Grace For The Journey

I don’t know about where you live but here in Missouri we are getting more than our share of rain.  For the second time already this spring we have flood warnings.  There has been much flood damage already.  What we are getting now will make it much worse.  Continual rain for several days is not a good thing.  However, that is not the case in our spiritual life.    The Bible mentions God using a constant supply of water that is beneficial to our spiritual lives.  The Bible says in Ezekiel 36:25, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and rom all your idols.”

Oh, what a word of encouragement this is for us today!  The Lord, who shed His blood on Calvary’s hill to pay the penalty for all our sins and bring us into the family of faith, has promised us the supernatural cleansing of the Holy Spirit.  Notice these words from today’s text: “and you will be clean.”  The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that all of the promises of God are “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).  The promise in this passage ought to be like a cosmic cheer and encourage us to keep fighting the good fight of faith.

However . . .

I am convinced that this truth

Will cheer us only to the extent

That we understand

Just how unclean we truly are.

If we, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, believe ourselves to be already clean and thank God that we are not like other men (Luke 18:11), this promise won’t mean all that much to us.  On the other hand, if we are like that tax collector who cried out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner” (Luke 18:13), we will be supernaturally strengthened and encouraged to press on toward the goal.

Only the dirty can fully

Grasp and appreciate

What it means

To be truly clean.

Look at just how great this promise is.  God will cleanse us from all our impurities.  He will clean up our language; He will sanctify our desires; He will purify our thought life. But that’s not all!  God also promises to cleanse us from all our idols.  And who of you reading this right now can count the number of idols to which you have bent the knee and bowed your heart?

Perhaps you’re thinking, “Idols? What idols? I don’t bow down to some sacred cow or golden calf!”  No, in this culture we are far too sophisticated for that.  Instead, we bow to

• The approval and applause of others,
• The achievements we produce, and
• The assets we possess.

We make idols of our work, our families, our relationships, even our hobbies and recreations.  But the Bible tells us that God will send His Spirit to make us clean from our sins . . . and our idol worship too.

So regardless of where this finds you today, please be encouraged!

God has promised a supernatural showers

That will one day bring to completion

The work He has begun in you.

Until that day, keep looking to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith, knowing that He who has promised to cleanse you will not fail, regardless of the uncleanliness that still remains (Philippians 1:6).

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”