by Robert Fudge

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

What a wonderful picture of one who is covered with dirt and grime and then is washed clean, whiter than snow. There is nothing that we need more than God’s forgiveness of our sins. Each of us has sinned against God and as such we are filthy in his sight. Paul says that the wages of sin is death. Yet, because God is merciful, he has extended to us his grace (the opportunity to be forgiven, even though we don’t deserve it). He is merciful because he loves us. It is because of this love that he has given his Son to die in our place. Thus, our iniquity is blotted out and our sin is remembered no more. What a wonderful savior!

When we accept this salvation from our sin, God gives us his Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). It is the Holy Spirit that renews our minds and hearts. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is ours for the asking. He will guide us, give us wisdom, comfort us when in distress, help us pray, give us strength, give us joy and change us from within to be more like God.

What we need is a pure heart. Our actions come from what is within the heart. The more we meditate on the word of God, the more we can have this pure heart. It is no wonder that so many have wicked hearts. If our daily mental diet is popular music or television or modern movies or most magazines we are filling our hearts with immorality and ungodliness. How can we expect to think pure thoughts if we fill our minds with impurity?

We also need a steadfast spirit. One of the problems in our society is that we want everything instantly and without cost or obligation. Life, we think, should be quick and easy. Living for God is not that way. We must be committed. We will have hard times. We must endure and press on when it would be much easier to quit. The Holy Spirit strengthens our spirit to keep us going if we are committed to him in faith.

Dear God, help me to understand that the more I become like you, the more joy and peace I will have in my life. Fill me with your Spirit. Change my heart to be like you. Strengthen my faith so that I can live for you better today. I thank you God for your love and your mercy. Thank you for your grace extended to me through your Son, Jesus Christ. Give me the joy and peace that only you can give. I pray in the name of Jesus.

May God bless each of you as you live for him today.