October 2

“Instantly, God’s presence made Isaiah aware of his sinfulness.  One of the seraphim came to him with a burning coal and cleansed Isaiah of his sin.  Immediately, Isaiah began to hear things he had never heard before.  Now, he was aware of a conversation in heaven concerning who might be worthy to be God’s messenger to the people.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 9/20

Blackaby begins his devotional with the reminder that only the pure in heart shall see God.  While we can’t make ourselves pure, we can confess our sins. But it’s our sin of rebellion that must be dealt with first. I liken it to the mildew that keeps coming back to the corner in my basement.  Every time it shows up I scrub it off with bleach.  Invariably it comes back because somewhere a mildew spore is lurking in a crevice.  The only way to totally eradicate the mildew would be for me to tear out all the wall and baseboards that might be harboring the offender and start over.  This is the only way.  God knew this would be true for us as well.  Sin is like a mildew spore.  We can continually confess our sins and be purified, or we can let God tear up the floorboards and rip out the walls of our lives and start us over as new creatures in Christ.  Isaiah experienced the temporary cleansing then, but now he and the rest of us can know that we have been purified as long as we remain in Christ.  Having received this cleansing we need merely to remain in God’s presence through a humble heart.

“For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”  Isaiah 57:15