Have A Heart

Today when I got to work I realized that I had left a cup of tea on my desk over the long weekend. The science project in my cup was pretty incredible and surprising that it could even happen to plain green tea in only 3 days! While I was washing it out I was thinking to myself, “Too bad you didn’t remember to just dump the tea out on Friday before it was a problem, you wouldn’t be in this stinky embarrassing mess right now. It’s not very lady like to have a nasty cup on your desk and I hope that nobody walks in the kitchen and sees it.” Low and behold some guy walks in and only seeing the outside of the cup commented that he liked it. Smugly I grinned and thanked him quickly and finished scrubbing the cup.

The whole scenario got me thinking about my heart; the outside of the cup was so cute and nice, but the inside was so yucky and I totally tricked the guy, who probably thought the inside was as nice as the outside. Just like I need to keep my cup clean I need to daily cleanse and purify my heart, not on my own doing but through the Spirit and His Word. My heart can get so yucky so fast without anybody knowing it. Had I left my cup on my desk a few more days it probably would have started stinking maybe spilling or doing something else funky that I don’t even want to find out about! The same with my heart. I need to watch over my heart with all diligence, for from it flow the wellsprings of life! The inside of my heart needs to be clean to keep the contents of it pure and undefiled, promoting an appropriate outflow. My heart is deceiving and can’t be trusted. My heart can’t afford to be left unattended or to fend for itself. Without the Lord my heart is dead and will produce a filthy outcome.

When my cup was all dirty I was ashamed, a bit disappointed in myself, and embarrassed. When there is sin permeating my heart, I get the same way. I withdraw, cover it up, or just deny it for a bit longer. When in reality I need to run to the kitchen and wash it out before it even became a problem.  It is good to be in community with other people who will tell me when I need to wash my heart out. Clean your heart out before the Lord. Let Him in. If He has been tugging on your heart, let Him in. Let Him cleanse your heart. Don’t wallow in your yucky mold tea water. You won’t realize how filthy you were until you are cleansed and placed before a blameless perfect God. And there is no better feeling in the world than to be where your heart was created to be. In the hands of your almighty Father who is faithful and just to cleanse you from all of your iniquity.

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

³For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
⁴Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
⁵Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
⁹Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
¹⁴Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

¹⁸Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
¹⁹then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.