Day 2:
Cleansing
“These men called together their fellow Levites, and they all purified themselves. Then they began to cleanse the temple of the Lord, just as the king had commanded. … The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple courtyard all the defiled things they found.” 2 Chronicles 29:15-16
cleansing [klenz] verb
- to make clean
- to remove by or as if by cleaning “to cleanse from the soul.
Thanksliving: Cleansing
Being clean is something that many of us take for granted. Running water and soap make it relatively easy to wash away dirt. It doesn’t take too many days of camping, however, before we have a new appreciation for a hot shower and a dishwasher. A few years ago my son went on a fundraising hike across America to raise money for the burn unit of a local children’s hospital. As he backpacked his way from California to Florida, he often went several days without a shower or being able to wash the few clothes he had. Dirt was a fact of life, and as his mom I was dismayed at what became acceptable standards of “cleanliness” to him.
A clean body can help protect us from disease and discomfort. A clean home makes for a healthy environment for family and friends. Likewise, regularly confessing our sin keeps our hearts clean before God. Jesus is the One who purifies us permanently from our sin by taking that punishment upon Himself. Being thankful for His sacrifice is a wonderful way to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Pray for Thanksliving cleansing.
After the fall of man due to sin, God instituted many rules that the people had to follow to purify themselves from defilement and sin. In today’s verses, King Hezekiah of Judah purges the nation from idolatry and reintroduces the people to true worship. As you can see, this begins with a major cleanup of the people and The Temple of the Lord, as per Old Testament rules. Today please take a moment and give thanks to God for the cleansing He provided for us through the cross and the blood of Christ.
Just as Hezekiah purged the Temple of the Lord from the idols that the people had brought in, we may have to get serious about our temples. In 1 Corintians 6:19, God tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and that we are not our own. Jesus bought us for a very expensive price — His own life. Keeping that in mind, we may need to throw out some junk to make room for the holiness God desires.
- Pray and ask God to show you if there is a habit or pattern of sin in your life that needs to go.
- Find a verse of scripture that pertains to this struggle and begin praying it into your life.
- Thank God for how He is already at work cleaning up and redeeming this area of your life.
More Thanksliving: Cleansing
If you’d like to explore this theme further, please read The Cleansing of My Temple.
Comment
Please leave a comment below in the Speak Your Mind section on what God teaches you today about cleansing.
Previous Links
“cleansing.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 16 Nov. 2014. <Dictionary.com https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cleansing>.
Great post. I pray that God’s standards of cleanliness will be mine.
Thanks, Mary. Me too!