Be Cleansed By God

Have you ever done something so egregious that you fell to your knees and begged forgiveness? Was your heart broken because of what you had done? Did you wrestle with it for several days? Did God relieve you of your sorrow? Were you able to move on from it?

Some of us, and maybe many of us, have done something we immediately regretted. In some cases, it may have hurt someone badly. It may have been a physical action, or it may have been something we said. Regardless, it was something we could not take back.

We know sin is sin. Yet, some sins are more egregious than others. Those severe sins can be very difficult to live with. There are often severe consequences as a result of them. One of those consequences is our heart breaking when we reflect on what we have done. That can be the hardest thing to live with. Our guilt is worn on our face and in our heart.

David felt that way when he wrote the fifty-first Psalm. He knew he had sinned egregiously when he slept with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, purposely killed in battle. He fell to his knees and begged forgiveness from God. He knew he had allowed the power of being king to go to his head. He realized he had forgotten it was God who had given him his power. He turned back to God.

When we sin, we, too, can turn back to God. We can fall to our knees and ask God to forgive us. Repenting includes having the attitude and desire to turn away from the sin and commit it no more. God will heal our broken heart. He will cleanse us of our sin. If we are willing to follow him wholeheartedly, he will eliminate the sin from our lives.

I pray we all recognize our sin. I pray we fall to our knees before God and ask for forgiveness. I pray each one of us will choose to follow God’s guidance and allow him to remove our sin from us. Recognize your sin. Fall to your knees before God. Ask for forgiveness. Follow God’s guidance. Allow God to cleanse you of your sin.

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, 

according to your steadfast love; 

according to your abundant mercy 

blot out my transgressions. 

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, 

and cleanse me from my sin.

God Punishes Wrongdoing

Have you done something bad and had someone come with a message from higher up? Was it a message of chastisement? Was the message wrapped in a parable? Did you recognize the meaning of the message or did the messenger have to point it out?

There are times when we will speak in parables or in generalities when attempting to correct someone’s behavior. We may provide an example of something that had happened some time in the past that refers to the present. We do it so as to tactfully rebuke bad behavior.

God sent Nathan to David to let him know that he had done wrong. Not only that he had done wrong, but that his wrong was egregious and displeasing to God. Nathan told a parable to David, which upset David. He saw the injustice immediately and wanted to know who it was who had committed it. David was ready to punish the offender harshly.

Nathan tells David that he is the offender. He then chastises David with God’s reminder that he had rescued David, rewarded David with possessions, and elevated him to king over Israel. God even states that if what he had given David was not enough, he would have given David more. But because David had sent Uriah to his death because of Bathsheba, David would not have the sword removed from his house.

We may think David’s story has no effect on us. Yet, we can learn from it. Just as God punished David for his actions, we can expect God to punish us for bad behavior. It may not be as severe as David’s punishment. Since God is just, his punishment will be proportional to our wrongdoing. To avoid God’s punishment, we should seek God’s guidance in all we do.

I pray we all seek to avoid God’s punishment. I pray we seek God’s guidance for our lives. I pray each one of us learn a lesson from David and follow Jesus’ example for living our lives. God punishes wrongdoing. Seek God’s guidance. Follow Jesus’ example.

2 Samuel 11:27b – 12:1a But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent Nathan to David.

Pray For Fullness

What do you pray for the most? Do you pray for personal gain? Are your prayers largely about physical healing? Do you pray for financial increase? Do you pray more for yourself or others? Do your prayers include growth in faith and understanding God’s will?

Personal prayers tend to be personal. They often concern our personal wants, desires, or needs. We will include our families and friends in our prayers. Unfortunately, our prayers rarely seek to know God’s will for our lives.

Understanding and comprehension of God is very challenging to us. Yet, it does not mean we cannot grow in both. We can come to know God much better. He is willing to reveal himself to us, if we will only ask.

Not only can we better understand God, but in doing so we can better understand his power. We think we know. We repeat the phrase, “God can do all things.” Yet, we do not fully comprehend his power. If we did, we would be shaking in our boots all day, every day.

Why should we pray to better know God? So we are filled with God’s fullness. As we are filled with his fullness, we see that everything in this life is temporary. We see that it doesn’t really amount to much when we understand God’s plan for eternity.

I pray we all seek to better understand God. I pray we pray for God’s will to be made known to us. I pray each one of us ask God to reveal himself to us so that we may be filled with his fullness. Seek to understand God’s will. Seek to see God’s power. Be filled with God’s fullness.

Ephesians 3:18-19 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Answered Prayer

Do you pray before meals? Many of us do. What else do you pray for before you do them? What do you pray for in the morning, throughout the day, before you go to bed? Do you pray much during your normal day or little? Do you believe God can deliver?

Praying is personal. It is time spent one-on-one with God. It is a time of pouring out our hearts—worry over health concerns, anxiety over what’s next, and requests for what we want or think is best. We gauge our pray successes by how God answers them.

Though we may not admit it, we believe our prayers are ineffective if God does not give us the answer we want. We may think our faith is not strong enough, which results in God denying our request. That may be true, but not in the way we think it is. Our faith can always grow. It is simply our faith is not strong enough to coerce God into giving us our desires. It is our faith is not strong enough to humble us to seek God’s will rather than our own.

