Tag: cleanse

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Psalm 119:9

C is for clean. Clean means free from dirt or stains; uncontaminated; pure. To be clean we must be cleansed (washed; purged; freed from sin]. How are we to do that? Are we supposed to run down to the store and pick up a bottle of Dawn dish soap and some cleaning rags? No.

Our verse clearly tells us how we can cleanse our ways? What does it say? Does it say that we are to read God’s Word? No. Does it say that we are to memorize God’s Word? No.

These are good and important things, but I can read God’s Word and my mind be totally disengaged or be off in another part of the world. So, what will actually produce the cleansing that we need? It is “taking heed” of God’s Word. In other words, we need to sit up, pay attention and take note.

I am an avid [conscientious; keen] note taker when it comes to listening to sermons at church. Most of the time, I am so focused on the sermon, I do not pay attention to those around me. But, when I have, it has really puzzled me to see people not paying attention, people who did not bring their Bible (when they do have a Bible), people who do not even open the Bible in the pew, ones who do not take notes to study and assimilate later, and even ones who very loudly close their Bibles or zip their Bible covers before the pastor is even done preaching! Yikes! Do Christians really do this? Sadly, yes, they do.

You have heard that “actions speak louder than words,” and if you do those things, you are just proclaiming to those around you that you do not care to learn, you do not care to grow, and you do not care to be cleansed from sins in your life. You are making a very bold statement of “I have no need of cleansing!” aka “I want to be a failure.”

When you were in school, did you just show up when you wanted and did what you wanted to do during the class? Not unless you wanted a big, fat “F” on your report card, right? No, you made sure that you were there on time (so that you did not miss any of the material that the teacher was going to cover that day), you made sure that you had your textbook out and open and following along with the teacher, and you made sure that you were taking good notes because you knew that you would be held accountable for that information later … and you did NOT want to fail your exam!

If we did this for school, why do we not do this as Christians? Why would we want to set ourselves up for failure? Because exam time is coming and we will be tested! Why would we want to continue in sin? Romans 6:1 asks that very question, “… Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” and we find the answer to that in verse 15 “… God forbid!”

Lesson Objective: To understand what is involved in cleansing. To do all in your power to be there when class is in session (be in God’s house). To be sitting up, paying attention, and taking notes when God’s Word is preached and taught … whether it be at church or in your own private devotion time at home.

Did you pass or did you fail?