I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. Jeremiah 33:8
Dear God, it is with gratitude that we approach the Throne of Grace to receive the pardon and the cleansing we need right now as we start this new day! Please remain with us as we enter Your rest. This we ask, and receive by faith, in the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
What wonderful blessings are ours today! The blessings of pardon and cleansing! Just as we cannot be fully restored until the healing of our minds take place; we cannot experience the full blessing of pardon unless it is accompanied by cleansing!
How much easier it is for us to understand what John meant in 1 John 1: 9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, when we understand the relationship between forgiveness and cleansing! In order for us to be overcomers God pardons our sins, and then cleanses our hearts and minds by taking away the desire for sinful things.
Left to ourselves this would be said of us: “But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘ “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire” ‘ ” (2 Peter 2:22)!
For this reason the process of cleansing must begin on the inside. Therefore Jesus prescribes a new thought process for us (see Philippians 4:8). He teaches us how we can grow in Him (see 1 Peter 2:2). He changes our priorities (see Matthew 6:33).
And all of this is done in an effort for us not to become entangled again in sin once we have been delivered:
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Peter 2:20, 21)..
We have been forgiven! We have been cleansed! Praise God! We are blessed!