Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12.

This what we all desire. A heart free from sin and guilt. But like David we find that it is not easy to maintain. As humans we do things that we regret. We hurt persons, many times unknowingly. There are other times when we do things even though we know somebody is going to be hurt. Like David when he slept with Bathsheba. Psalm 51 is David’s confession of his sinfulness. He asks God to cleanse his heart, to remove the guilt of his transgressions from him and renew a spirit of care for others in him. He calls it a right spirit.

Renewal of a right spirit acknowledges that sin isn’t just about doing wrong and harming people, it is also has spiritual consequences. It is distancing yourself from God and godly things, therefore breaking your relationship from God.
Not maintaining a relationship with God, not tending our spiritual life causes us to forget who we are to be. It makes it easy for us to break the rules of love and care for others. The psalm says cast me not from your presence. God never abandons us, it is we who abandon God, shutting God out with the darkness of our lives.
As Chaplain at CTC I recall Christians speaking about being demon possessed. I couldn’t understand how one could be filled with holy spirit and yet there was space for the devil to enter. The devil enters when we do not keep refilling our life with God. Just as how we top up our phones we must top up our spirituality. We do so by having daily devotions, reading the Bible daily and asking what is God saying to is through the word through our experiences.

Some questions we need to ask ourselves. What does God want from us and are we just going through the motions.

1. What does God want from you? Verse 16 and 17 says God is not interested in sacrifices. David and the Israelites would atone for their sin by sacrificing an animal) God is not interested in gifts. God cannot be bought. What God wants is a contrite heart. God wants us to acknowledge our sins and to constantly and continuously reach out to God to walk with us so we sin no more. God wants us to be always humble, and gracious, walking in love and fairness. God wants us to have meaningful loving relationships rather than toxic ones where we hurt ourselves and others.
2. Are we going through the motions of devotion to God rather than delving deep, seeking to live our best lives? Going through the motions is not good enough. It does not cultivate a truly contrite spirit nor does it allow us to be refreshed with the vigor of God’s spirit to do God’s work. We miss the mark totally. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin. There is a need for us as individuals and as a community to live a life of deep prayer and reflection. I implore us to be serious about our spiritual life. To be as serious as we are about our daily work, and our children. Ask we ask God to help us mend our relationships,

I end with a prayer from lectio 365

Father, help us to live this day to the full, being true to You, in every way. Jesus, help us to give ourselves away to others, being kind to everyone we meet. Spirit, help us to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all we do and say. Amen.