CLEANSE MY SPIRIT, LORD

Luke 11:39 - "Oh you Pharisees!  Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a child, we are all taught at home and in school the proper way of washing our hands.  In order to prevent being sick, we have to do this before and after meal and after doing our things in the toilet.  It is actually easy and we just have to do it consistently and make it a habit.

I even joined this project before as part of a Six Sigma project in a hospital wherein they are seeing a high occurrence of infections in patients at ICU area.  Study shows this is due to failure of staffs and visitors to wash their hands prior entering the ICU room.  As a solution, they put a sensor that can tell whether a person washed he hands before entering the room.

And if Jesus has lived today, His failure to wash His hands would be an ordinary thing as this would just be His prerogative.  But during His times, washing of hands, aside from hygienic purposes, it is also a commandment that must be followed by every Jews.  It is based on grounds that the ideal of holiness demands a special, ritualistic washing of the hands.

This would be the reason why the Pharisees in the house was shocked and cannot believe what Jesus has done (or has not done).  But Jesus knows too well.  Most Pharisees in His time are only clean from the outside but not inside.

But God is still more concerned with the cleanliness of our hearts.  What is contained in our hearts is utterly important to Jesus.  He came to the world in order to reform the hearts of sinners, like you and me.  He came into the world because we have such dirty hearts that need to be purified through Him.  And our hearts need to be pure so we may live perfectly as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

Yes cleanliness of the body is important.  But our whole being should be as well - body, soul and spirit.  Open your hearts to the Lord and let Him cleanse you, not just the outside but also from the inside.

+ Let us pray:  Almighty Father, make my soul a perfect dwelling place for You.  A place filled with love of You.  A place filled with holiness.  Provide the grace I need to keep my soul holy and lead me away from sins.  Let others see You in my soul and my actions and may whatever I do bring glory to You.  Come into my soul and abide in You forever and ever.  Amen +