Psalm 51:2
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Okay. So sometimes things we try don't seem to go as smoothly as we might hope, and, as I type this my wife Wendy is in the kitchen making homemade soap. Of course, the soap smells good and when it's done it will be good, but this is the first time she's tried it and the process can be a bit tricky. My hat's off to her just for giving it a shot, but it sure made me glad that we don't have to go to these kinds of lengths to get clean in God's eyes.

Think about it. There's no recipe, not exact measurements, no stirring until the soap mixture "looks like creamy mashed potatos that will pour easily into the mold." I mean, when did anyone want to wash with mashed potatos anyway? But, that's not the point. The point is that with God, getting clean is as simple as asking and He said that He would be faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8).

I think that shows the power of Jesus' blood. I don't know about you, but I can get pretty dirty just living and it amazes me that God is able to wash all that stuff away just like that. I mean, does anyone else feel like a dirt magnet? It doesn't require a lot of effort to get in messes, but the good news - no, the great news! - is that it also doesn't require a lot of effort to get cleaned up from those messes, either. The work's already been done, the soap has been prepared and it's ready to be poured all over us.

Of course, it'll feel like mashed potatos, but you get the point...