Excerpt from HOLY HANDS, Chapter 1...

"Jesus prayed three times - each time saying the same thing - in the garden of Gethsemane. He was preparing to face the greatest ordeal of His life. After praying for the third time, He was ready for the Father's will to be done (Matthew 26:46). The apostle Paul prayed three times concerning his "thorn in the flesh" until he came to the point where he accepted the Lord's will (2 Corinthians 12:8). God's response shifted his focus from seeing the situation as a problem to discerning the Lord's strength perfected in his weakness. Sometimes, it takes praying repeatedly to get us to the point where we can receive and accept God's answer."

A CLEANSE...

Jesus said these profound words to His disciples: "NOW YE ARE CLEAN through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3).

These words kind of hit me this morning as I was driving on my way to church. "NOW...THROUGH THE WORD which I have spoken..." It's like this: He speaks the word; we get clean. Isn't that amazing? The disciples could interact with the Lord, secure in the knowledge that they were clean in His presence, ONLY BECAUSE HE SAID SO. Christ's words cleanses and liberates us from condemnation to "serve the living God."

Everyday we need a wash. Our environment, negative thoughts, words, attitudes, and behaviors all cause contamination of soul and/or spirit. Things we see and hear on a daily basis - sometimes unavoidably - makes us spiritually unkempt and in need of a washing. Only the Lord can wash us. And He is ready and willing to do it. 

Do not walk in condemnation. Even the prophet Isaiah confessed he was a man "of unclean lips." Let us come before the Lord and surrender ourselves to His washing. The apostle wrote that the Lord "sanctifies and cleanses the church with the washing of water by the word." That He might present it to himself a GLORIOUS [sparkling] church! Wow. Thank You, Jesus. That's wonderful news.