“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom” (Psalms 51:1-6).

Today’s Morsel:  I think one of the biggest fallings that we Christians have is that we don’t ask God to reveal to us our hidden sins, hidden motives, hidden wrong desires, hidden sexual undertones, hidden bad attitudes, hidden anger, and hidden unrighteous ways.  We pray and ask Him for healings of others and ourselves, but most of the time we are not hard on ourselves in our prayer to Him.  As I told the men a few weeks ago in our “Guy’s G.R.O.W.” lesson, we need to ask God to open us up and show us things that are hidden in our life that aren’t like Him, those things that can sneak up and destroy us.  In Psalms 19, David prayed, “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalms 19:12-14).  In both cases, Psalms 19 and Psalms 51, David’s prayer is a prayer of true repentance and one seeking for a life change.  David’s sins seem to catch him by surprise.  Somewhere the sweet psalmist and man after God’s own heart got away from asking God to keep him pure.  And now he realizes that God wants truth within, not just truth without.  Jesus told the religious leaders to first clean the inside of the platter and the outside will be clean (my wording).  It’s always those hidden sins and idiosyncrasies that seem to get us into trouble.  

Sing:  Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?  Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?  Are your garments spotless?  Are they white as snow?  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Thought For Today: God desires truth in the inward parts.