Most people in our area are so ready for spring. It seems we've had snow on the ground since before Christmas, and it's starting to get old. Recently, I have been working on cleaning out the clutter in my home. Perhaps I'm doing my spring cleaning a little early this year in hopes that the warm weather will actually come a little sooner! This clutter, however, is not something that accumulated overnight; rather it is my stuff that I refused to deal with at the appropriate time. For instance, if I were having company and needed to clean up quickly, I may have thrown items from my kitchen counter or the desk in the study into a laundry basket which was then hidden away in a closet out of sight so that my guests would not see. Afterwards, I forgot about the basket I had put away, only to allow a new stack of clutter to build up again. Needless to say, it doesn't take long for your closets to reach their capacity if you never deal with the stuff you've tucked away thinking you'll deal with it when it's convenient.
I have said many times that I would love to have Niecy Nash, the lady with the flower in her hair, from the HGTV show Clean House to come and clean out my house for me! However, that's not really how it works. We all have to deal with our own stuff that clutters up our space, just like we all have to deal with our own sin. It's never fun to take a good long look inside our heart and see what kind of things are in there that we don't need and don't want in our life. It's much easier to hide it away and hope that nobody notices! Kind of makes me sick; like the sick and sometimes lightheaded feeling that I get when I spend a day cleaning out closets and drawers. Does anybody else know what I'm talking about? What is it about cleaning out our inner spaces that makes us feel so yucky?
In my last post, I mentioned that I had just started the Bible Study, Downpour, by James MacDonald. I am at the point in the study where I have to identify sin in my own life. This section is called "Sin in the Mirror", and it's no more fun than cleaning out closets. There is a very long list of various sins that I have to rate on a scale of 1-10 in my life and then confess it, and repent of it. Dealing with sin is essential for true spiritual revival. It's never pleasant, but it's time to stop procrastinating any longer and take care of cleaning out the messy "sin" clutter - just like a good spring cleaning!
Psalm 51, written by David as his own confession and prayer, really hits home with me. Verse 6, "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." (NIV) Verse 10, "Create in my a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (NIV) God sees our innermost parts; he sees the mess in our heart. We can't bury our sin deep within the closets of our heart and hope that God won't notice. He sees right through it.
1 John 1:8-9 says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (NIV)
I'm ready to confess my mess to God and ask for His help in overcoming my sin clutter. However, it's too big a job for me to handle on my own. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." James 5:16a (NIV) Based on God's Word, James MacDonald suggests meeting in small groups within the study to confess our sins to each other and pray for one another. Several of us ladies in our Bible Study are meeting tonight to do this. I pray that this is the beginning of "getting real" with other believers and the pathway to ultimate healing and victory over these sin areas.
Over and over, I recognize my need for a Savior - Jesus! Praise God I do not have to clean up my house (or my sin) by my own strength! It would simply never be clean enough. For again, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (NASB) Emphasis mine
For His Glory,
Christy
Copyright 2010 by Christy Long. All Rights Reserved.
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