Psalm 51 (Day 32): Truths

"Create in me a pure heart,

O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Ps 51:10, NIV

As I end my 5-day journey with this famous verse, several truths surface from God's Word:

     -  God is the only One who can give a new heart (a pure heart, a heart that prophesies as the Spirit of God rushes upon it, a changed heart that is externally evident to those who are watching -- 1 Sa 10: 6 & 9). 

     -  God is the One who provides human hearts with a saving knowledge of Himself based on sovereign grace, thus establishing a special covenantal relationship with those who believe in Him and enabling upright living in them deemed previously impossible (Jer 24:7).

     -  God is the One who can operate in our deceitful and desperately sick hearts the inner transformation that allows us to thing and feel in new and pure ways as we learn to meditate on the truths of God's Word (Jer 17:9; Eph 4:22-24).

     -  God is the One who can create us anew in Christ to mirror and re-establish the original creation chronicled in Genesis where God "created man in His own image" (Gen 1:27).

     -  God is the One who can help us practice purity of heart in every area of life -- as opposed to the self-righteous idea of ritual purity we are so prone to convey -- and cleanse our hearts by faith in the Savior (Acts 15:9).

     -  God is the One who can ultimately fulfill the desire of our hearts, thoroughly purifying and preparing us to witness the termination of sin's curse introduced to the world through Adam and finally see God's face through the righteousness of Christ (Mt 5:8; Rev 22:3-4).

Today, I pray that we will be reminded of the price Christ paid for our cleansing. Through the shedding of His blood, He has already restored us to Himself. He has already created in us a pure heart. He has already renewed our days of old when Adam and Eve were living in a right relationship with the Creator. 

Despite months and weeks and days and hours and minutes and seconds of impurity due to soul-stricken amnesia, may you and I remember that God has already renewed a right spirit within us! We need only believe that, as new creatures in Christ, God has given us the grace to say no to the desires of the flesh and yes to the promptings of His Spirit. May we no longer cling to worthless idols so that we might not forfeit God's loving grace freely offered to us!

Psalm 51:1-10 is a passage that invites us to no longer heed the accusing and doubt-inducing voice of the evil one, knowing that his fiendish aim is to steal our joy -- the bliss of salvation, the satisfaction of grace, the fulfillment that we can find in Christ's presence alone. These verses counsel our hearts to surrender our will to the Lord -- confidently approaching His throne where we will find boatloads of mercy to sustain and strengthen us, and receive boundless grace to assist us in times of temptation and wandering.

May you and I go to Him even now . . .

Lord, that You for graciously waiting for us. 
Thank You for loving us with an everlasting love!