Clean Inside and Out

Bible Reading: PSALM 119:9-16

Presley put her napkin down and sighed. “What a great lunch!” She looked out the window. “Can we go to that park with the fountain now?” She pointed down the block, where a fountain near the sidewalk squirted water over anyone walking close by.

“Oh, that looks like fun!” said Presley’s brother, John. “Can we go, Dad?”

With their parents’ permission, the kids raced off down the block. Mom followed them while Dad paid the lunch bill. When he joined them, Presley and John were laughing and shouting as they tried to dodge the jets of water that squirted out of holes in the fountain. When they saw their dad there, they ran toward him and pretended they were going to hug him and get him all wet too.

“Look over there!” John pointed to some little kids who had gone over to a large sandbox after playing in the water. “Those kids have sand and dirt all over them!”

Dad chuckled. “Their parents are going to have to get them cleaned up when they go home.”

After Presley and John had dried off, they all headed home. “Do you know what those kids in the sandbox made me think of?” Mom asked. “A verse I memorized when I was a kid—Psalm 119:9. It says, ‘How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.’”

“I know that verse!” said Presley. “Though the version we learned in church used some different words. It said a young person can stay pure by obeying God’s Word.”

Dad nodded. “Those kids back there needed to get cleaned up on the outside, but we all need to be cleaned on the inside—and according to God’s Word, only Jesus can do that. The Bible says when we trust in Him to save us from sin, He gives us a clean heart and His Holy Spirit, who guides us in obeying God and doing what’s right.”

“So, that verse is saying if we pay attention to what God’s Word says about Jesus and trust in Him, we can be clean,” John said.

“Right,” said Mom. “He makes us clean on the inside so we can live a pure life for Him.” CAROLYN E. YOST

How About You?

Have you ever gotten REALLY dirty—maybe by playing in mud or sand? You probably felt the need to take a bath afterward, didn’t you? The Bible says we all need to be cleaned on the inside—we all have the dirt of sin in our hearts. God gave us His Word to show us how we can have our sin removed and be made pure—by trusting in Jesus. Trust Him to give you a clean heart today. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)

Today’s Key Verse:
PSALM 119:9 HOW CAN A YOUNG MAN CLEANSE HIS WAY? BY TAKING HEED ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus makes you clean