Have you ever been to a restaurant (Chili's, Applebee's, TGIFridays, etc.) and, just as you were about to take a sip of your amazingly-presented drink, you saw crud on the inside and some non-food substance or even a FLY floating in your drink?! Remember your reaction?! Even if this hasn't happened to you before, just THINK about how you would react! From letting out a scream or an "OH MY GOSH!!!" to demanding to see the manager... or even walking out. To you and many, a dirty cup is COMPLETELY unacceptable. No matter how nice it was presented to you on the outside, what was on the inside put everything else to shame.
That dirty cup represents supposed believers who "do good things" or "say nice things" with a great presentation or appearance, but on the inside, deal with bitterness from past hurts, secret anger towards others, hidden greed for food or clothing, selfishness. Jesus thought dirty cups were completely unacceptable too. He called those "dirty cups" HYPOCRITES and BLIND. Matthew 23:25-26 says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you HYPOCRITES! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. BLIND Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."
Go before God's throne of grace, humble. Allow Him to go deep in your heart and EXPOSE your sin in order to CLEAN and PURIFY you with the blood of Jesus... on the INSIDE and OUT. It will be after this that your cup... your life... can be effectively used for what it was created for...
A vessel used by God for the pouring out of His Spirit.
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