How can I be clean?

Proverbs 20:9

Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; 

I am clean from my sin”? 

This is quite hard hitting - who can make themselves pure? 

Who can undo the things they have done wrong? 

Who can free themselves from the burden of guilt? 

Yep, you guessed it - no-one! 

We can't do this ourselves. We can try to forget, but it creeps into our minds when we least expect it and weighs us down. The consciousness that we have hurt people and done what's wrong can tarnish our minds in many ways. 

If we have got away with something we can be wracked with guilt and a feeling that we need to be punished, we can even punish ourselves. We can focus on our wrongdoing until we even allow it to become part of our identity. 

It's not an intentional thing, it is a recognition that we have stuffed up, the problem is we can focus on that. We all do things wrong, get things wrong and say things wrong. It's good that we recognise and regret the things we do wrong, it's good that we recognise we are not perfect. 

But then what? 

It's not good to dwell in our sin, or fester over our guilt, there is no positive outcome to that. So, how can we get over it? - Wipe it away and be clean again? 

This verse reiterates what we already know - we cannot make ourselves pure, we cannot decide we are clean. We can't do it!

We can and will remind ourselves regularly that we are not clean or pure, that we are in fact imperfect beings incapable of cleaning up our hearts and releasing us from guilt and regret. That we can do, but we can't free ourselves from the memories, the guilt and shame. 

What's the answer then? The answer is, we need forgiveness. We cannot forgive ourselves because we are corrupted beings, we sin and don't have the strength to overcome the guilt. 

But.......THERE IS GOOD NEWS:

You can be forgiven

You can be free from guilt and shame

You can be clean

Your heart can be pure! 

How???

Well, we already discovered we need to be forgiven. We can't forgive ourselves because we don't have the power or purity to do that, but there is one who does. His name is Jesus. He is God's son. He lived on Earth, lived perfectly, he never did anything wrong. Then this perfect man was killed. He died pure and clean so that we can be forgiven for our wrongdoing, so that we can have freedom from guilt and shame and or hearts can be made new. 

Jesus took the very real, painful punishment for your sin. He stepped in so that you don't need to punish yourself any longer. You can be free from the reminder of what you've done. Your identity can be renewed in him as one with a pure heart. 

You cannot purify yourself, only someone who is pure can purify you, that person is Jesus. Don't live in guilt and shame any longer. Accept Jesus for who he is - the mighty son of God who has lived and died for your sake, for your freedom. 

He knows what He's doing

Today, I'm thinking about Proverbs 21:30. Here are a few different translations which give you a gist of what it's about;

ESV:

No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel 

can avail against the Lord. 

Message:

Nothing clever, nothing conceived, nothing contrived,
can get the better of God.

NIV:

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.

Now, if you believe in God this is amazing news! No matter which version you read, the message is pretty clear;

Nothing can outdo God. 

Nothing can win against Him

No-one can out smart Him

No situation can confuse Him. 

As a Christian this gives me confidence. God's plans WILL succeed. 

If you think about your life, you can probably recall times when it seems things were falling apart, going wrong, or that you were in danger. Maybe it seems God wasn't even there. 

However, you're still here aren't you? You are still living and breathing. You survived. 

The enemy works to take us out, but nothing can 'get the better of God'. 

Our every breath is accounted for by God, our every step is known by God. 

I can recall events, even in the past week were I have felt lucky to be alive. I know that God has protected me. He has given me a life to live, and I will live it for as long as I'm meant to. Nothing can change that.

God has brought you and I through some tough times. He has protected and refined us. His plan has not changed.

This gives me confidence. God has given us all a part to play in this Earth, the truth is, the enemy will try to wipe us out one way or another, but God will have His way. Nothing can stop Him.

When God speaks to you, you have assurance that it will happen. God knows what He is doing. We can reason our way out of things, but, 'No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.' So, you might as well stop arguing with God.

As a believer in God, you're on the winning team, you can have confidence that no matter what is going on around you, God is in charge. He dictates what is going to happen and He will comfort you, He will walk alongside you, and He will send angels to protect you. 

No longer a slave to fear

I’m no longer a slave to fear, 

I am a child of God

These are the words of a song, as we sang it in church this week, I realised that this is my testimony. I am no longer a slave to fear, but I am a child of God. 

Listen to the song here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f8TkUMJtK5k

I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

This song really resonates with me. I don’t know about you, but I have often been scared of a multitude of things. Making up little routines so I could manage, hiding away whenever possible particularly when in a room with lots of people. I know Hod has worked in my heart because I am not the same person I was 10 or 20 years ago. I was bound by fear, now I am free. If you want to know that freedom too, then allow God to change your heart.

This has been my slow realisation over my life. I can not deny that Jesus is real, or that God exists. He has performed such change within me. I am not the same person because I have been born again. My heart, mind and character have changed because God has adopted me.

