The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Tuesday
October 21, 2008
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be
whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me –
now let me rejoice.
Don't keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of
my guilt.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a right spirit within
me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
and don't take your Holy Spirit
from me.
Restore to me again the joy of your salvation,
and make me
willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to sinners,
and they
will return to you.
Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then
I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that I
may praise you.
You would not be pleased with sacrifices,
or I would
bring them.
If I brought you a burnt offering,
you would not accept it.
The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit.
A broken and repentant heart,
O God,
you will not despise.
Look with favor on Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with worthy
sacrifices
and with our whole burnt offerings;
and bulls will again be
sacrificed on your altar.
Psalm 51:7-19
Yes, this is what God wants to hear from the person who has mocked Him or who has fallen away (I think we call this backsliding). Sin, whether on the level of David's sin tearing down a pastor, or neglecting our responsibilities, is sin. When we sin we need to repent – plain and simple.
The process of purification is painful. In order for something to be purified it has to be emptied out, scraped. Although we can live with one or two areas being purified in our lives without dying, in order for us to be thoroughly purified we must die completely – to ourselves.
David was a lowly shepherd boy who was elevated to the position of King. Although he spent many years in the trenches before he arrived at the throne, once in the royal position he needed an attitude adjustment.
God used a specific sinful act to get David's attention. He didn't stop him before he committed the act. In His wisdom, God allowed David to sin with Bathsheba and kill her husband so that He could show David the hidden places in his heart that needed purification. Once David saw the depth of his sin and experienced the consequences, he was in a position for God to do a marvelous work in his life and elevate him even higher.
Let today be a time when we corporately repent for our personal sin and for the sin of our nation. If we have not already done so, let today be the day we fall on our face and ask God to have mercy on our country and to help us become a nation that puts God first in all that we do, from the President down. Pray for the upcoming election. Of course, any change, any revival, must begin in us.
Change our heart, O, God. Help us reach the point of genuine repentance for what we have done personally in neglecting to pray for our country, and what we, as the church, have failed to do as well. Hear our prayer, O God, and create in us a clean heart, a heart that hungers to please You.
