“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

I love gardening. I have several small gardens around the house for my herbs, flowers, and vegetables; and I also have plenty of potted plants.

This is the time of year to clean and prepare for next year; and as much as I love to see things grow, I also enjoy the cleaning process. My pots can get pretty nasty looking. You don’t notice it much when the flowers are blooming, but when the plants die and it’s time to toss them and the old dirt, the pot needs to be scoured.

At first, it’s not too difficult. A quick wash and most of the dirt is gone. However, there is always some crusty stuff that sticks to the sides of the pot; and it needs to be scraped, and sometimes soaked and scraped again. I admit that sometimes I just leave it, thinking it won’t hurt that much. You can’t see it anyway. But then the next year it’s even worse, and the horticultural experts say that the salts and bacteria residue are bad for the soil and therefore the plant.

There are so many metaphors that compare gardening to our Christian walk, but this is one that I hadn’t thought of before. However, as I was really scrubbing those crusty places on my pots, I thought about the extra effort it takes to scrape out our hearts of that residue of bitterness, pride, resentment, self-pity, and unforgiveness. It’s easy to let it go and cover it up with pretty words and actions thinking that no one will notice the quality of our heart, or that the crusty places won’t eventually infect the quality of our ministry.

We all have these areas that need cleaning out. Let’s commit to the hard work of inspection and cleaning. With the Holy Spirit, we have tools that would be the envy of any gardener, so let’s be diligent and faithful to this important element of our daily walk.

“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15).

For a real blessing, listen to this song below as you read Psalm 51.

Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God

Psalm 51

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

In Christ,

Judy