Tuesday, January 15 2008

Fresh

Ps. 51:12 – ‘Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.’

What do you think of when you hear the word fresh? When the weather is nice, my husband and I enjoy going to the farmers market so we can buy produce that was picked that very morning. To me, fresh means just-harvested fruits and vegetables – not stale or spoiled, but crisp and full of exquisite flavor.

I need that kind of freshness in my relationship with God. I can have too many stale attitudes – impatience, criticism, and selfishness – and not enough “longsuffering, kindness…gentleness,” which are “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23).

As David repented of the sin in his life, he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart.” The he petitioned God: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” Confession and repentance of our sin renews our fellowship with the Lord and allows us to joyously begin anew.

What a better time than today to ask God to give you a new spirit, a freshness of faith, and a renewed appreciation of Him! (CHK)