Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 

The aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith. I Timothy 1:5

At the beginning of I Timothy, Paul tells Timothy where his focus should be teaching the people. In verse 3 he reminds Timothy that he is to stay on in Ephesus to “instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines.” Apparently they are teaching from their own speculation and myths rather than focusing on sharing their faith as they spread the Gospel.. What is Paul’s aim in this message? It is to teach about the love that God has for all of us.

To do this it is important for Timothy and others to have a “pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.” How is it that they can achieve this? After all, none of us are very good at following the commandments, of having a pure heart. We often have doubts about our own faith, and manage to mess up fairly often.

King David certainly had a problem with this. He had committed adultery, gotten Uriah killed and the prophet Nathan has confronted him with this. David realizes how much he has messed up and wonders if God can forgive him. He writes the prayer we know as Psalm 51; we too can use this Psalm and other prayers and ask God for help. God is who can create clean hearts in us, who can put a new spirit within us. God listens to this prayer and to our prayers. We can share the Good News of God’s love for us when we take the time first to pray and ask for God’s help. Alone, on our own, we can’t really clean up our hearts, but God can and will forgive, forget, and clean our hearts, renew our faith, and be with us through our struggles.  

Holy God, you are the source of all love, righteousness, and faith. Without you, we would be lost, yet you rescued us and made us your beloved children. Watch over us as we make better choices in how we live, love, and follow you. Touch and transform us into powerful instruments of love for our neighbors in your kingdom. Amen

Chris Gabel

Ministries
Teaching Mission Party