Jesus tells us that we must ask our prayer in faith (Mark 11:22-24). He tells us that what we ask for will be done for us if we believe. This is where we often come to the conclusion that our faith is not strong enough when God doesn’t give us the answer we desire. We strive harder to make our faith stronger. Why? So we get what we want from God.

We are going about it from the wrong direction. Rather than trying to make our faith stronger, we should be striving to get closer to God, know him better, and get in sync with him. By doing this, our faith is increased, and our prayers are filled with God’s will. This is how Jesus was able to pray over the meager food available and God increased it to feed five thousand. Jesus’s prayer was the will of God.

I pray we all seek to know God better. I pray we strive to be in sync with God’s will. I pray each one of us pray in God’s will and witness him doing extraordinary things in answer to our prayers. Seek to know God. Strive to be in sync with God. Pray in God’s will. Witness God’s extraordinary answer to prayer.

John 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

Learning God’s Lessons

Are you comfortable in large crowds? Do you prefer being in a crowd over being alone? When you see people in need, do you have compassion for them? Are you prepared to demonstrate your compassion? Are you willing to feed the hungry? Are you willing to clothe the naked?

Large crowds can make some of uneasy. We may prefer smaller groups of people. Some of us may prefer to be alone. Being alone can be good for a short period of time, but we all need social interaction, whether it includes just a few people or much larger crowds.

We may feel sorry for people in need, but we may not feel true compassion, at least not in the way Jesus did. The compassion Jesus felt always caused him to go into action. He never felt compassion and did nothing. When there was a crowd of five thousand who followed Him, He knew they needed to eat, and His compassion drove Him to feed them.

Before Jesus feeds them, He tests His disciples. Have you been tested by Jesus? There are times in our lives when we are. God knows our faith. He knows how deep it is. He knows how wide it is. He tests us to stretch our faith, to grow our faith, and to show us he is much bigger and more capable than we give him credit for. That’s what Jesus was doing with His disciples.

As we respond to God’s tests, God shows us something new. The question is whether or not we recognize the lesson he is teaching us. Will our eyes be opened, or will we be blind and not recognize the lesson? The disciples saw for little, but soon forgot. They did not put it all together until the Holy Spirit came upon them. We have the Holy Spirit to help us. Therefore, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal the lessons God is teaching us.

I pray we all recognize God’s tests. I pray we see and understand the lesson God is teaching us. I pray each one of us will depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us and reveal God’s will for us. Recognize God’s tests. Recognize God’s lessons. Rely on the Holy Spirit. Seek God’s will.

John 6:5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”

Why Are You Going?

Is there someone you continue to follow or are friends with because they can do something for you? Does what someone can do for you effect how often you speak to them? If they stop doing for you, do you stop interacting with them? Is that your relationship with God?

We all know someone who hangs around with others only as long as others will do something for them. When people stop doing for them, they move on to someone else. We may not like them taking advantage of people. We may refuse to help them.

But do we do the same with God? It seems the more wealth we acquire, the less likely we are to continue to follow God. We don’t have to be wealthy, just be able to live comfortably. Having a good job and not worrying about paying our bills is enough to cause us to depend less on God. Having a talent or skill that gives a feeling of accomplishment can be enough.

Large crowds would follow Jesus, not because He was preaching and teaching the good news, but because He was healing the sick and casting out demons. It was what they could see with their own eyes that caused them to follow Him. They wanted to see amazing miracles happen. They wanted to see things not seen before.

We may do the same with a pastor. As long as the pastor uses props, colorful graphics, or other gimmicks that entertain us, we continue to attend worship services. We may not be growing in our relationship with God, but we enjoy what we see. If this is why we go to church, we are being just like the large crowds following Jesus. Might I suggest we change our mindset and go to worship services to worship God and grow our relationship with him.

I pray we all go to worship services. I pray we go to hear a message from the Word of God. I pray each one of us go to church to worship God and grow our relationship with him. Worship God. Increase your knowledge of God. Build your relationship with God.

John 6:1-2 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.

Bless Future Generations

What do you want out of life? What is it you are asking for? Are you asking out of selfish ambition? Or are you asking in accordance with God’s will? How big is your imagination? Do you believe God can do anything you can dream of? Are you willing to ask him?

We all desire something from this life. So much of today’s culture seeks to fulfill selfish desires. They continually seek to gain what they believe will make them happy or feel fulfilled. Yet, we they achieve it, they find it is not as fulfilling as they thought, and they seek something more.

It is only when we seek what God desires in our life that we are truly fulfilled. More than that, when we seek what God desires and believe he can do anything, we see him move in ways that we never thought of. God not only fulfills our desires, but he exceeds them. It goes against our human way of thinking. By giving up our desires and pursuing God’s desires, we experience God overflowing us with blessings.

Jesus says in John 10:10 that He came to give us abundant life. He also states in Luke 6:38 that our cup will overflow when we do not judge, do not condemn, forgive, and give to others (Luke 6:37-38). But all of this is predicated on our belief that God can do all things, that he is more powerful than we can imagine. We may state he is all-powerful because we have been taught it. We may even believe it intellectually. But we must believe it deep within our heart.

