Final Four: Part 4: "Cleanse Me."

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.  Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity” (Psalm 51:7-9).

Have ever felt truly clean?   From a hard day working outside on a hot and humid summer day to a great physical work out at the gym to taking care of little children—dirt, sweat, and grime are bound to be there. It is easy to get dirty.  But how do you get clean?

To reduce the risk of infection from each ankle surgery, Dr. Haddad instructed me to scrub my ankle the night before and morning of surgery. Not only was the ankle scrubbed, but all the toes, toenails and in between the toes received a thorough wash of Hibiclens.  The scrub kept going up the front and back of my calf and knee to mid-thigh. All of this to prevent infection, be clean, and ready to go for surgery!

As I went through those pre-surgery “scrub sessions” before the four surgeries 2008, my heart was gripped by the fact, how do I get cleansed from my sin?  There is nothing I can do to remove it.  “Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? (Proverb 20:9)  Only the precious blood of Jesus Christ—shed on the cross for your and my sins—provides the means for forgiveness of sins!  “And without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22b).

David, “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Psalm 89:20-24; Acts 13:22), may be characterized as one of the greatest sinners, but he’s also one of the greatest repenters. Psalms 32 & 51 prove it.

Grateful for the forgiveness that comes through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 2:8-9)