One verse that says, ‘from my mother’s womb you have chosen me’. For me, I wasn’t a planned for child. Not exactly expected or wanted at that particular time. However, God chose me. He chose my life, ‘love has called my name’. 

It doesn’t matter what happened in your early life, love is calling your name. You have been chosen, not necessarily by your parents, but by God. When you start to believe and trust in him, you are ‘born again into a family’. You have a new family, you are not alone. You have a share in God’s family, his blood even ‘runs through your veins’. There’s a completeness and certainty about being in God’s family. You can’t deny you’re part of God’s family when you have his blood and DNA within you! No wonder the fear I felt has gone as I believe in God and who I am.   

God has drowned my fear the more I have learnt about Him and trusted Him.  He splits seas, drowns fears and rescues us. He performs amazing feats for us. 

God achieves the impossible on our behalf, why? Because you are a child of God! 

The fears I have had have held me back. They’ve kept me silent and scared. It’s easy to start living your life around fear, I know, I’ve done it for most of my life. But, why live like that? Living with fear is crippling. God wants you to be free. You can be free, it is possible I am living testimony of that. 

God makes us His sons and daughters, because of Jesus we are heirs to the biggest kingdom that exists. It’s an unshakeable, everlasting kingdom, yet we can get worried and scared about the things of everyday life. 

You, like me, don’t need to continually live in fear. God’s perfect love has power to drown it when you trust Him and ask him to do it. Let this song be your testimony too.

I’m no longer a slave to fear, 

I am a child of God

Joy - full

John 15:10

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 

There are some great promises here. Great promises of joy and love. 

We can have complete, unending joy - great pleasure and happiness. 

So, where is it???

I would think most of the time, we don't feel the great pleasure that is joy. We may feel contentment, but joy?

Jesus insists that his own obedience to the Father, the fact that he has kept the commandments, is the grounding for his joy. 

He has done what his father God has told him to, and so stayed in his love. He has acknowledged and displayed God's love in and through his obedience. 

This is what leads to joy - Through obeying what we are told to do.

When we do what we are told we are showing respect, trust and love in the person we are obedient to. Just think about it from a parents point of view. They ask you to do something, if you do it they are proud of you and they see your love in action. This then leads to them being happy and showing their happiness to you, you then feel happy and more loved. It's like a cycle - Put obedience in, give others joy, you then feel joy and want to be more obedient.

When we feel loved, we feel joy. 

We can feel loved when we are obedient to God, our everlasting parent, then we can know what joy is. One of the wonderful things I noticed about these verse is not only do we get to be joyful, but Jesus also finds joy in us! How amazing is that?! 

Jesus can find joy in you when you show your love for God by doing what he asks! Wow! 

Spread the joy! 

Risky Comfort

Are you comfortable? If yes, then you're in a risky position. 

If we are comfortable with our lives then we are unwilling to change and can be unmotivated to do much. If you've got a comfy bed for example, it's easy to settle there and not want to get up, to rest longer than we know we should. 

Same with life. If we are comfortable with our; family, job, home, income, activities, then we can easily get through life. Going from one thing to the next with a breeze and being unmotivated to change anything. There is no challenge. 

On the other hand, I'm sure we can all think of a time when life has been uncomfortable. Maybe there's been family fall out, job loss, boredom even. In those circumstances we are motivated and challenged to change something. Then we can spring into action in order to make sure our lives become more comfortable. 

I've been thinking about this because I'm quite comfortable with my life. I love where I live, the house, location, friends, groups we are involved in. I am comfortable with these things. 

Then what happens if along comes an opportunity for change? What would my reaction be? No thank you, I like things how they are?  I am comfortable here. It would disrupt things and I am quite comfortable right now thank you very much. This new thing scares me.

As I considered this reaction I thought about how it is risky being comfortable. 

It's risky because you don't realise what you could be missing out on. If you never take up a new opportunity then you never know what benefit it could be. It would mean change of course, but sometimes change can be a positive thing, I found I could quite easily reason myself out of doing anything and stick with the easy way. What about the house, dog, kids....? However what if the change could be beneficial to all those things? 

So should we choose the most comfortable path? What benefit is that long term? Is this life about living comfortably? About having nice things and nice people so that we are comfortable? Or is life more of a journey? An adventure where we are called to explore and investigate? 

Be like the wind

John 3:8

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We should be like this. 

If we are part of God's kingdom and have received the Spirit, then we should be coming and going declaring God's truth like the wind. It should be as evident in us as the power of the wind. The truth of God in our lives should be heard by those around us, unmistakably.

People can't tell the source or the destination of the wind, but they can see the effect.

The effect of the Spirit should effect those who are around us. They won't know why or where it comes from, but they know that our presence shakes them up a bit.

