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is your coffeemaker working?

I live in the country and we get our water from a well. No, not the kind with a pail and no we don’t throw pennies into it. But the water is “hard,” meaning it has lots of minerals in it. Sometimes there is mineral build-up on things like faucets, shower heads and especially my coffee maker. It can get clogged. It slows the flow of water – not only causing the machine to work harder but affecting the taste of my daily coffee. This is, if you know me, a VERY important problem.

Every month or so, I have to run vinegar or a special cleaner through the coffee maker which decalcifies it and opens the tubes back up so the water can flow as intended. Last night I did that. This morning’s coffee tastes so much better.

What does this have to do with our soul?

It got me thinking about this line from Psalm 51, verse 10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Our hearts, minds and souls are easily “clogged.” The “hard water” of the world we live in, the choices we make, the cultural, political and theological tensions that abound – all these things add up in us. They cling to the “pipes” of our souls and build up, inhibiting the flow of God’s love, mercy, grace, and truth.

We need to flush them out. Not just monthly, but daily. This is David’s cry after having sinned with Bathsheeba. He knows that it is the work of God and His mercy that flushes out the build-up. “Create in me a clean heart, O God!” One of my morning prayers goes something like this: “Holy Spirit, drive out every unclean thing in me. Fill me with your goodness and bear your good fruit in me.” This is part of my daily “cleansing” to keep the flow of God’s love moving in my life.

What has built up around your heart? Is there bitterness, sin, resentment, pain, frustration, hopelessness which you have allowed to “calcify” and is blocking the flow of God’s love to your soul? It might feel like a dullness, or like you can’t quite feel God’s love for you or question it. Flush out the garbage today. Pray these prayers and cry out to God for help.

It’s not a magic spell. It’s way better. It’s a time-tested, proven relationship with a God who delights in cleaning us up and renewing us, every day.

 

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Joel

 

 

 

 

 

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