As a child, in my house, April meant Spring cleaning, and no one cleaned more thoroughly than my mom. She had my brother and I take furniture out of each room, so she could get to the nooks and crannies of every corner in the house, and then she'd have me use my baseball bat to beat the dust and sand from the rugs she meticulously stretched over the clotheslines. Spring cleaning was a ritualistic event, and there was one thing I could count on after a week of cleaning every room in the house, and that was that the house was as clean as it could possibly be. We'd repeat this event in the Fall, and right before Christmas.
Well, it is Spring, and this month's Trail Mix is a thorough prayer of cleansing that ALL of us need to do from time-to-time, or, in my case, time-to-time often means several times a day or week, especially when I am given over to the flesh within me. Anyway's, I couldn't think of a better prayer in the entire Bible to clean us from head to toe and from everything in-between, then Psalm 51. The remorseful Psalm of King David when he finally realized his sin with Bathsheba was totally not what God would have ordered for him.
I can only challenge each of you to prayerfully read this Psalm, and where its words are applicable, to ask the Holy Spirit to apply the cleansing to your heart and soul in order to present you before God, completely repentant and remorseful for the things in your live that have been committed by way of commission or commission, or both, so that you can stand before God righteous and ready to be used in a way the glorifies the Father with all aspects of your life.
Let's pray: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin! For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful]. Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall [in reality] be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt and iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.
Deliver me from blood guiltiness and death, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness (Your rightness and Your justice).
Open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
For You delight not in sacrifice, or else would I give it; You find no pleasure in burnt offering. My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then will You delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, justice, and right, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then bullocks will be offered upon Your altar."
Remember, the Path is Narrow, and Jesus told us it would have its difficulties. In 1 John 1:5-10, This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
Spring cleaning is necessary for all of us who travel across the Narrow Path; so allow the light of the Holy Ghost to enlighten you as He searches those nooks and crannies of your heart, spirit, language, thoughts and walk [life]. If it is true that confession is good for the soul, this month's Trail Mix should put some "pep back into your step!" as it reconnects you to the Father.
Shalom,
Pastor Paul
