GOD, PURIFY ME FIRST

In my reading this morning I was really ministered to by Romans 1-4. I encourage you to read it. It is some pretty intense stuff. Paul greets the Romans then addresses God's perspective on unrighteousness vs. righteousness, God's judgement of sin, God's faithfulness, how sin condemns you and I, how Christ took our punishment, and the faith of Abraham. It's some powerful reading.

I have spent the good part of a month asking for God's purity. Basically asking God to reveal anything hindering His work in my life. Text like Romans 1:21-24 causes me to want to continually stand before God with the cry of David's heart, Ps 139:23-24", Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting." I've made David's prayer my own and the exposure of my sin has been painful and helpful.

Here is the trap Paul talks about if we don't pray such prayers, Romans 1:21-24, "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies." That is a pretty awful sequence of events, but how many times do we have to watch our loved ones, friends, church leaders fall to sin?

How many people, good people, have we seen fall away in recent years? How many strange versions of the gospel are out there to bring us what we think God is? I exhort you to keep reading your bible. Once we begin to see Christian leaders fall away we can take confidence in the fact that God is cleaning out His church. I would state with great confidence God's house cleaning is to prepare us for a harvest of souls in these days. And I believe the cleansing is happening right now.

You and I have seen our brothers and sisters in Christ fall away, but we can not pretend as if we are invincible or exempt. I've seen this happen too many times and it scares the living hell right out of me. I'm serious, every time I see a brother in Christ fall to temptation or sin I get flat scared that the same could happen to me! It causes me to get before God and ask Him to dig up the junk in my own life that would cause judgement to fall on me. After all, who do I think I am that it could not happen to me?

I think it does us good to take a look at the judgement of God. Romans 1-4 deals in large portion of such topics, but if we believe in Jesus Christ, who was handed over to die because of our sins, and we recognize He was raised to life to make us right with God, it should be no trouble to ask God to purify our lives and offer to Him what He digs up.

So how about it? There are probably some secrets worth getting out in the open with God? I promise you this, when you've confessed your sin to Jesus Christ and to another there is nothing like sweet forgiveness.

It is always like that for me. This morning I read these chapters and then I intentionally got on my knees and said, "Father, reveal things in me...Father, forgive me of those things." In that moment I knew there was nothing separating me from the love of GOD!

Romans 4:20, "Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God."