When we believe it deep in our heart, we give him the glory. We follow his guidance to glorify him, the church, and future generations. In other words, setting aside our personal desires to follow God’s desires, we are working with him for his glory and will bless future generations through Jesus Christ.

I pray we all seek after God’s desires. I pray we set aside our personal desires. I pray each one of us gives the glory to God, his Son, Jesus Christ, and the church Jesus has built so as to bless future generations. Give God the glory. Give Christ the glory. Glorify Christ’s church. Bless future generations.

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Pattern for Prayer

What do you pray for? Do you pray for your family? Do you pray for your friends? Do you pray for the members of your church? Do you pray for brothers and sisters in Christ around the world? Do you pray for physical health and financial well-being?

Often, our prayers revolve around ourselves, our families, and our friends. We often pray for healing, whether physical or relationship. We may pray for financial assistance in times of need. I can confidently state this as a pastor who receives many prayer requests.

Yet, we should pray as Paul states he prayed for the church in Ephesus. Our church members need us to pray over them in this manner. Notice that Paul first acknowledges the glory of God. Giving God the glory for all that he has done for us should be first on our list. It follows the pattern of what we call the Lord’s prayer.

Next, Paul prays they receive power from the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who lives within us and can strengthen us. It is his power that carries us through troubling times and allows us to overcome hurdles in our lives. It is also the Holy Spirit who converts our human words into heavenly language and lifts up our prayers to the Father.

Paul continues by praying that Christ dwells in our hearts through our faith. Having Christ within our hearts guides us in all we do. For Jesus stated it is what comes out of us, from our hearts, that evil comes (Mark 7:20-23). That evil cannot reside in our hearts if Christ is in it.

Finally, Paul prays that we are being rooted and grounded in love. This is the unconditional love that Christ said we should love God and love our neighbor. When this kind of love is our foundation, how we conduct ourselves and go about our daily lives reflects Christ.

I pray we all pray over our families and friends. I pray we pray over the members of our church. I pray each one of us use the pattern Paul demonstrates in praying over the church in Ephesus. Pray over your family. Pray over your friends. Pray over your church. Pray like Paul prayed.

Ephesians 3:16-17 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.

Set People Free

Do you know people who do not believe in God? Do you shake your head at the thing they do? Do you sometimes wonder if they are right? Does the evil in the world cause you second guess yourself? Are you struggling with your faith? Are you hanging on by your fingernails?

We likely know someone who doesn’t believe in God. If we don’t know they well, we know about them or have seen them in our towns and cities. In some cases, they don’t want to believe because something bad has happened to them. They may even hold it against God.

Others may have never heard of God, as strange as that may seem to us. So many believers have grown up believing in God and cannot fathom someone having not heard of God. But they are out there. They have lived a completely different life than we have. They have lived a life of neglect, abuse, and survival of the fittest. If they have heard of God at all, they have been told he is a myth or some cosmic force they cannot know.

We can be the people who tell them about God. We can tell them the good news of Jesus Christ. We can let them know that God is watching over everything, even if he does not always intervene. God is looking for those who will seek to know him. He is looking for people who will obey him. He is looking for people to set free from the evil in which they have been entangled. We can open the eyes of someone who does not know God and set them free.

I pray we all see those around us who do not know God. I pray we seek to know God. I pray each one of us will share the good news of Jesus and set people free from the bondage of evil. Look around you. See the people who do not know God. Share the message of Jesus. Set people free.

Psalm 14:1-2

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” 

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; 

there is no one who does good. 

The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind

to see if there are any who are wise, 

who seek after God.

Establishing God’s Kingdom

What comes to your mind when you think about God’s kingdom? Do you think about the pearly gates of heaven? Do you think of golden streets? Or do you think of the King who has established His kingdom forever? Is He the focus of your attention above all else?

We have been taught to envision many different sights with regards to God’s kingdom and heaven. However, some have been taught as though the Scripture is literal versus symbolic. There is likely no way for us to describe heaven in our human languages.

On the other hand, there is a lot written about Jesus. We can see His personality, grace, mercy, teaching, and the example He lived. We proclaim Him as our King, and He is. So why do we focus on physical objects rather than the person who is Lord of them?

Jesus has established God’s kingdom forever. The Father has established His throne forever. It is the person of Jesus and His teaching that we should be focused on. Allow the visions or descriptions of heaven to be symbolic, meaning beyond our own imaginations.

When we make Jesus our focus, we can better reflect His love, grace, mercy, and light. Being more like Him, we can be better at reconciling with one another. Focusing on Jesus is what we are called to do. Let’s all seek to be like Him in showing love to one another.

I pray we all seek to be more like Jesus. I pray we show His love, grace, mercy, and light to everyone we meet. I pray each one of us will focus on Jesus as the One who established His kingdom forever. Be like Jesus. Show Jesus’ love. Demonstrate grace. Be merciful. Reflect Jesus’ light. Focus on Jesus.

2 Samuel 7:12-13 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.