in full. I can't help but notice you are dirty now too. Do you want to be clean? Are you tired of doing life on your own? There's another way... Here's how...and BAM just like that-Evangelism 101! How awesome is that? I think I just called Jesus, Zest...but you know what I mean. And He wants you to come to Him and let Him wash you free from the sins of your life too.

 And while we are only called here to this life for a short time, we will never be fully completely cleansed until we are united with Christ in heaven once and for all.

However, until that day, after experiencing his grace in this life, you will not be able to deny the overwhelming desire to want to remain clean in His presence.

Happy New Year!

January 1. The first day of the year. New beginnings. The start of a billion different resolutions around the world. Plans to lose weight, get finances in order, become more organized or learn a new language are all the usual promises given to this day. All things I would gladly like to scratch off  my to-do list as well. But somewhere along the next coming days, weeks, or maybe even hours, I'll deviate from my resolution and then want to kick myself for not speaking fluent Spanish by the first week of February. So I'm going to try something different this year. Just one resolution I'll claim: To live out my life more like Christ than I did the year before.

What does that mean exactly? Well, do I have major goals I want to accomplish-yes! Everyone should. Goals are awesome. But I don't want to call "losing weight" a resolution. I want to live it out in everything I do. Will I eat barbecue on 4th of July? Yes. (Patriotic duty as an American-hello!) And will I have a couple of spoonfuls of vanilla Blue Bell ice cream around midnight for a snack...probably. But the goal is to be healthy to bring glory to God first, (Romans 12:1) and to be able to carry out my duties for my family.

Money. Yikes. Do I really want to write something about this? Seems necessary. I'm no financial expert. My bank account can confirm this, but as a believer in Christ we are called to be a good steward of our resources. (Luke 16:1-13) It's not your money to begin with...who do you think designed the talents you call your own to have the job that you do...or place you in the position you have? So the monetary wages I am blessed with bi-weekly are certainly not mine to waste on whatever I please. Remember the order, God first, family is next and then everything else...you get the picture. My goal is to live out that order.

I love to write. So this blogging thing should be pretty easy to do. In case you haven't caught on by now, my motto for 2012 will simply be to : "Live It Out"! I hope to share my joys and trials of this year as I make some major life adjustments to grow in my walk with Christ and strive to be all that He is calling me to be as a believer, wife and mother. Happy New Year everyone!