In our town over the last few months I have seen a number of car washes being built and opened. There’s the fancy drive-through type with free vacuums and towel service. Another one has its stall-type self-serve “touch less” style. And yet another high-tech version is a 2 story complex with LED lights that change color as you drive through and the soap is dispensed. You see, in the city of Flagstaff where I live, cleaning your car might need to happen at least once a week. With the snow and grime of winter and the rains of the monsoon summers, the reddish dust and dirt mingles in to both seasons from our town’s gravel roads and windy days. You need to frequent a good car wash, because they say your car runs better when it’s clean.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. Matt. 5:8

Jesus in the “Sermon on the Mount” relates that if those who in the inner core of their being, where their thoughts, desires and decisions originate, keep this area clean, they will be happy and fulfilled. But how does one get and keep a pure heart, when you can’t see it or touch it? You need a “car wash” of the heart. You need to take inventory every so often of your inside spirit man and check if it’s picked up some road grime or bugs of this world. As we journey along the road of our natural daily life, you and I are bound to get dirty and dusty from our interactions.

In Psalm 51 we witness this “car wash” of the soul being prayed out, the personal inventory of one who is in need and desiring a refreshing work to happen. “Create in me a clean heart, oh Lord, and renew a right spirit in me, Cast me not aside.”

Can I encourage you today to take a few moments and find a “car wash” for your heart. Ask Holy Spirit to remove any build up of dirt upon your soul. Allow Him to come close and wash, cleanse and refresh you by His grace. Pure hearted people have clear and clean windows, so they can see what God is doing and where’s He’s moving all around them.