Tag: A Clean Heart

Preparing for Easter

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Jesus sent His disciples to get ready for Passover and everything was just as He said it would be. A local homeowner in Jerusalem had an upper room that Jesus and the disciples used for the Lord’s Last Supper. All was ready for them.

Our daughter just called on Sunday to let us know that she was planning to come this week to spend Easter with us. She is bringing the two youngest girls (14 and 11) and her oldest daughter is the one who has been living with us since September. I am really looking forward to seeing them again. They came down for Christmas, too. Hope is very intuitive and knows that travel is hard for me now and that I miss seeing the grandchildren. She called when I was feeling particularly low because our youngest son’s birthday as well as his daughter’s birthday is next week. We usually make the trip to Maryland to see them in April, but this month is filled with medical appointments and tests instead. So when Hope called to say she is coming, I was thrilled!

Then, I looked around at the house. I haven’t been able to clean properly (or really much at all) because of my shoulder. The dust everywhere is the first clue. Harry helps when he can but cleaning is not his thing to do since he doesn’t even see the dust, much less think it needs to be removed. Anyway, I started stressing about getting ready and how I would do it with an arm that doesn’t cooperate and a back that is in constant pain along with my leg that is numb most of the time, making me a fall risk.

Then, I read today’s devotional that included this verse. The disciples didn’t run around frantically preparing. They simply followed what the Lord told them to do and all was ready for them. Thus, I am resting in the Lord, knowing that the house will not be clean but we will be welcoming and loving. The groceries are ordered and Harry will pick them up today. Then, there will be plenty of helpers on Sunday to make the Easter meal before I have to head to the hospital for my MRI. Prepared? Yes, in my heart, I am prepared to welcome family and to serve the Lord with gladness on this Resurrection Day. Jesus wants my heart prepared for Him and for me not to suffer regrets because of what I physically cannot do. I know in my heart that He wants me to have peace and to enjoy time with the children and grandchildren, so that is what I am focused on today. Dirty house? Yes, but a clean and expectant heart! Our daughter is on the way and will be here by noon. I am looking forward to the visit and the rest that comes in knowing that God knows just what I need and just when I need it. A touch and reassurance from Him and a hug from family!

May your Easter preparations start in your heart and reach deeply into your soul. My prayer for you is peace and the assurance that God will give you rest.

A Clean Heart

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

During the pandemic, everyone that I knew was concerned about clean hands. Sanitizer could not be found unless you wanted to pay a scalper’s high price. Even soap that is anti-bacterial was hard to find. People were busily cleaning their hands, but what about their hearts. You don’t even need to go to the store to get any cleaning products to have a clean heart. You just have to confess your sins to God, repent and ask for forgiveness and He will forgive you. I like what the devotional says that when we seek God, we will find that He has already been seeking us. So, don’t stay in your sin…confess, repent, ask and accept the free gift that God has provided.

Want a Clean Heart?

King David made some great decisions, but he also made some terrible ones. He had an affair with a woman named Bathsheba, for example, and attempted to conceal the secret by arranging the murder of her husband. 

For someone who was considered “a man after God’s own heart,” David really messed up. And yet, we know from Scripture that David confessed his sin against the Lord (2 Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬) and can read about how he prayed for mercy in Psalm 51:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭51‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

If you’ve ever messed up, you’re in good company. Paul, the author behind much of the New Testament, writes in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Paul wasn’t always a man who followed God’s own heart, either—in fact, early in his life, he killed people who followed Jesus.

God did not abandon Paul. He did not exclude David. And He will not forsake you, either! God does not leave us to ourselves or our pasts, nor does He give us what we fully deserve. Instead, He put on skin and took our place. Jesus became the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for our sin—once and for all. He loves us, despite what we may have done!

If you’re longing for a second chance or craving a relationship with the one true God, but aren’t sure where to start, try borrowing some of David’s words. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

When we seek God, we realize that He’s already been seeking us. 

God is faithful. He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He’ll do. He is your merciful Savior, He forgives your sins, and He not only makes your heart clean, but He also makes you a brand new creation.