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Saturday, March 5, 2011

A Good Cleansing

A couple of weeks ago, I did a full body cleanse to remove toxins and excess waste from my colon. I will tell you it was not a pleasant experience, but I have felt better since then. In fact, the other night, I was able to eat fish without running to the bathroom for the first time in several years. And for those of you who ever wondered, the rainbow trout at Red Lobster is absolutely delicious!
This cleanse got me to thinking how we need to be cleansed spiritually as well. David was Israel's greatest king. He is known as the man after God's own heart.  But he did something that would serve as a turning point in his life, and in the life of his subjects. Instead of going to lead his armies against the Ammonites, he stayed at the palace in Jerusalem. One night, he noticed a woman bathing. More than noticed, the Bible says "the woman was beautiful to behold." You could almost see the drool run down his beard as he ogled her. As many of you may know. The woman was Bathsheba,and she was married to Uriah, one of David's soldiers. Well, David slept with Bathsheba, and got her pregnant. Instead of confessing his sin, David tries to cover it up, by sending for Uriah, and hoping the husband and wife would share in matrimonial bliss, and no one would be the wiser. Instead Uriah, who was a Gentile, refused to have better sleeping arrangements than his fellow soldiers. So David orders Uriah to be a sitting duck at the battle,and make sure he dies. After Uriah's death, Bathsheba moves in with David.
Though David thinks he's now off the hook, God sends Nathan to David to let the king know that his sin was not unknown to God. As Nathan shows David his sin, the king repents. The result is David writing Psalm 51. He begs God to cleanse him from his sin. He pleads with God to be given a clean heart.He begs that God be merciful towards him.
This Psalm acts as a spiritual cleanse. it reminds us that no matter how gross our sin, God has the grace to cover it. In the film Amazing Grace, there's a scene where William Wilberforce is speaking with his former pastor, John Newton, who has gone blind. Newton reminds his young friend that "I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great savior."
Some people reading this are dealing with sin. Some may feel as David did, that "There is no soundness in my fleash because of your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin" (Ps 38:3, NKJV). You only have one option. You need to admit your sin to God, and trust in his grace and mercy.

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