LORD, WASH AWAY MY INIQUITY, CLEANSE ME FROM MY SIN
PRAYER -
“Lord, avail yourself of my heart to do right, and see past my mistakes and failures.”
PRAYER -
“Lord, take my mistakes and failures this day and use me. Let me be an instrument of your peace.”
God is not looking for perfection my friend. God looks on the heart. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. It’s the thoughts and intents of the heart which matters most with God.
The Bible doesn’t say, “Be ye perfect as I am perfect.” Now we would all agree that God is perfect. The Bible does say though, “Be ye holy as I am holy.” That’s a choice and matter of the heart and what we should strive to attain to. We can’t do this in the flesh though. This is a matter of the heart, the thoughts and intents of our hearts; to do right before God and man.
You can’t be perfect anymore than you would expect your own children to be perfect. We live in a fallen world. In fact if you demand perfection from your children there will come a day of reckoning for you and your kids in the form of rebellion or worse.
We can’t obtain our own righteousness. Our righteousness is by faith through Jesus Christ, not by our own works lest any man should boast.
Jesus came to this earth in the form of a man; clothed with a flesh, blood, and bone body like yours. The difference was Jesus was tempted yet without sin. We are tempted with sin! That’s why we need a Saviour, to save us from our sins and wash us clean by the blood of the lamb.
“Lord God, cleanse me from my iniquity; wash me from my sin,” (Psalm 51:2).
When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden many years ago he ran away from God and hid. He ran in the wrong direction. When we sin we are to run towards God. If we are sick in body and mind we run towards God. It’s the same with sin. Make sure you’re running in the right direction.
When I came to the Lord many years ago I thought I was to be perfect. The transformation from darkness into light doesn’t produce perfection though. I continued to struggle with sins and bad habits. I thought when I came to the Lord I would never sin again. The Bible admonishes us not to practice sin. As long as we are in this flesh we’re going to miss the mark my friend. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Let this message be an encouragement to you; but take heed though, it is not a license to sin. When we do sin and miss the mark we need to run towards God. That should be the natural thing for us to do. The devil has a big part to play in this. He is the accuser of the brethren. When we sin and miss the mark he will tell you to run away from God and make you feel unworthy of His love.
When you’re a child and you break your mother’s favorite vase, what’s our natural inclination? Sweep the shattered glass under the carpet and hide. As a parent, I want my children to come to me when they make a mistake and break my favorite coffee cup. I’m not going to spew wrath and anger upon them. I’m going to love them and speak with them about the mistake they made. Would God expect any less from his children?
Our goal in life is to be holy as He is holy. That’s our goal. This will take a lifetime to accomplish. Be encouraged. The pure in heart shall see God (Matthew 5:8).
When a professional sports team plays they play to win. Unfortunately, many teams have losing years and seasons. Many baseball players get into a batting slump and strike out many times over. But they continue to get up to the plate, swing the bat, knowing one day they will connect with the ball again and hit a homerun. As children of God we’re going to strike out. But we must learn to navigate through the slumps, trials and disappointments of life and press on towards victory - NOT PERFECTION!
Don’t be deceived. When you came to the Lord it wasn’t to obtain perfection. Your heart became new but you’re still dealing with the same old flesh and mind.
Throughout the New Testament, many times the Apostle Paul spoke of the battle between the flesh, mind and spirit. The Psalmist dealt with this. Many of the men and women of God in the Bible were far less than perfect but God used them in a mighty way.
We don’t come to God as perfect people for salvation. We are to come to Him just as we are.
“Just as I am without one plea; but that Thy blood was shed for me. And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee; O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”
If your child was born with a defect or disability you would love him or her just as much as any of your children. The same holds true with our Heavenly Father.
Many of us are familiar with the 1960s sitcom series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Private Pyle was far from perfect. A tall, lanky, naïve, hillbilly sounding jarhead. But Gomer had a heart of gold. When Sergeant Carter was looking for the perfect marine Gomer would always stand up and volunteer for the assignment or special mission. Although many times he failed, in the end he somehow came through and got things done.
Many of us go through our spiritual lives like private Pyle. Awkward at times and unsure of ourselves. We are not perfect and neither was private Pyle. We will fall, we will stumble on this journey of life. But someday soon we will stand before Him, face-to-face, "when this mortal shall put on immortal, and this corruption shall put on incorruption!!"
When we sin, when we mess up, we need to run to God and not let the devil tell us otherwise. Get up, shake the dust off your clothes and get back in the ring.
God bless you as you continue your spiritual journey through this life.
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