Word for Wednesday: White as Snow

Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin….
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. “ (Psalm 51:1-2, 7)

Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

Here is one of my absolute favorite Scriptures:

Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:12-15)

What a wonder it is that the Lord God Almighty condescended from His heavenly throne to be in the form of a man, lowly, with no place to lay His head. What a wonder, how when no man would seek the face of the blessed Lord from whom all good things flow, He came softly, quietly to earth to find us! He came to make us clean, to sanctify us and rescue us from the grasp of the accuser. That word “sanctify” means to purify, to consecrate for a specific purpose. Is it not that we should be with Him where He is? If that is our goal, and we want to bring as many others along with us, let not our passions and strivings be merely temporal. Let us take a moment and leave the hecticity, the constant motion of the world, and be still before Him, in quiet peace and joy, remembering the price we were bought with.

I am reminded of a beautiful song that just couldn’t say it better. Remember “Jesus is the reason for the season?” More so, He’s the reason we continually offer up the sacrifice of praise.

“Here in My Life” by Mia Fieldes, Hillsong.

I have never walked on water
Felt the waves beneath my feet
But at Your word Lord
I’ll receive Your faith to walk on oceans deep
And I remember how You found me
In that very same place
All my failings surely would have drowned me
Still You made a way

You are my freedom
Jesus You’re the reason
I’m kneeling again at Your throne
Where would I be without You
Here in my life
Here in my life

You have said that all the heavens
Sing for joy at one who finds the
Way to freedom truth of Jesus
Brought from death into this life
And I remember how You saw me
Through the eyes of Your grace
And though the price was Your beloved for me
Still You made a way

Indeed, since the Lord Jesus Christ came near to us people on earth, everything has changed. He has had a larger impact on history than all of us combined could ever hope to. History is His story. And also, I know that since He has come near to me, everything has changed!

I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning…

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.“ (Psalm 30:1-5, 11-12)

Hallelujah! The Promised One, the Redeemer, God With Us, has come! By the way, that word “extol” means to promote, to lift or raise, hold, mount or heave up! “I will HEAVE You up, O Lord, for You have heaved me up!” I can say that and laugh, because I know exactly what it means! As the Scripture says, the saints “lift up holy hands” (1 Timothy 2) They are holy, sanctified, purified, consecrated, both for and because of JESUS!!

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