30^th November 2009

SEEDS FOR HARVESTING 4/48

Psalm 51:10
"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit in me."

You would think that God would get sick of us
always asking something from Him.
His nature must be all love
for Him to be able to hear and respond
to all our trivial requests.

Two words in this verse are important for us.
"Create" and "Renew."
"Create" describes how God can create something fresh
and new in our lives.
whereas, "Renew" means God bringing back to full life
something that we have allowed to shrivel up
and nearly die within us.
The first is God's work alone.
The second we can achieve ourselves but
only through God's creativity working in us.

God created first the universe,
but His nature is to continually be re-creative in our lives.
This is what "Renew a right spirit in me" means.
He does this in us through His grace, love,
the Holy Spirit and the Living Word.
The fertile soil of a "pure heart" and ‘right Spirit"
is where this renewal happens.
God's promise is that
"I will put My law (God's Truth) within them
and on their hearts I will write it.

So God continues to recreate in us
as we celebrate again the birth of a baby
who becomes our risen and glorified Lord.

Bob Imms 13.12.09