Filthy

I am not a clean freak, but I couldn’t live like I see some folks live. I recently was invited to see a house that had been rented by a person who was called “a clean freak” by the person who rented her the house. The owner of the house saw the house for the first time since the “clean freak” had rented it and oh goodness. This person was a long way from a clean freak. I think the tubs and shower will require hours of cleaning. The whole house was disgusting and filthy. I know what it’s like to let the house go, but to not do some basic “clean-up” after yourself is a way of life for some people. I was taught to clean up after myself and to make my bed each morning. I’m not a clean freak, but I sure can’t live in the midst of filth either.

Isaiah writes a powerful word after being in the Presence of God. When seeing the purity and the power of God’s Presence, he is broken. Check this out……

⁵ Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (Isaiah 6:5 NLT)

I have done things in the Presence of God that I am so ashamed of.

I have said things in the Presence of God that I am utterly embarrassed.

The reality is that the Presence of God in me is not every now and then. It is certainly not only at church during a powerful move of God’s Spirit. He is always in me and around me. I know that there are so many times when I speak, I’m speaking out my flesh instead of allowing His Spirit to speak through me. When I really take a close look at my life, it is really still quite filthy in the Presence of God.  If I compare my life with another flawed human being, I may or may not appear stronger in my faith than them. That is not the measurement of clean. The Lord is pure and perfect. He is the standard to which I should pattern my life, my thoughts and my words. His Word shines a light that touches the depths of my heart.  When I read His Word, my heart is convicted of my own filthy heart chambers. I think cleaning my heart is a daily activity. I want the words of my mouth and the activities of my day today to reflect the strong, powerful and pure Presence of Christ in me. He is my living hope!

I love this song by Phil Wickham& Brian Johnsoncalled: Living Hope

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory, whoa!

Jesus Christ, my living hope
Oh God, You are my living hope

_____________

Pressing On!

Dwayne