Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

I'm Tom Felton and I titled Our Reading More Than Skin Deep.

Jose, a young believer in Jesus, was visiting his brother's church.

As he entered the sanctuary prior to the

service, his brother's face fell when he saw him. Jose's tattoos covering both arms were visible

since he was wearing a t-shirt. His brother told him to go home and put on a long-sleeve shirt,

for many of Jose's tattoos reflected the

ways of his past. Jose suddenly felt dirty, but another man overheard the brother's interaction

and brought Jose to the pastor, telling him what had happened. The pastor smiled and unbuttoned

his shirt, revealing a large tattoo on his chest, something from his own past.

He assured Jose that because God had made him pure from the inside out, he didn't need to cover his arms.

David experienced the joy of being made pure by God. After confessing his sin to him,

the king wrote in Psalm 32, Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put

out of sight. He could now shout for joy with others whose hearts are pure.

The Apostle Paul later quoted Psalm 32 1 and 2 in Romans 4, 7, and 8, a passage declaring that

faith in Jesus leads to salvation and a pure standing before him.

Our purity in Jesus is much more than skin deep, for he knows

and purifies our hearts. May we rejoice in his purifying work today. Today's Our Daily Bread

Devotional Scripture reading is from Psalm 32.

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them, and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my

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