Purifying our hearts

Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend.

Scripture: Psalm 51:10 (NIV) Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

First, David sees Bathsheeba bathing from his palace, he lusts after her, sends for her, commits adultery with her, she gets pregnant, he has her husband killed in battle to cover up his sin, then Nathan the Prophet confronts David about the scandal. David’s heart has become evil. Nathan confronts him, because David is no longer worthy of leading the Israelites. God has seen everything.

After this confrontation is when Psalm 51 begins. In the beginning of the chapter, we see David pleading for mercy, forgiveness and cleansing. When David realizes that Nathan is talking about him, he falls to his knees and seeks forgiveness from God. David doesn’t try to hide anything, because he realizes he can’t hide anything from God. He can lie to his men, but he knows God has seen every wicked event in his life. David is trapped in a corner, but instead of fighting back or trying to rationalize his deeds away, he falls to his knees. This is the kind of humility God expects of us when we turn from him and sin.

Midway through Chapter 51, David asks that God “create in me a pure heart” and “a steadfast spirit.” David knows that he must start life anew, and the most important thing is that he have a changed heart. David knows that his desires led him astray, and he knows he needs a heart transplant of sorts. Whenever we sin and fall from God, it means our own desires have overcome his desires for us. We have fallen to our fleshly desires. David wants a heart that seeks the desires of God’s heart. This does not wipe out the natural consequences of his sin, though, and David isn’t looking for that.

Sin is fun for a season, but in the end, it is always ugly. It can dominate our lives, especially sexual sin. Today is no different than 3,000 years ago with David and Bathsheeba. Sexual sin is still rampant among us. Adultery is still prevalent, particularly around pornography. Just as David had to rid his heart of sexual sin, we, too, must rid our lives of pornography. We must clean up our hard drives, maybe even shut off our computers for 40 days in order to get away from what makes us fall into Satan’s trap. Rid our house of magazines and smut. Throw every trace of the sin away. We must start over. As long as the temptation is still around, we cannot have a “pure heart.” It takes a “steadfast spirit” to overcome sexual sin. Sex cannot be an idol that separates us from God. Seek God, as David did, and ask him to cleanse our hearts.

How does this apply to my life?

Today’s prayer: Lord, purify our hearts. Help us to turn from sexual sin, as a nation, and to seek you with all our hearts. Amen

Doug Mead
Parenting Solo

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Vol. 4, No. 72

This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/july.asp?version=51