This morning during my devotional time with the Lord the words: washed, renew, and create, continued to jump off the pages as I read His Word. I seemed to hear David’s heart as he prayed in the Psalms, and my heart began to once again pray this prayer as well.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and a renewed and steadfast spirit with in me. Psalm 51:10
I find myself in constant need of renewal. I am so very thankful for God’s mercy and His grace which helps me try to stand steadfast on His path toward a pure heart. I asked Jesus to renew my surrendered heart this morning as I began to reflect on how totally dependent I am on Him for renewal.
Digging deeper I listened to Paul as the Holy Spirit led me to 2 Corinthians 4:16.
Therefore do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are renewed day by day.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Lord continued to speak directly to my heart, as Paul continued.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come.
This renewal is a process in which we depend on Jesus, day by day, minute by minute, second by second. I am totally dependent on His mercy and strength, given to me through His grace. As I read I was reminded of Paul’s words in Titus 3:5.
He saved us not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
As I sat and reflected on these verses a picture came to mind of a place that is on my bucket list. There is a beach in Fort Bragg, California called Glass Beach. It is an absolutely fascinating place with a stunning and sparkling beach of glass. In 1949 however it was a public dump; old cars, appliances, and all sorts of glass objects and debris were dumped straight into the ocean. It was a dead sea of waste. Thankfully government regulations stopped this practice in 1967. The area and its beach underwent many attempts to remove all of the debris that had been thrown into the ocean. There remained however, very large amounts of glass, and this was too costly to try and retrieve from the ocean floor. These shards and pieces of glass were left to be churned around in the surf for the last 40 years. This previous dump site and its refuse has been washed and polished over the years to form a new creation. The beach is called Glass Beach and it is now part of MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg, California. When I look at pictures of this amazing beach I see a new creation that sparkles in the light of the sun.
O Lord, I ask that You continue to constantly wash, polish and renew my heart, my soul, and my spirit…all of me, that I may stand one day sparkling in the light of your SON.
Written By Guest Blogger: Jeanne East