Devotionals

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Etch-A-Sketch Heart

“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 NIV

The cutest, brown eyed, curly headed girl in the world beckons me to play with her on the floor of her bedroom. She’s artistic and imaginative so naturally she’s drawn to pick up the Etch-A-Sketch. We sit cross-legged together on her fluffy teal rug as she demonstrates her artistic talents with the toy.

She make swirls and patterns turning the knobs meticulously as she works. Next she forms a perfect heart over the patterns already created on the screen. As quickly as she draws it, shake, shake, shake…it’s gone.

“Why did you erase it?” I ask curiously.

“I didn’t like it. It had all that stuff in it. It looked messy and I want to make a new one,” she replied.

She didn’t like her messy heart. Suddenly I realize I feel that way about my own heart at times, too. I try to do the “right” things. I am a Christian. I go to church and read the Bible. I even teach a Sunday School class. I work hard to bring my children up with good values. I try to treat people nicely and be a role model for others.

But somehow, my heart continues to get messy. I make mistakes and I fail, over and over again.

Sin invades me because I am human- there’s absolutely no way to be perfect. There is no hope for me to create a new, clean heart on my own. But there is One, my Savior, who can make me new.

The Bible teaches my heart is purified by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. No matter how dirty and ugly it gets, Jesus’ blood is powerful enough to make it pure. He conquered death to ensure we wouldn’t suffer death but have life through Him. His gift to us makes our hearts clean just as the little girl desired her decorative heart to be.

“Lord, thank you for the death of Your Son on the cross. Thank you for the gift of salvation and forgiveness. Help me to live in a way that brings honor and glory to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

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