Today's Meditation - Wednesday, November 3, 2020

 Today's Meditation

Read Psalm 51

¹Have 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 alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

⁵Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

⁶You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my 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 crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

¹⁷The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

¹⁸Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

¹⁹then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

    Verse 10 is the verse I am concentrating on today.  "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."  There is so little in this world that we have control and authority over.  We may have influence, we may have voice, but we have very little control, particularly over things that are external to us.  However, we do have control over our own thoughts, what we say, how we conduct ourselves, and how we view the rest of the world around us.     So, for today, ask God to create within you a clean heart.  One that is full of joy, grace, peace, faithfulness, mercy, and laughter.  And as your heart becomes whole, allow it to saturate your soul with God's Spirit working within you, putting a new and right spirit within you, as well.  A spirit that sees the vulnerable, the hurting, those who are lost and alone, those who have suffered injustice and reaches out to them with God's love.