Daily Verse: Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

There are some sins in our lives that can be downright crippling. No matter how hard we try to change our ways, we slip back into that old familiar place. It’s as if these sins have a locked grip around our necks that we can’t shake. We can try to block it out by changing our routines, habits, or practices, but inevitably it creeps back in. And for many of the sins in our lives the world around us has rationalized them as appropriate or acceptable. When we see that acceptance…when we see the world saying that something is “ok”, we are less bothered by it and WE starting seeing it as “ok”. If we can’t defeat it, then we learn to change our opinion of it and eventually learn to live with it.  That is when sin has won and the devil has triumphed in turning us away from God and convincing us that his way is the right way. Where we slip up in this battle against sin is when we try to wage the war on our own…we try to defeat the menace with our own wits and abilities. We fail to include God. Instead of struggling on our own, we are supposed to call out to God to join the battle, inviting his strength, wisdom, and perseverance to unlock that grip that sin has on our lives. That’s what King David is saying in the text above…he is asking God to create a pure heart in him. He acknowledges his inability to create that pure heart and remove sin from his own life so he calls God into the mix. Imagine the difference that would make in our lives. Imagine instead of spending every day battling we could turn it over to God…prayerfully requesting that he defeat the darkness that has wormed it’s way into our lives. After all, the very sacrifice made by Christ illustrates the fact that we are unable to defeat sin on our own. He came and defeated sin because we could not. May we invite God into our lives each day, requesting that he sweep out all the mess and create a “pure heart” within each of us. To God be the glory!