CLEANING HOUSE

The other day I had the opportunity to tackle a home project that I had long been putting off. I had some extra time and decided that it was time to clean out the garage. I knew it would be a long project but felt that it was definitely time that it got done. The driving force behind this decision what the awareness of something that flat out stunk!! I was actually scared to find out what the root of the smell was but none the less, I ventured in focused on my task. Sometimes in our lives, there are hidden things that are flat out stinking up our building as well!! We have two choices.

1.) We can either try to ignore it and hope it goes away.
2.) Or we can tackle the task and eliminate the source of the problem.

“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer…” Matthew 21:12-13

As I went about cleaning out my garage, I was surprised to see just how much junk I had accumulated. I found myself asking, “Now just what was I holding onto this for?” The problem with holding on to all that “junk” was that by making room for it, I was losing room to store those things that really are of value to me and my family. The only way I was going to have room for the stuff of value was to rid myself and my garage of the things that were taking up useless space and inevitably “stinking”.

Often times in our lives, we too are losing valuable space because we’re holding on to things that not only hold no real value but hinder us from claiming and storing up the true treasures that God wants us to hold onto. In Matthew 21:12-13, Jesus recognized that there were things in the temple that didn’t belong there. The temple was housing attitudes, mis-placed thinking and ultimately sin that didn’t have a place there. Jesus in a rage started to “Clean House” and there’s a lesson for us to learn here.

The Bible says that our bodies have become living temples (1 Cor. 3:16) and the truth is that we allow much to be housed in them that crowds out God and His purposes for us. Think about it. What is being stored in your houses and what is being left out.

1. Are our Saturday evening activities draining us to the point of finding ourselves too tired to attend church on Sunday?
2. Are our favorite T.V. shows more important than our weekly study and prayer time?
3. Is our quest for material things crowding out our responsibility to support the church and God’s Kingdom?

You see when we don’t make time to clean our insides; it will begin show on our outsides and inevitably start to stink. It is so important that our priorities in life always find God at the top of them. Right priorities begin with God, grow out of a consistent dependence on God and flourish as a result of our obedience to God. When we give God the right place in our lives, our lives will show it.

Take some time to take on the project of “Cleaning House” in your life. Ask God to bring to the forefront the useless things that are crowding out the things of God that He wants you to enjoy. After all it’s been said that “Cleanliness is the next closest thing to Godliness!”

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit with me.” Psalm 51:10

Pastor Seth <><

A Look In The Mirror

I notice as I get older, things start to change. Hair that was once always brown now is speckled with tinges of gray. A face that once was gleaming with youth now is creased with the wrinkles of time. I remember the slender more athletic me of my high school days but now standing in front of the mirror a rounder me stares back! I really don’t like that guy! That’s the thing about mirrors. They will project just what’s in front of them. We may imagine something else but the truth is staring us right in the face. Sometimes it takes standing in front of the mirror and examining ourselves to move us to make a change of some sort in our lives. It may be a haircut or color. It may be purchasing some of that anti-aging cream (which doesn’t work!). Examining ourselves may mean starting an exercise routine to get ourselves back into shape.
When it comes to our spiritual body, we too must take time to examine ourselves to see if we’re maintaining the likeness of Jesus Christ.

“Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” Psalm 26:2-3

King David in the 26th Psalm recognized some things that were out of sorts in his life. He pleads for God to “test me” and “examine my heart and mind” so that he could be rid of anything that was hindering his life. David placed himself in front of the mirror and saw what he didn’t want to see, a life that needed forgiven, redeemed and restored.

When we stand in front of God, we are told that His love is always before us, shaping into the likeness of His beloved son Jesus Christ. We can choose to see what we want to see but we’re only fooling ourselves. We trick ourselves into believing that “we’re ok” and “at least I’m not as bad as….”. We don’t like what we see or what we’ve become and we choose to deny our problem. The real problem, change doesn’t happen until we initiate it.

As uncomfortable as it is, we must all step up to the mirror and take a look. We may not like the person staring back at us but God says “I can change you!” God is the ultimate “makeover specialist”. Today is the day of your makeover!

Father God, Forgive me if I’ve become anything but the child You’ve always wanted me to be. I pray today that You examine my mind, heart and soul and shape me into the perfect expression of Your Son, Jesus! In Christ’s name I pray. Amen

Be Blessed,

Pastor Seth <><