Go gloveless

Nathaniel Hawthorne said, "A pure hand needs no glove to cover it." A pure heart needs no covering, either. It becomes evident no matter how hard the journey - purity is something we cannot (and should not) ever try to hide. Some might want to shun such purity, probably because it pricks at their conscience just a bit more than they'd like. Regardless of society's norms, we need to remain true to those God lays out in his Word. Only then will we realize purity of heart, mind, spirit, and soul.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob. (Psalm 24:3-9)

Be a generation that seeks him. If we want to see God move across our city, we might just be the first one to seek him. It takes one spark to ignite a whole forest - be the spark. Don't ever fear that others will be offended by what God is doing within your life - it is light in a very dark world that pushes back that darkness, little bit by little bit. Stand with God - regardless of those who stand against him.

Vindication from God our Savior - isn't that a mouthful? I know I have so much sin that I need Jesus to wash away from my life. I needed his light to reveal what I kept hidden - no glove could cover over my sin. How about yours? We try hard to 'make good' what is really rotten to the core within our lives, but we don't do a very good job of it. A glove merely masks what is underneath it. Our facades are nothing more than lame masks trying to put forth one image of 'us' to the world, all the while knowing there is something else underneath that facade we don't want them to seem.

Who may stand? The one with clean hands and a pure heart. Clean hands come from a pure heart. A pure heart comes from having our sins washed away by the blood of Christ. Grace is the only thing that washes us clean. Grace means we don't need the gloves any longer. Just sayin!