Poor old Jake had tramped wearily up and down, from place to place, for years, begging his way through life. His hair and whiskers had grown long, and he hadn't had a bath for months.
Then one day he wandered into a city mission and heard the gospel, of Christ who died for sinners, and of how redeeming love could save and make men new. Poor old Jake's heart was touched. He prayed the same prayer David uttered long ago: "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psa. 51:77Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7). Jake opened his heart to the Saviour and the Lord saved him that night. He came into Jake's heart and cleansed away all his sin with His precious blood.
One of the first things Jake did after he became a Christian was to go and take a bath and put on some clean clothes. "I'm clean inside now," he said; "I must be clean outside too."
Soap and water can make us clean outside, but only the blood of Jesus can make us clean inside. "For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord God." Jer. 2:2222For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God. (Jeremiah 2:22).
Messages of the Love of God 11/2/1975