SOUL CLEANSING LEADS TO LIFE OF ABUNDANCE (PART 2 OF 2)

8th OCTOBER 2020

“Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” – 2 Corinthians 7:1

This is a continuation from yesterday’s devotional. Yesterday, we learned that a spiritual cleansing enables us to more clearly, hear from God and to behold His divine Spirit. Cleansing, therefore, becomes the gateway to harmonize with God and His divine Spirit. It follows therefore that at all times, we must be able to pray and say without fear, “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind” (Psalm 26:2) That statement will help to prepare us to meet and harmonize with God at all times.

Another step to cleansing the spirit is to purge or cleanse our eyes regularly. Take note that our eyes are sacred and must not be allowed to wander away or set on the wrong and worthless things (Psalm 119:37) In the words of St Augustine, “Lord, show me the road I must travel that I may see you.” God’s path alone leads to a life of abundance, and His hand provides not just pleasure, but eternal pleasure. And not merely joy, but full joy. Perhaps, that explains why Jesus admonishes us, “If your eyes cause you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away…..” (Matthew 18:9)

Again, to cleanse the Spirit, we have to cleanse or sanctify our words. That is because the words that we utter are key to our existence. This, of course, means that our words must be sanctified and purified at all cost. The Scripture says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Therefore, always meditate on the Lord, the fountain and origin of good things, in order that words pleasing Him, might overflow from your mouth. These words carry power and eternal impact when offered in his strength, rather than our own efforts and weaknesses.

Furthermore, to cleanse our words, let us be a generation faithful in speaking the truths we’ve been entrusted with, handing them off to the future generations. Many a time, we shy away from stating the truth for some obvious reasons – the fear of losing some pecuniary rewards! That does not depict us as children or servants of God. Not hiding the truth in fear or corrupting it to fulfil our own agendas, but speaking them for His glory, purposes, and praise, will open for us the gate of His grace and abundance! May God’s great works ever be on our lips!

Today’s word says we have to purify ourselves in order to become closely aligned or attuned with God and His divine Spirit. In doing that, we have to purge our hearts, words, actions and eyes. For instance, our actions have the potential to bring great hope and healing to many (Psalm 34:14) especially, when we submit to God at the time when the storms become too thick or turbulent. At every point in time during crises or turbulence, we must do nothing that will separate us from God. We must continue to hold onto God and put our hope in Him nevertheless. God gives us the inner strength to bear affliction with a patient; He is our rock and our strength; therefore, we can’t be paralyzed. AMEN.

PRAYER

Father in the name of Jesus Christ, I thank you for Grace and the Faith to live and perfect the works of salvation in my life. Cleanse me inside out, and bring me in perfect alignment with thy spirit and the seat of power in me, AMEN 

FURTHER READING: Psalm 19:12–13; Psalm 16:8; (Psalm 16:11; Psalm 82:3;