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&
Brooksyne Weber
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Friday, March
18, 2022
Stephen was drafted to
pitch for an after-lunch baseball game at a one
room schoolhouse yesterday.
"Give
Us Clean Hands"
Message
summary: Today there are many forms of religious
symbolism but above all we need to cry out to God, "Give
us clean hands".
"Yet the
righteous holds to His way, and he who has clean hands
grows stronger and stronger" (Job 17:9) "Who
shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand
in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure
heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing
from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his
salvation" (Psalm 24:3-5). "So when Pilate saw that he
was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was
beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the
crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's blood; see
to it yourselves'” (Matthew 27:24).
Early
yesterday morning I visited for a few minutes with
Stephen, a longtime friend we see at Smucker Laser. When I
approached him he had been doing maintenance on a huge
laser cutting machine. As I extended my hand for a
handshake he was hesitant due to a bit of work grime on
his hands. But I assured him my hands will wash just fine.
That
prompted me to consider the convenience of having hands
that are easily washable. Washing our hands doesn't
require any special treatment such as removing and sending
them off for specialty cleaning. They can be washed in the
universal solvent, water, which is readily available. Of
course we also now have wipes and hand cleanser. Going all
the way back to the patriarchal period Job spoke of
cleansing his hands with lye (Job 9:30) which is still an
ingredient in many soaps, especially in homemade soaps.
Growing up
we all learned from Mom's rules at home and the teacher's
rules at school to wash our hands. And over the last two
years there's been a lot of emphasis on hand washing with
signs posted everywhere reminding people to wash their
hands. But my mom was always big on reminding her children
to wash their hands and to this day I can still hear her
voice, "Stephen, did you wash your hands?"
The Scriptures also speak of the importance of clean hands but in most contexts with a spiritual meaning.
The Scriptures also speak of the importance of clean hands but in most contexts with a spiritual meaning.
In our first
text from Job "clean hands" are
used to describe a righteous life. Our hands can be used
to honor God or used for vile purposes such as the bloody
hands of the abortionist. In the great hymn "Take My Life"
Frances Havergal writes, "Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love."
In Psalm 24
clean hands are one key to being able to enter into God’s
presence for worship: “Who shall ascend the hill of
the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who
has clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:3-4).
"Clean hands" is not a reference to personal hygiene but
rather a metaphor for our spiritual condition—being
cleansed from sin (1 John 1:9).
Bill Crowder
writes, "It speaks of a life committed to what is right
and godly—enabling us to stand blameless before our Lord
in the privilege of worship. As His life is lived out in
our lives, He can help us to do what’s right so that our
hands are clean and our hearts are ready to give worship
to our great God."
Our final
reference is a desperate attempt by
Pilate to have clean hands. At the
trial of Jesus he "took water and washed his hands
before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's
blood; see to it yourselves'” (Matthew 27:24). Yet
as expressed in the Apostle's Creed he goes down in
history with the phrase concerning Christ, "suffered under
Pontius Pilate". The symbolism of washing his hands did
nothing to cleanse his heart. Today there are many forms
of religious symbolism but above all we need to cry out to
God, "give us clean hands".
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we ask for clean
hands, a pure mind, and a steadfast
heart that follows hard after You.
Temptation regularly knocks at our door,
but with Your Holy Spirit residing
within, we have the will and desire to
turn it away. We don’t want even a
hint of sexual immorality, or of any
kind of impurity, or of greed, or
anything considered improper for Your
holy people. It is through Christ that
we can live such a life above reproach
and honoring to You. Amen.
Yesterday we joined the
children for lunch at an Amish School.
Daily
prayer: Father, we ask for clean
hands, a pure mind, and a steadfast
heart that follows hard after You.
Temptation regularly knocks at our door,
but with Your Holy Spirit residing
within, we have the will and desire to
turn it away. We don’t want even a
hint of sexual immorality, or of any
kind of impurity, or of greed, or
anything considered improper for Your
holy people. It is through Christ that
we can live such a life above reproach
and honoring to You. Amen.Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Give
Us Clean Hands" Video
Chris Tomlin
The
walls of the school are covered with
inspirational posters and art work the
children make. Do any of our readers
remember using these types of school
desks? We had a friend in college
named Max Graves who went all 12 years
of public education in a one room
schoolhouse near Burwell Nebraska.
These rules would work
anywhere and would be very well
appropriated to modern classrooms!
Click to enlarge
Another
view to the front and the giant
heavily utilized blackboard.
Click to enlarge
The
heating stove also serves as a sock
dryer!
How
many first graders were on the other
side of this teeter totter do you
suppose it took to make this balance?
Finally
today:
Yesterday
I had our van in for service and an
annual inspection. We have some critters
who have invaded our ventilation system
and the service tech found this mess on
our cabin air filter. I don't know
whether the culprit is squirrels or
chipmunks but I replaced the filthy
filter and am searching again for a
means of critter mitigation. They can
actually chew into the wiring! The scene
brings to mind Song of Solomon 2:15.
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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