dayFOUR :: Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

 Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?

Who may stand in his holy place? 

Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,

who do not put their trust in an idol

or swear by a false god. 

They will receive blessing from the LORD

and vindication from God their Savior. 

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who seek your face, God of Jacob.   

- Psalm 24:3-6

The ancient Israelites referred to Mount Zion as the "hill of the LORD."  There perception of God was that He was the great Creator-King, and His residency on this planet was the temple in Jerusalem.  For one to be ceremonially clean to go to the temple must prepare himself, both ceremonially and personally.  This preparation was called sanctifying, which meant purging or cleaning out.  Physical cleansing was to be a symbol of an inner, spiritual cleansing that was taking place.

For us, the next 17 days are an ascent to the hill of the LORD.  We are seeking the presence of God and part of that seeking involves a cleansing.  The first purging involves our old, sin life, which is done only through the receiving of the Holy Spirt by accepting the gift of Jesus to be the forgiver of your sin and the leader of your life.  Once you have let God in, then you become aware of the things in your life that you need to leave behind and the things you need to let go of so you can move forward.

We may go to a dedication service on October 28 and never ascend to the hill of the LORD, or we can receive the cleansing of the LORD now and make the ascent.  Climbing hurts.  Climbing requires persistency.  Climbing has a reward.  Be the generation that seeks Him.  The generation that seeks His face and receive the blessing of God, our Savior.     On that day, you will be experiencing more than a service.  You will be experiencing the very presence of God...on the holy hill.  

prayTODAY :: 

If you are totally honest about what's going on inside of you, what is there?  Are there areas in your life that leave dirt on your hands or impurity in your heart?  What are you investing your trust in besides God?  What false gods are you pledging allegiance to?  Confess these to the Father today.  Cleans hands and pure hearts only come from the Father.  No amount of Go-Jo will clean our hands sufficiently.  Our hearts are dysfunctional.  Only Father can clean and purify.  Submit today to his leadership and receive His forgiveness.  Take a moment to watch the video on the site.