Being Clean

I want to learn more Scripture, to "hide it in my heart". I hope to learn John 15 (Vine and Branches) verse by verse. Each week I will add another verse, building the thoughts and teachings of this wonderful chapter.

Each Wednesday, I will "recite" what we have learned on my blog post. If you wish to join me in this challenge of learning this chapter verse by verse, you can either email your "recitation" or post it as a comment.

Memorizing anything takes persistance. Read the verse everyday. Think about it. Write it down. Post it on a card, in a place that you look at often (the frig, bathroom mirror, etc.)Review previous verses often.

(Let me know if you are using something besides the King James Version.)



(without looking at the Bible recitation)

John 15:1,2
"I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."



NEW VERSE
John 15:3
"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."

In the last verse, it mentioned a purging...a making clean. This verse emphasizes that thought more. It tells us how we are made clean.

This cleansing is the same concept of the teaching Jesus was showing his disciples when He washed their feet. It's not our salvation, but the constant daily purification from the sins we continue to commit while we are in this fleshly body.

Jesus doesn't tell us to clean ourselves. It it God's Word that cleanses us. Have you noticed that often when you are reading the Scriptures, a phrase or a verse will seem to "yell" at you, spotlighting something in your life that needs to be changed, pricking a tender spot that you thought didn't matter?

May we, like David, desire the Lord to show us our sin, to cleanse us from things that hinder our walk with Him. Even though we know it will sting, we also know that we will feel the freedom and joy of forgiveness.

Psalm 51:7
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."