Give Us Clean Hands...

...give us pure hearts
let us not lift our souls to another

O, God, let us be
a generation that seeks
that seeks Your Face
O, God of Jacob

Today God really spoke to my heart...while watching TV. How ironic.

Anyway, I was flipping the channels while getting ready for church and I saw verrrry familiar sights. In my head I thought, "that's SO N. Africa..." and, turns out, it was. They were talking about a really famous mosque and actually went inside (which non-muslims are rarely, if ever, allowed to do) so it's definitely probably the only time I'll ever see the inside. Quite beautiful, actually.

The lady went on to explain how Muslims must wash their hands three times, then their face, their head, their feet three times, their hands and arms again...almost ad infinitem. Surprisingly, I had never heard of this, but apparently it's some tradition of prayer. Cleanliness is required (or preferred?) to seek Allah. Something like that.

My heart was literally filled with compassion for these people. Like, literally, my heart began to cry out to Jesus for them. Intercession (?) not really sure, but it's something I really can't explain. And then my heart was filled with thanksgiving, that God doesn't require anything of me. Yes, I want to serve Him with my life, but when it comes down to it, He doesn't require it. I believe that if you are truly living the abundant life that God offers only through Christ (and salvation, too!) that you will serve Him, but that's another whole dissertation.

God doesn't require any ritual, any habit...nothing like that, just to truly trust in Christ. He will take care of the rest if we truly seek Him.
How thankful are we? He just opened my eyes and my heart up to the fact that I haven't been, and that I need to be.

Thank you, Jesus, for your unconditional love, and for your cross that separates us from fear, from evil, from being enslaved to sin, from owing anybody anything.

Lord, reveal yourself to the lost. the hopeless. these beautiful and kind-hearted people. make Jesus known!!!
in awe and more thankful than this afternoon,
amanda lauren