September 28, 2022 … A Heart Cleansed …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 271 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Keith Green leading in worship and singing … Create In Me A Clean Heart … poignantly singing of how we can ALWAYS trust God as we move into our future.

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Highlight Passage: … Matthew 15:19 [ESV] …  

19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 

… Jesus teaches on the organ of our uncleanliness … our hearts.                                  

Highlight Passage (Context): …  Matthew 15:12-20 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus teaches His disciples (and us) that our hearts are the source of words and actions which defiled God’s holiness. .                                                                                                         

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Reference Passage: … Psalms 51:10-15 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… King David confesses his sin to God and begs for God’s Spirit to cleanse his heart and restore the joy of God’s salvation to David’s life.   

Reference Passage: … Jeremiah 17:9 [ESV] …  

9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

… God, thru Jeremiah, shows His people the origin of their sin coming from man’s heart.

Reference Passage: … Ezekiel 36:25-27 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Ezekiel, prophesies what it will be like in heaven when all hearts will be cleansed of all sin and uncleanliness        

Reference Passage: …  Matthew 5:8 [ESV] …  

8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.  

… Jesus teaches His followers that God blesses those who keep their hearts pure and clean.   

Reference Passage: …  1Peter 1:22 [ESV] …  

22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. 

… Peter shows fellow Christians that sharing God’s love with one another helps to cleanse and purify our hearts.  

Reference Passage: …  1John 1:9 [ESV] …  

9 But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.  

… God’s word, thru John, shows us what it takes to purify our hearts of the stench of sin. 

                                                                                

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Marvin Williams … AT THIS LINK … tells of an animal rescue operation, dubbed “Operation Noah’s Ark,” which cleansed a house of the stench of over 400 mistreated animals.               

And the ODB author likened that animal rescue to what is necessary with the human heart, which, according to God’s word (see Jeremiah 17:9) is naturally filthy and in desperate need of cleansing.  That’s what David realized and confessed about his own heart in Psalm 51 (see above); and it’s what everyone of us needs to do to rid and cleanse ourselves of the stench of our human hearts. 

And I’m praying today that ALL OF US reading here will do all we can to cleanse our hearts of the stench of our sinful nature by taking the actions brought out in the Scriptures above, especially that of 1John 1:9.                 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for cleansing me of my sin and purifying my heart for Your glory. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to walk in obedience to Your truth to help us keep our hearts pure for Your glory, Lord.   .… Amen

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.