Cleaning House

 Last week I was power washing my patio at the back of our home getting ready for a picnic with a large group of our friends. As I was working, the thought came to me, how interesting it is how we clean and spruce up before we get company. We dust, clean, cut grass, pull weeds, wash windows, sweep the sidewalk and it seems the more we do, the more we see that needs to be done. I do admit that I don't usually go to these extremes but this gathering has served as the catalyst for extreme measures! I should get company more often.

 

Before

After

 This made me think of how we as Christians need to keep our lives/souls clean and above reproach, because Jesus lives within us, in our spiritual house.

 Another reason is that He is coming back for His Bride and we need to be ready. 

 Are we living our lives in a conscious manner to be pleasing to God? Are we doing all that we know to do to stay in fellowship with Jesus? Are we exercising our minds and hearts to grow deeper in the things of God?

 

Follow his teachings. Colossians 2:6 tells us, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.” After we come to Christ and He gives us the gift of salvation, it is up to us to “walk in him”.

I next thought of King David who allowed his eyes to see what he shouldn't have seen and then acted upon that temptation with Bathsheba. But David repented of his sin and cried out to God, “Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” -Psalm 51:10 Is there anything for which you need to repent?

We can't do this on our own: I Peter 1:5, “ . . .who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” We need daily communion with God. He wants a relationship with us!

We have the promise in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” Zechariah 13:1 tells us, “there is a fountain opened for sin and uncleanness”. A soul steeped in the tears of repentance and bathed in the blood of Christ is made pure.

Surrender is so important in the life of a Christian. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who lie, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Never give up, never quit! Philippians 3:13-14, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15b, “Let us hold true to what we have attained.”

I challenge us all to take account of how clean our heart is before God. Works will never save us, but it is important to keep in tune with the Lord. Have we slacked off in our devotion to Him? Is there anything or anyone more important to us than Jesus? Do we consider his teachings to be paramount in our daily lives? How clean is your spiritual house?