August 28, 2011

The Shepherd's Corner

In our last Wednesday’s Bible study and prayer meeting someone shared a poignant insight.  He likened us to a mop in the hands of God.  A mop is to be used on the floor to clean up dirt and mess.  That’s the reason despite its cleaning purpose, a mop is not always clean.  As a matter of fact it has to get dirty in order for it to function as a cleaning device.

(Tidak ada terjemahan dalam bahasa Indonesia)

In our last Wednesday’s Bible study and prayer meeting someone shared a poignant insight.  He likened us to a mop in the hands of God.  A mop is to be used on the floor to clean up dirt and mess.  That’s the reason despite its cleaning purpose, a mop is not always clean.  As a matter of fact it has to get dirty in order for it to function as a cleaning device.

How true!  We are indeed mops in the hands of God.  God puts us in the world and the world, as we know, is a dirty place.  The moment we wake up and deal with people—sinners as we are—we are bound to get “dirty.”  At times we lose control and say things we don’t mean.  Or, we think about something which is not pleasing to the Lord.  And, there are times we commit sins, again and again.

But, still the Lord wants us to be on the “floor,” not in the kitchen cabinet or behind a glass window of a department store.  The Lord sends us into the world so He can use us to “clean” the world from sin.  Even though in the process we, too, will be “stained” by sin itself.

Consequently, just like a mop needs regular wringing and rinsing to make it ready to be used as a cleaning agent again, we, too, must regularly come to the Lord for spiritual wringing and rinsing.  Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ coins the term, spiritual exhaling and inhaling.  We exhale when we confess our sins before the Lord.  And, after we confess our sins, we inhale—we claim the promise of God—that He will forgive us of our sins.  We ask God’s Holy Spirit to again cleanse us and renew our commitment to go into the world and be used by the Lord.

Pastor Paul

How true!  We are indeed mops in the hands of God.  God puts us in the world and the world, as we know, is a dirty place.  The moment we wake up and deal with people—sinners as we are—we are bound to get “dirty.”  At times we lose control and say things we don’t mean.  Or, we think about something which is not pleasing to the Lord.  And, there are times we commit sins, again and again.

But, still the Lord wants us to be on the “floor,” not in the kitchen cabinet or behind a glass window of a department store.  The Lord sends us into the world so He can use us to “clean” the world from sin.  Even though in the process we, too, will be “stained” by sin itself.

Consequently, just like a mop needs regular wringing and rinsing to make it ready to be used as a cleaning agent again, we, too, must regularly come to the Lord for spiritual wringing and rinsing.  Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ coins the term, spiritual exhaling and inhaling.  We exhale when we confess our sins before the Lord.  And, after we confess our sins, we inhale—we claim the promise of God—that He will forgive us of our sins.  We ask God’s Holy Spirit to again cleanse us and renew our commitment to go into the world and be used by the Lord.

Pastor Paul

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