Clean Hearts

A man wrote to the department of agriculture to find out how to cope with the dandelions that had infested his lawn. They gave him a number of suggestions. Nothing seemed to work. They suggested a number of chemical products to purchase. He did and tried them all, but nothing worked. Finally, he was completely frustrated and wrote them again, informing them that every method they had suggested had failed. Every product they had suggested failed. And he wrote that his yard was still filled with these infernal dandelions which seem to have only multiplied. He got back a rather short reply which read, "We suggest you learn to love it."

You can probably relate to that problem if you ever tried to remove habitual sin in your life. You may have tried everything and nothing works. You may, like the man in the story, feel frustrated because when you look over your life, the sin remains and maybe even grows. Nothing has changed. Too often, in our failures at living a sin-free life, we give up and come to live with our sin or maybe even enjoy it.

One of the key struggles of the Christian walk is dealing with the process of change as we struggle to live a life of purity. Lasting change never comes without a change in attitude and a change in heart. When we hate sin as God hates sin, then we will be committed to avoid sin and live a life of purity. But we also have to realize that we can never change our sinful nature in our own strength.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within
me. -Psalm 51:10

We must cry as David cried out to the Lord. We must have the attitude that David had. We must have that change in heart that David desired. When God creates a new heart for us, new actions will follow. Through constant renewal in the Lord will the new actions take hold and take root in your life.

In Colossians 3, Paul says if we are risen with Christ, to seek those things which are above. He says, "Set your affection on things above, not on things of the earth." (Colossians 3:2) Don't learn to love your sin or even learn to live with it, but set your mind on things above, on heavenly things.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him: -Colossians 3:5-10

Mortify our members which are carnal of the things of the world. Mortify them, kill them, suppress them. Sin must be avoided. The lusts of flesh, the love of the world, etc. If we do not kill them, they will kill us.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. -Romans 6:23

Sin is death, spiritual and physical. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. Let the Holy Ghost renew your mind. Put on the new man. Put off the old conversation. Put on Jesus.