One of the lessons the Lord has been teaching me a lot this year centers on keeping a clean slate. Leading a team ministering to the homeless is demanding on many fronts as well as extremely rewarding when I see God move in the lives of people living on the street.
What does keeping a clean slate look like?
It means that I focus on today and let go of any offenses or tribulation as best I can and try to start each day with a fresh perspective. God calls on us to love one another and to love our neighbors, including those who give us difficulty. Love, the Apostle Paul writes, keeps no record of wrongs.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7(NLT)
The Lord has shown me that if I am to love others well then I must learn to forgive quickly and not hold grudges. I’ve got to let go of offenses before they get the chance to take root.
This can prove hard to do.
In order to accomplish this with any modicum of success, I need God. I can’t rely on my natural abilities. I need Jesus. I need the Holy Spirit. I simply can’t love people the way God desires for me to love them apart from Him helping me do it. “Let it go,” I remind myself. “Let it go.”
How about you? Do you tend to carry offenses and resentments from one day into the next?
Prayer:
Father, God, I need You to do what I cannot do on my own. I need Your help to learn how to love people better, including my enemies or those who give me difficulty. Help me point others to the Cross, rather than pushing them away. Give me a clean slate, today. Today is all we have, as we are not promised tomorrow. Thank You, Lord. Thank You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
May the Lord bless your week.
Humbly,
The Devotional Guy™
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The Devotional Guy™ 
I love your “clean slate” idea, Rainer! Every day is a gift from God, so we shouldn’t bring negative baggage 🧳 from yesterday.
Blessings!
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Thanks, David. I think we at least have to try and let go of that stuff, making amends where we need to, and keeping our list short (hmmm-another blogpost?). I would much rather store good memories and recelebrate (new word) positive events. Otherwise, the devil wins the war in our mind. Grateful for you, brother.
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