Clean for a Day

ALL – Psalm 119:113-128
ALL – Proverbs 28:19-20
OT – Daniel 5:1-31
NT – 2 Peter 2:1-22

Interesting passage for the day: There is an old saying that “A dog comes back to what he has vomited, and a pig is washed only to come back and wallow in the mud again.” That is the way it is with those who turn again to their sin. – 2 Peter 2:22, The Living Bible

Thought: Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth. God became man, and He lived a blameless, sinless life among us. In His time, He gave His life on the cross. His blood sprinkled those who trust in Him, making them holy and cleansing them from sin. Because Jesus died and paid for our sin, we are free to live. We can say no to sin. We can live by His Spirit and walk in His righteousness.

That is the good news. And yet some schemers try to take advantage of Jesus. They think that Jesus just died to save us. Since we aren’t saved by being good, He can’t possibly expect us to be good, can He? We might as well just get saved, live a lazy or even rebellious spiritual life until Jesus comes back, and then everything will be great. Right? We’ll go on sinning for now, because Jesus died for our sins already—right? Isn’t that how it works?

Absolutely not! Peter tells us that Jesus saved us so that we can be holy and pure rather than sinful. Those who claim to be saved but who don’t take the time to be “doers of the Word” and not just hearers—who know what Jesus taught but won’t do what Jesus said—are like dogs and pigs. They go back to their filth and sin. They remain unchanged by Jesus. Their salvation was only skin-deep, and in their hearts and spirits they held on to their sinful nature.

Jesus is not just here to save us from hell. He came to make us citizens of heaven. Those who refuse His offer have only one place left to go: back to the very hell they thought they had escaped. If you’re not walking with Jesus today, then you’re not walking with Jesus at all. Don’t be fooled because the refreshing waters of His Word and Spirit made you feel all cleaned up one day years ago. Even a pig can be clean for a day.

Question: Are you clean today? Are you walking with Jesus? Do you love Him enough to do what He wants? Or do you see Jesus as enabling you to do what you want?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Dirty

ALL – Psalm 69:15-36
ALL – Proverbs 24:6-7
OT – Isaiah 51:1-53:12
NT – Ephesians 5:1-33

Interesting passage for the day: Dirty stories, foul talk and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, remind each other of God’s goodness and be thankful. – Ephesians 5:4, The Living Bible

Thought: I take a pretty strong stand against Christians using swear words. And some people close to me have challenged me on it, asking me whether swear words are inherently any worse than what I consider to be less offensive words—words that I use in pretty much the same way.

And you know what? In some ways, my friends are right. They’re right that when I use “cleaner language” to express my own unclean thoughts, I’m still sinning. I may be less offensive to other people, but my heart still has major problems.

So is that a justification for swearing?

I don’t think so.

I think that both my friends and I are called to clean up our act, and zealously. Here’s a theological truth that anyone can understand: God is GOOD. Seriously good. And we’re His children. Would He share our language—whether the less-filtered language my friends don’t mind or the cleaned up versions I use? Would God appreciate our dirty stories or foul jokes?

God is good. And we are His. We aren’t missing out on anything by giving up our dirty stories and foul language. We should be thankful that such a wonderful God is willing to associate with us, rather than upset that being associated with Him means saying no to our filthy hearts.

Question: How comfortable are you with your personal degree of impurity? What have you learned about putting off unclean thoughts and words and putting on purity? What’s your role? How does the Gospel fit into this discussion?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

A Heart Like a Toilet – Clean on the Outside Only

ALL – Psalm 78:1-31
ALL – Proverbs 12:19-20
OT – Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20
NT – Luke 11:37-12:7

Boy meets girl, what happens next? Usually, they’re both going to try to make a good impression. What happens from there is anyone’s guess.

Prospective worker meets potential boss, what happens next? Usually, they’re both going to try to make a good impression. What happens from there is, again, up in the air.

Pastor meets congregant, what happens next?

Good impressions are not only part of the secular world. Believers like to make a good impression on people, too. Not only do we want to make a good impression—we want people to like us! I can’t think of anyone who would prefer to be despised rather than liked.

But what happens is that we begin to make an idol out of our reputations and our relationships. We want people to like and appreciate us so much that we will sin to get their approval, or else we’ll sin if we don’t get it. And often, the way that we sin to get people’s approval is that we stop being honest. All of us already have sin in our lives; those of us who need other people’s approval and appreciation add yet another sin—we hide the sin that’s already there rather than bringing it into the light, humbly and honestly confessing our sins and repenting of them before God.

A love of men’s approval and respect that rules over all other loves, including our love for God, is deadly. Jesus talked with the Pharisees about this issue in their lives:

Woe to you Pharisees! For how you love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the respectful greetings from everyone as you walk through the markets! Yes, awesome judgment is awaiting you. For you are like hidden graves in a field. Men go by you with no knowledge of the corruption they are passing. – Luke 11:43-44, The Living Bible

Are you pretending to be someone you’re not? Are you covering over your shame in order to deceive people? Don’t get me wrong—it’s not a good idea to give people detail after detail about our sins. But we must be honest about the fact that we are sinners, and even help people know what kinds of struggles we face and ask for their help and prayer. We must deny the temptation to create a false image of ourselves, to paint a picture that says we have everything under control. The only way to keep our hearts clean is to deliberately and honestly admit who we are, how we think, what we want, the things we do. The best way to lead others to know God is not to portray ourselves as people who never sin, but as people who have learned to confess our sins in humble honesty before God, finding the grace that He has already provided for us through Jesus Christ.

Are you honestly cleaning out the corruption in your heart by confessing your sins and having them washed away by the blood of Christ? Or are you harboring your sins, refusing to confess and repent of anything for fear of what people might think?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Temple cleaning

Mark 11:12-19

I am so accustomed to this story of Jesus cleansing the temple that I sometimes read over it without taking any time really to think. I am part of a world that loves convenience more than God. I know that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and there is no longer a specific attachment between any building and holiness. But honestly, that makes this an even bigger issue. Jesus quotes, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers." If that was an issue when dealing with a physical temple, how much more so when dealing with my heart?

Is my heart a place of prayer? Or is it a "den of robbers"? Perhaps I am not scheming about how to rip people off. But I may steal the devotion that is rightly due to God by filling up my time with marketplace activities, my thoughts with business ideas, my heart with visions of personal glory. This cannot be permitted. The holy God has made me holy, His holy servant. I am utterly devoted to Him, and my activities, thoughts and heart are utterly His.