This is National Bathtub Day.

Yucky. Filthy. Dirty. Smelly. Nothing feels worse than being gross all over. Sometimes it’s so bad that you don’t want to be around yourself.

Then you jump in the shower or tub and scrub all the crud away with hot water, soap, and shampoo. Nothing feels better than being totally clean.

We can be dirty inside, too. Even when we’ve scrubbed off all the smelly mess on our skin, in our hair, and under our nails, we can feel as though we need to wash our minds and hearts. Dirty thoughts and hateful feelings can mess up our tidy lives. And then there’s envy, pride, greed, deceit, anger, and other evil plots and plans. Sin has a way of soaking us through and through.

That’s when we need a real bath—a cleansing of the soul and spirit.

We don’t need a bathtub for this procedure. We just need to place ourselves in the shower of God’s grace. He promises that when we confess our sins, he will cleanse us, forgiving us completely. Then, not only will we feel clean, we will actually be clean inside—where it really counts. And once we’re clean inside, God can use us to do his work. That’s what today’s verse is talking about.

Consider a drinking glass. Before drinking out of it you want the glass to be clean. And it’s not enough to wipe off the outside—you’ll make sure the inside has been thoroughly washed, too.

Your life is like that glass. When God cleans you on the inside he can use you to take his life-giving message to others.

Do you need a “bath,” a spiritual cleansing? Let God make you totally clean!

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work (2 Timothy 2:21).

To Do

Every time you use soap today, remember that you are clean in Christ. Ask him to keep you pure for his use.

Also on this day

This is International Day of Disabled Persons.

1492—Christopher Columbus discovered Hispaniola.

1782—Martin Van Buren, the 8^th president of the United States, was born.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.