Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.

Just about everyone has a stain somewhere from something that just won't come out. I've got a grease stain on my favorite t-shirt when I thought it'd be a good idea to cook bacon wearing it. We've got a big stain in the family van from when a Dr. Pepper went wayward. We've got a car seat with more stains on it from who knows what. We have some stains in our lives that have been there so long that they're practically part of the family.

And for some stains, it seems that no matter what you do, they just won't ever come out. Mankind has dealt with one of those stains on a spiritual level, a stain that no matter what we do, it remains. This stain is from mankind living for himself when he was made in the image of God. We were created to have the nature of God, but instead, we chose our own way and ended up looking nothing like him. This stain is called sin and it runs deep. And if there's anything that history has told us, it's that mankind is completely incapable of ridding ourselves of the stain we created.

That stands true today just as much as it did back in the day of Isaiah, a prophet of God, which takes us to the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah chapter 1 looking at verses 16 through 18. You'll notice in verses 16 and 17 that God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah to communicate things that the people of Israel are to do to make themselves right with God. As you read this list, it's all the things we know we're supposed to be doing and should do, and yet still find ourselves falling short.

"Wash yourself." Can't.

"Cleanse yourselves." Tried that, didn't work.

"Stop doing evil." Gave up on that long ago.

And the list goes on until you get to verse 18. God shifts His focus from what His people should be doing to what He is going to do on their behalf. We start by reading verse 18 where God is going to take things into His own hands. Through love and mercy, He speaks out to His people and says, basically, “Your sins are many, and the stain of that sin runs deep. And there's nothing you can do to take that stain away yourself. So I'm going to do it for you. I'm going to remove the stain of your sin and make it as if it never happened. I will wash you, and you will be washed. I will cleanse you, and you will be cleansed. You will not work for your own righteousness. I will pay the price to make you righteous. I will make you right in my sight. I will justify you and see you just as if you have never sinned. I will do the work, I will get the credit, I will get the glory, and the only thing you have to do is believe it.

And God pulled that off and paid that price with Jesus on the cross.

Through the blood of Christ, we have been washed of all unrighteousness. We are squeaky clean. We made our bed but we don’t have to sleep in it any longer. God made you a new bed with new sheets. But oftentimes, we can get tricked into thinking we're not clean. We can be tricked into believing that because we don't FEEL clean because of the things we've done or experienced, we can't possibly be clean.

We get tricked into trying to FEEL clean and hoping that drives our beliefs, when the whole time scripture is trying to say, "BELIEVE clean, and you will live out what you believe to be true." So when the enemy comes to remind you what you did, you've got to stand firm in the truth of what Christ did for you. If you stumble back into missing the mark, stepping back into sin, and you find yourself identifying with what you did, you've got to wash yourself in Truth and thank God that He never made you for that, never lost sight of you even on your darkest day, still sees you through the blood of Christ as holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight (Colossians 1:22). You've got to wake up every single day and thank your God, thank the Father that you have been made clean, that you are white as snow, no matter how you feel or what someone else tells you.

Being clean is part of what Christ paid for. So don't sell out for cheap and believe anything less. You're not for sale.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• In what ways have I been trying to 'feel' clean on my own efforts rather than fully accepting and believing in the cleansing power of Christ's sacrifice?
  
• How can I practically remind myself daily of the truth that I am 'white as snow' in God’s eyes, despite how I feel or what others may say?
• Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for washing away my sins through Jesus Christ. Help me to trust in Your complete cleansing, even when I feel unworthy. Guide me each day to live in the freedom and purity You have gifted me, and help me to remember that I am made new in Your sight. Amen.