Re-Form Me

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Psalm 51:10-12: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Can I change myself? I can change, or modify, behaviors. I can adapt to situations and act accordingly. I can even modify my response to situations and people.

I can do all those things. I cannot change myself. I cannot change the core of who I am. I am a sinner before God. I am a person who was conceived into the darkness of sin. I am a person who will not be able to fix the sin which is at the core of my life. I can do a lot of things that are good. I cannot change the core person that is evil in the sight of God.

Yes, I said evil. I am, along with every other human being, conceived as a sinner. My very essence is opposite of God. I was not born in the image of God. I was born in the image of man, more specifically, my parents. See Genesis 5:1-3. Because I, along with every other human being, has no connection to God. The sooner we realize and accept this, the better it will be for us.

From where does the connection to God come? It comes from God Himself. God the Holy Spirit cleanses the hearts and lives of people when they believe in what God did through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. So when you came to faith, God cleansed your heart and life with the Gospel of Jesus. Then we come the realization that we are fully and totally sinful. We experience the guilt of sin.

Then we repent and confess or sins. We cry out, "Help me, God. Make my heart of stone into a heart of flesh, living beating, and growing because of You. Pour Your Holy Spirit in me. Lead me to a more full faith, grace, love, and mercy. Build me so that I have my life centered on You and not me. Leave me to live in Your grace and favor. Re-form me with Your image in me. In Jesus' name, Amen!