http://www.sxc.hu/photo/475647 |
When my son was around three
years old he found a red permanent marker. (I can hear the collective air
intake of every mother reading this – it is definitely NOT a good thing when a
toddler finds a permanent marker.) He
decided to color a beautiful picture on a freshly painted wall in our home – on
Mother’s Day no less! I tried everything
I could think of to get that stain off my wall but no matter how hard I
scrubbed it was still there. I finally
gave in and painted the wall, only to find that the stain bled through the
paint. Who knew a permanent marker
could be so permanent! I’m happy to
report that after many coats of paint it was finally gone!
But I’m reminded often of how like that
permanent marker is my sin?
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1287549 |
Have you noticed we like to call sin anything
BUT sin – it’s a bad habit, “just the way I am”, a disease or a mistake? Sin separates us from our Creator.
And we try the only way we know
how to clean up our own mess but it never quite works. From the beginning humanity has done this; Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin with fig leaves and we find other ways to try and clean up our our sin.
We can take the strongest soap we can find and scrub away . . . but no matter how hard we rub, no matter how strong the soap, we can never remove the stain of our sin. Look at what the prophet Jeremiah says . . .
We can take the strongest soap we can find and scrub away . . . but no matter how hard we rub, no matter how strong the soap, we can never remove the stain of our sin. Look at what the prophet Jeremiah says . . .
“No amount of soap or lye can make you
clean. I still see the stain of your
guilt. I, the Sovereign Lord, have
spoken!”
Jeremiah 2:22 (NLT)
Where is the hope? How can we ever be clean?
Titus 3:4-5 (NLT) says, “But – when God our Savior revealed his
kindness and love, he saved us, not
because of the righteous thing we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed
away our sins, giving us a new
birth and new life through the Holy
Spirit.”
Only through the cleansing power
of Jesus, God’s Son can our stain be removed.
There’s nothing we can DO to clean
ourselves, it’s all been DONE for us!
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1346127 |
When we acknowledge our sin,
believe that there is no way for us to make ourselves clean, that it is only
through Jesus - we hand the soap and sponge over to Jesus and let Him do His cleansing
work in our lives. He does this through
the sacrifice He made for us through his shed blood; making us into His brand spankin’
NEW creations, His Masterpiece.
Have you experienced Jesus’
cleansing power in your life? If you
haven’t, don’t put it off any longer - today is the day, my friend.
Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I am a
sinner and I cannot save myself. I need You
to wash me clean and make me new. Will
you come into my life and do your cleansing work. Thank you for saving me. Amen
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
-Elvina
M. Hall
What a beautiful, excellent reminder, Kristi. Nobody but Jesus.
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