May 26–Wash Me Lord

Happy weekend! We hope you have started a good time of 

rest and fun for this first long weekend of the summer. Ours is looking a bit different this year, but we are pretty thankful for the great weather. 


My sister and I are staying with our mother and over the last three days, we have done an incredible amount of laundry. One thing that I appreciate is that when clothes are a bit dingy or just plain dirty, if you add a little bleach things sure come out brighter. I washed a load of whites last night and when I opened the washer, I was surprised how bright those once filthy things were. I just kept thinking of Psalm 51. 


“Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I’ve been; my sins are staring me down...Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home. Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God, and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways. Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭51:1-3, 7-15‬ ‭MSG‬‬


The laundry of God! Aren’t you glad that he adds a little bleach every he washes us up and brings us back from the gray? He has taken away our death sentence and He deserves our thanksgiving. We deserve to be thrown away, but instead, God breaths life into us—his holiness. How lucky are we? 


Notice, too that in the midst of the Psalmist asking God to clean his soul, he promises “to teach the rebels so that the lost will find their way home.” So many times I forget that part of the prayer. I want God to clean me up, but I forget that sharing it is our perfect praise and thank you to the Father. 


Dear Jesus we praise you for washing us clean. Before we were, you knew us and before we spoke, you spoke words of life over us. You are a great God who washes us and makes us clean and we pray for wisdom and fervor as we share your message. You give us a fresh start when we mess up dreadfully and yet, every time, you forgive and love us through it all. We sing hallelujah for your life giving ways. We love you and adore you and we bow before you. Amen and amen. 


Have a great weekend. 

Love you dear friend,

Pam


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