God of neverending creation, create joy and peace in the life of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Here's our text for today: Psalm 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
I had not said anything about one of the most distressing things computer users can ever face, and it's the blue screen of death. It's when you go to start your computer and you find that it is dead. If you get a blue screen with an assortment of messages, you know that it still powers up but inside there is nothing. You dread hearing someone say, "You need a hard drive." That means that everything you have stored on your computer, photos, messages, emails, memos, everything! is gone. Such was my case a couple of weeks ago. I have a Dell laptop. For some of you I've said enough. For others, I'm sorry if I've made you think things you shouldn't be thinking or saying mentally while doing a devotional. I apologize. I have had this particular Dell for almost six years. It has had four hard drives. This year, thank God, I subscribed to an online backup service that automatically backed up all my information, and I have almost restored all of my data. The trouble is finding the original software for some of that data, but that's another story and part of what I'm asking you to pray for me today.
The incident made me think of this beautiful and powerful passage in the Psalms. It is the core of a song and it is the core of a prayer we should pray often if not daily: God, continue to be at work in my life and start with my heart. It was written as a form of renewal by the King when the Prophet Nathan came to rebuke his behavior and sin. It can serve as the same in our lives. It serves as our way of saying to the Lord, I"m not where I need to be, I power up each morning but spiritually or emotionally, I'm not where I know I need to be, and the only way I'm going to get there is with Your help.
Renewal and restoration are Christian ideals. We serve a living God who is all about making us new. If your heart is not what it should be, filled with God's love towards God, towards yourself in the right way, and towards others (and we're talking everyone), then this is the time to say that prayer found in the psalm.
PRAYER: Loving God, may the words of Your word be my prayer today: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Give me the wisdom to know when I can teach and when I should learn. Help me to feel secure in your love. I ask this all in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