We should be like a whirlwind. Stirring things and thoughts up so that people do not know where we get the knowledge/wisdom/love and goodness from, but their lives are changed by it. They experience something new and different that they don't understand but which is tangible and real because God and His Spirit are real and really at work.

If you are a Christian reading this, then you have access to the Spirit. You have this almighty powerful wind within you. So, how strong is your wind? Are you a gentle refreshing breeze? Or are you a powerful hurricane? 

If you're living by the Spirit it should be noticed. Just like someone drunk on spirits is noticed, so the Holy Spirit should be evident in us. 

We should stand out and bring a 'breath of fresh air' whether people appreciate it or not doesn't matter. We should be making an impact on those around us. 

Would those in your life testify to this about you? That you leave your mark like the wind does? 

Or, are you living to be comfortable where you are? Living so not to make waves? 

That is not the way of the Spirit, it ruffles feathers and shakes the trees. 

This world is not our home - This is a place to impact with the Spirit, a place to be transient, willing to move, to display who God is. 

Are you purposefully doing that? Open your eyes when you're on the way to work/school/shops, what do you notice? And how can you spread the Spirit there? Yes, it will be embarrassing, yes you will feel awkward and Ill-equipped, yes you might mess up and look like a wally. Am I selling it to you yet???? But there is a BIG BUT, what are you living for? 

To be comfortable in this world? 

Or to be living for something eternal? 

Are you demonstrating the wind of the Spirit in your life? 

If you do go for it, then at some point you will feel like you fail. Don't dwell on it. The wind doesn't stop when it knocks a bin over or shakes a tile loose, pick yourself up and go like the wind to wherever next you're going! The wind doesn't stay still, it keeps moving. It is noticed wherever it is. Don't worry about mistakes or 'failures' God has His plan which is greater than what we can see. 

Be prepared. 

Be awkward.

Be weird.

Be uncomfortable.

Be like the wind.

The rat-race

In this fast paced world we are always in a hurry. We want to get things done and done quickly. We speed through one task then rush straight into the next one. 

Even food needs to be fast. Waiting, queueing - where have those things gone? It used to be a common thing to stand in a queue at a checkout for 15minutes, most of the time you'd just wait and chat to others waiting, or make faces at a nearby baby. Now, there's pressure on supermarkets to open another till if there's more than a couple of people waiting, to have packers at the end ready to shove your stuff in bags, there are even self-service and self-scan options in some places to help you feel in control and to ease the waiting time. 

I remember queues, waiting and getting bored. My kids and the coming generations are now not used to waiting for things. It's an expectation that I'm hungry now so I must have food asap, I want to buy something so how can I do it as quickly as possible? In today's world we are not used to waiting, to practicing patience or taking our time to achieve something. 

So many processes have been sped up. Even looking up the definition or spelling of a word is simple now, you just google it. Forget the old fashioned laborious task of getting out the giant dictionary! Even wood carving can be done by machine now, as can knitting and the washing. Things that we used to have to spend more time on now take far less time, so how are we in more of a rush I wonder?

We are living in a fast-paced world and are fast paced individuals. We are used to a culture of moving quickly, finishing one thing and going straight into the next. We don't tend to have much time to get bored or even to think. To reflect on what's just happened. We ourselves are turning into machines. Processing as much as we can in minimal time in order to get a satisfactory output. 

The thing is - do we need to? We expect so much of ourselves, and it seems to be an expectation that when we ask how people are we get the response, 'busy'. I'm the same. Do we need to be like that though? 

I know there are things that need to be done, but are there any things we can drop? Can we allow ourselves a greater time margin so that we are not rushing from one thing to the next? 

Honestly, I'm worried. I'm worried for the next generations. If we are rushed - how are they going to be? Zooming form one thing to the next you forget to notice things, you don't have the opportunity to build relationships, to listen to or help others. You can forget about using imagination, being bored or developing patience.

I love it when we don't have our day all planned out and there's 'downtime' for us as a family. I like that they have the chance to be bored without the distraction of technology. Those times are when they have a chance to use their imagination, to create a game, read a book, day-dream. They can choose what they want to do rather than participating in pre-planned activities. Having that time helps them to figure out what they actually like doing, and it can help to develop other skills. 

I want to encourage you, let yourself have some time. Let yourself get bored and wait, let yourself have time where there's nothing to do (well there's always something you CAN do, but it doesn't HAVE to be done in that moment). Have some time to do whatever you want. It will do you good. It will open your senses to notice more. It will enable you to discover a bit more of who you are and allow you to rest from the rat-race. 

I don't want to be always busy. It's tiring and boring - busy doing what? What's the Long-term good of all the rushing around? Sure, some days will be hectic, but it shouldn't be everyday. Let go of the expectation that life should be like that, it shouldn't. It's not life, it's existing. Life is given as a gift to each one to enjoy, so take some time to do that. To enjoy the gift of the day you've been given.