Create in me a clean heart, O God. PSALM 51:10
D. L. Moody did not want any sin to disrupt his intimacy with God. Because of this, Moody kept short accounts with God, immediately confessing any known sin. Each night he also allowed the Lord to shine an interrogating spotlight on all the events of the day. Before retiring for the evening, Moody would review his day with the Lord, asking God to reveal anything that displeased Him. D. L. Moody exemplifies the kind of heart preparation needed before coming to God in worship. When we worship God, we must make sure we come with a clean heart, confessing any known sin in our lives. It is also good to prayerfully ask God to examine our actions, thoughts, motives, and words. Because God is perfectly holy, He cannot tolerate sin or commune with unrighteousness. Light has no fellowship with darkness (1 John 1:5–7). In the Psalms, David offered up a prayer, very similar to D. L. Moody’s. He, too, desired to come to God with a clean heart. Today, take a moment to make the following prayer your own: “Search me, O God, and know my heart . . . and see if there is any wicked way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24). - Dr. David Jeremiah Morning and Evening
We are in a society that is getting farther and farther away from real relationships.
We see in the social media of how superficial and fleeting relationships are in Hollywood. It takes little thought to see it in politics as well.
People have been getting hard pressed to distance themselves in recent years. To interestingly enough think about others by thinking about yourself first.
Relationships are a central focus of being a Disciple of Jesus Christ. His relationship with them made them all, with the one exception, turn into truly strong men of God.
In a right relationship with Jesus confession of sin is a need as well as a requirement.
No you don't go to a priest to do so. Believers go directly to the Throne of Grace themselves.
Jesus ripped apart the veil that had been in the Temple between the common area and the Holy of Holies. He made it possible to come to Jesus directly.
A cleansed heart is a heart that is ready to be used of God.
We can often dismiss what is sin as anything we want to claim it to be. The guaranteed result is a damaged relationship with Jesus.
We can call what God says is a sin a hobby.
We can call what God says is a sin a relationship.
We can call what God says is a sin acceptable.
We can call whatever takes whatever is rightfully God's and is given to something or someone in this world whatever we want to in order to salve our conscience...but if it violates the Word of God it's sin.
Resolutions you will easily fail in due time.
Building a relationship with Jesus will only begin in this world and go on for all eternity.
Right now, in this very hour in which you and I find ourselves, millions of people are attending what they think is Church, but the reality is they have no relationship with Jesus.
This is one thing we need to be sure to have right!
A relationship with Jesus brings about relationships with other Believers.
It brings about a changed life.
It brings about a life that goes places and does things unimagined by the mind of mankind.
You will see obstacles in life either moved or you moved around them. You will see the hand of God in ways you never thought possible.
You cannot be a lone wolf Christian and fulfill God's commands. A relationship is needed with others of like faith and mind in Christ Jesus.
You can waste your time in this world on countless things. You can and likely already are.
You can focus on you in a time like now or you can focus on where you are in Christ Jesus.
Satan loves it when our minds are enticed away from what God intended.
Satan has had centuries to perfect seduction in sinful ideas and practices.
Satan has spent every moment of human history trying to thwart the plan of God for mankind.
You are either working for him or against him. Think on THAT.
You are either helping God's plan for mankind or you are helping Satan.
There's no middle ground taught in the Bible. Fools believe in a fence to sit on, believing that it gives them a way out of being guilty of rejection of God’s Word.
Satan created and owns that fence.
Start today and get yourself right with God on HIS terms.
Start today and get your walk with Jesus going the way He intends it to be, not the way you think it should be.
Indeed be ready.
Quite clearly you WILL be shown things that you don't and won't want to see that must leave your mind, heart and life in order to become the Disciple God wants you to be.
It may cost you thousands of dollars to let go. It may cost pennies.
But realize that if you, and eventually you will, see life as Jesus sees it is to be for you, you will find what you have been searching for all along.
It may cost you in ways you never thought.
It may mean moving.
It may mean destroying things in your life in order to remove them from your heart.
It may mean setting aside friendships and even family to fulfill your call in Christ Jesus.
You may not have heard this in your life, but God created you in this moment of history, for a purpose. It had nothing to do with chance. It has nothing to do with culture or civilization.
It has nothing to do with sports, movies, hobbies, entertainment.
Your being born in this moment of history was because you will have the opportunity to have a part in the will of God for mankind. To help lead others to Jesus.
We can easily point to reasons to stay where we are. But if our relationship with Jesus is where it ought to be, our response always should be His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
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