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Wednesday, November 16, 2011
"Wash, Wash, Wash! "
"Who can understand his errors? cleanse
thou me from secret faults." Psalm
19:12
In 1818,
Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis was born into a
world of dying women. The finest
hospitals lost one out of six young mothers
to the scourge of "childbed fever." A
doctor's daily routine began in the
dissecting room where he performed
autopsies. From there he made his way
to the hospital to examine expectant mothers
without ever pausing to wash his
hands. Dr. Semmelweis was the first
man in history to associate such
examinations with the resultant infection
and death. His own practice was to
wash with a chlorine solution, and after
eleven years and the delivery of 8,537
babies, he lost only 184 mothers--about one
in fifty.
He spent
the vigor of his life lecturing and debating
with his colleagues. Once he argued,
"Puerperal fever is caused by decomposed
material, conveyed to a wound. . .I have
shown how it can be prevented. I have
proved all that I have said. But while
we talk, talk, talk, gentlemen, women are
dying. I am not asking anything world
shaking. I am asking you only to
wash...wash your hands!" But virtually
no one believed him. Doctors and
midwives had been delivering babies for
thousands of years without washing, and no
outspoken Hungarian was going to change them
now!
Semmelweis
died insane with the laughing of his
colleagues ringing in his ears. His
message was not radical, but simple: wash,
wash, wash! Many Christians have died
a spiritual death because they overlooked a
simple washing. When we sin and do not
get it cleansed, that corruption is passed
along to other areas of our lives. By
all means, saint, wash, wash, wash!
Study verses - Psalm
51:2,7,10; Ephesians 5:26,27; Titus 3:5;
Hebrews 10:21; James 4:8
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Previous devotions
"The
Pastor" - November 9, 2011
"Value
of a Name" - November 2, 2011
"Anger"
- October 26, 2011
"A
Gratitude Attitude" - October 12, 2011
"The
Hunter" - October 5, 2011
"Be
Filled" - September 28, 2011
"Do
YOUR Job" - September 21, 2011
"A
Praying Church" - September 14, 2011
"Barking
or Pulling" - August 31, 2011
"Spiritually
Homeless" - August 24, 2011
"Fulfilling
Your Duty" - August 17, 2011
"Overcoming
Obstacles" - August 10, 2011
"Shine!"
- July 20, 2011
"True
Patriotism" - July 6, 2011
"Righteousness
Exalteth a Nation" - June 29, 2011
"War
Against the Flesh" - June 8, 2011
"Redeeming
the Time" - June 1, 2011
"Waiting
on God" - May 25, 2011
"For
The Sake of Others" - May 18, 2011
"The
Cost of Freedom" - May 11, 2011
"Mother's
God" - May 4, 2011
"Walk
Humbly" - April 27, 2011
"Walking
In Truth" - April 20, 2011
"Revealed
By Pressure" - April 13, 2011
"God's
Saving Communication" - April 6, 2011
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