#PSALM 24 CLEAN HANDS PURE HEARTS FREE#

And only once we make that choice can our healing begin. It’s not a feeling, it’s not an emotion, it’s a choice. The Passion translation says this, “ Lay aside bitter words, temper tantrums, revenge, profanity, and insults.”īetween these three translations, this is a pretty thorough list! And it’s all summed up at the end, forgive one another as God in Christ forgave you. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.” The MSG translation says it this way, “ Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Paul says to the church in Ephesus in 4:26-27 “… do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” Clearly there is some direction here on the necessity for us to examine our hearts DAILY if we are to not let the sun go down upon our anger or we will give opportunity to the devil!Īlso, in 4:31-32, he says, “ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along will all malice. God made a way through Jesus Christ for us to access Him, to “ ascend the hill of the Lord”, but we have to allow the continuation of the Holy Spirit to purify us as we continue up the mountain towards him, or it will allow an opportunity for the devil! And it’s only through Jesus Christ that we have the power over sin in our life, which is why we must daily keep our hearts pure. And we are humans who, because of sin in our lives, need a savior to make a way for us to have access to God. They are also the types of sins that the enemy loves, because of how quickly those weeds can spread and wreak havoc in our hearts! These types of sins take consistent tending on our part to guard our heart and stay pure! We have to continually pull those bitter roots out so those weeds don’t spread. It’s about diligently keeping our hearts pure, especially from the sneaky sins that can hide in our hearts. What I mean is keeping a pure heart isn’t just about the “big” or “obvious” sins of not lying, committing adultery, or murder. And I say “big” in quotes because our human minds love to try and measure and judge the level of sins committed. What about relationships at church? Relationships at work? Your family? We are balancing so many relationships and interactions that absolutely require the work of the Holy Spirit to continuously empower us to walk in purity and righteousness.Īnd this isn’t just about the “big” sins. Your spouse didn’t tell you they loved you today.

Someone didn’t like your post on facebook. Someone didn’t return your text or your phone call. The cashier was rude to you when you checked out. How many opportunities do we have to take offense or get angry? Someone cut you off while you were driving. Think of all the interactions and things that happen throughout your day that can start off as a tiny seed in your mind and then take root in your heart. Daily, we have to examine our hearts and cry out to the Holy Spirit to search us, to purify us, and continue this process of sanctification. He died so that we can be freed by Him, but now we must choose to live in the freedom He provided.

#PSALM 24 CLEAN HANDS PURE HEARTS FREE#

It is a process, that because of Jesus Christ’s victory over death on the cross, we are set free from sin’s power. To be sanctified means we have to be separated from sin. hagiasmos) means to make holy, or morally and spiritually pure, separated from evil and dedicated to God, consecrated. Why is it so important to do this? Because we are in process of being sanctified. This is also necessary in order to receive blessing from the Lord. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”ĭavid is giving instruction here that is clearly saying, before you come before God, before you come to worship Him and pray to Him, seek to stand in His holy place, you better make sure your hands and heart are pure. Psalm 24 (ESV), one of my favorites Psalms, is a Psalm of David that says, “ Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. Songs of ascent and of the majesty of creation! Songs of thanksgiving, praise, petitions. The heart wrenching cries for God, exalting Him, praising Him, these beautiful hymns bring soothing to the heart, as the ancient writings from the 10th to 5th century BC resinate and awaken our souls to the majesty of God and the cry from man for God, that has spanned generations. Strangely enough, it’s not a book of the Bible that I’ve spent months dwelling mainly in before.

Something about the deep cry of the heart, the honest searching and longing from the depths of the Psalms is entirely where my heart has been.

I’ve been soaking myself in the psalms lately.

Psalm 24 clean hands pure hearts