We can be clean before God
“As for me, where could I get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now, therefore please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” II Samuel 13:13
Amnon lusted after his sister(step-sister) Tamar, and through the advice of a confidant, friend he schemed a way that he could get her in a compromising situation and fullfill his fleshly, wicked desires. The story of Amnon and Tamar reminds me a lot of how we act sometimes. As human beings we are, in and of ourselves, vile creatures, and our desires are against the desires of God. He only wants the best for us while we do not see beyond the here and now to fullfill the desires of our flesh.
Tamar pleads with Amnon not to rape her and fullfill his desires much in the way that God pleads with us not to fullfill our desires through the message of the Cross. Tamar reminds Amnon that because of who he is that he should not violate her, and go against themoral code of the Israelites. God reminds us that because of who we are in Christ we should not violate His moral codes. The Apostle Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 10:23, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable…”; and we are reminded in Romans 8:1, “There is therfore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We are allowed, and we do violate the morals of God; however, being allowed to does mean that we should take liberties and follow our lusts. God expects you and I to live as He would have us. He has even given us His Spirit to live in us, and guide us down His path. Some people call this a conscience, but Jesus said that we have a the Helper sent by God living in us.
God is also aware that even though we have His Spirit in us; occassionally we will fall short of His glory. We will still follow our fleshly desires, so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to cleanse us of our unrighteousness, and make us holy to stand before His throne. John 1:39, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus was sent by God to cleanse us, and to get rid of our reproach; so that we can stand before God as though we had never sinned!
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Father, I thank You for cleansing me and getting rid of my reproach as I come before You, and I ask that You would help me to live in a way that glorifies You and keeps from the sins of this world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Yes, You Can Ministry 