Cleansing Agents in a Fallen World

Let's think together on the cleansing power of Jesus Christ - from 1st John 1:
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The blood of Jesus is a cleansing agent, and His truth can help us build up the ability to resist temptation, to renounce sinful desires and tendencies, and to walk in triumph in a manner pleasing to God.   Even though we are in this flesh, we are called to a higher standard, because we have been born of the Spirit.

From Psalm 24:

3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?  
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.  
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face.

Perhaps you've been following the story of 24-year-old Aimee Copeland, who was infected with a flesh-eating bacteria, necrotizing fasciitis, after receiving a cut from riding a home-made zipline in Georgia. She still remains in intensive care, and has had her leg amputated at the hip, and surgeons say she may lose her fingers.

Now, in an unrelated case, Lana Kuykendall, a Greenville, S.C. resident, started to experience leg cramps a day after she gave birth to her babies.  The delivery was normal, but the new mother needed a blood transfusion.  Soon, she was in so much pain that she couldn't walk, but tests revealed nothing was wrong.

The next morning, Kuykendall discovered what she thought was a blood clot at the back of her leg and it had begun to grow, spreading a quarter of an inch in half an hour. Within 90 minutes of returning to the hospital, Kuykendall underwent surgery for the flesh-eating bacteria.

According to CNN, many different types of bacteria cause the condition known as necrotizing fasciitis, in which the bug attacks healthy tissue and destroys it.  The bacteria that can cause the condition exist normally in the environment and are even found in the body, but a person's immune system is usually able to fight off infection.  Occasionally, however, the bacteria find their way into the bloodstream.  There are reportedly only about 250 cases per year of this particular condition.

It reminds us there are a lot of unseen elements in this world, and God has made our bodies in such a way that we can fight off these biological agents that, if allowed to run unchecked, could cause us illness or death.   And, through modern medicine, we have powerful antibiotics that can help us to recover when we do suffer bacterial infections.

In thinking about my conversation yesterday with Craig Groeschel and my upcoming conversation with Todd Hunter, we not only inhabit a physical world where there is the potential for harm, but in the spiritual realm, we are in a fallen world that is steeped in sin.   And, even though we were born apart from God and inhabit this sinful world, we can access His cleansing agents and seek to build up an immunity to sin in areas of our lives.   Not that we will ever stop sinning, but by having Jesus as our Savior, as we confess our sins, we know that He forgives us and His blood cleanses us.   And, in areas where we are vulnerable and perhaps have developed a pattern of sin or habitual sin, we can use God's Word and the power of His Spirit to help us to ward off the desires of the flesh that would lure us into sin.   God wants to make us pure and triumphant - He gives us the tools to make that happen, but we have to be willing to submit ourselves to the cleansing power of the blood of Christ.