April 3, 2020
“If my people…will…TURN from their wicked ways…”
(2 Chronicles 7:14)
TURN (shuwb):
Return
Turn around
Turn about
Restore
Reverse
Renew
Say nay
Go in a different direction
How do we turn? “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.” (James 4:8)
James, Jesus’ brother is saying:
- Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Draw is the Greek word eggizō, meaning to join together, come close. Join forces with God and God will join forces with you. “Come to the Light.” Come close to God and he will come close to you. God is always is on the winning team always and we are more than conquerors in Him.
- Cleanse your hands. (Purge and purify.)
The CDC, Centers for Disease Control, advises that hand washing is one of the best ways to protect ourselves and our family from getting sick. Washing hands can keep us healthy and prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections from one person to the next. Since Covid-19, reared it’s ugly head, we as a nation in whole have been washing our hands a lot more often. It is a shame that we have to be told to wash our hands. However, this is not an original idea. The original CDC, God instructed men about physical cleaning in the Old Testament. James adopts the same principle and instructs us about spiritual cleansing. Keeping our spiritual hands purged and purified is also the best way to keep ourselves, whole, healed and complete. It is the best way to keep our families protected. If we do not allow sin into our lives or get rid of it as soon as it happens, it will not have long term effects on us nor our family. People are crushed under the weight of sin in their bodies, minds and spirits, IF they choose to carry it. Jesus took the sin and carried it for us. We must accept the forgiveness for the sin and TURN from it.
For instance, if I had a mom that worried/feared all the time, I may have learned to worry /fear all the time and not trust God. If I did not “turn from my wicked ways, ” I could pass worry/fear down to my children. Yes, worry is nothing more than fear and the scripture tells us, do not fear more times than I can count. Wash that worry right off of your hands. Trust God
Have we cleaned out spiritual hands more often during this “Pandemic?” We should because it is what will help heal our land. “Gonna wash that sin right off of my hands. Gonna wash that sin right off of my hands. Gonna wash that sin right off of my hands with the washing of the word and the blood of the lamb! “
- Purify your hearts
Purify is the Greek word hagnizo meaning to cleanse, but the implication to ceremonially to cleanse from levitical pollution by means of prayers, abstinence, washings.
Have you experienced any “purification” during this pandemic? Are you praying? Are you abstaining? Are you purifying you heart? Everyday, as I pray and seek God, I am getting a Holy Spirit whooping about cleaning & purifying my heart. It is chastisement but not a condemnation. It is the growing pains of being transformed into the image of my Father. To me it is like going to my Father who happens to be the Great Physician and Him prescribing spiritual medicine. He gives me the prescriptive word to clean and purify my heart from the worldly plaque that I have allowed to infiltrate. Proverbs 4:22 says that his words “are life to those that find them and help to all their flesh.” If you do not go to the doctor, you are not going to get the prescription you need. Take a dose of God’s word everyday.
We want God’s presence. We want him to act. We want him to heal our land, but are we doing our part? Are we turning back to him? Are we cleansing and purifying? Are we taking care of kingdom business or are we just hoping it all goes away? Are we seeking him for comfort? Are we praying? Are we spending time with Him? Or are we turning to Netflix? Wine ? Food? Not that those things are bad, they are not. They are not our source of help not our comfort.
I enCOURAGE you to work on you. Turn to God. Draw near to God. We all have stuff we need to cleanse and purify. Clean your hands and purify your heart. And, Don’t be wishy-washy about it.
P.S. I just took the trash off and ran quickly into the grocery for a needed item. Why is it that I feel dirtier exiting the dump than the grocery? Each time I leave I cannot wait to get home, wash my hands and change my clothes. This is going to be a dangerous, but I pray that I feel the same towards sin in my life and this nation.
“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:2)
❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️🙌🏻❤️
Complete in Him 