CLEANING UP MY HOUSE
What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. I Corinthians 6:19 –KJV
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6: 14-15
What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. I Corinthians 6:19 –KJV
"Written: Aug 11, 1998 – Tuesday
I’ve been working real hard lately! I’ve been cleaning my house. You know how it can get sometimes, shuffling through closets, drawers and cabinets. You have to stop and ask yourself, "How did I get so much “stuff”? Boy, how things can pile up after years of “putting away and hiding.”
My closets were crammed full of things. Stuff I was sure I might need or wear someday, so I couldn’t throw anything away. My drawers were running over with all sorts of things. Every time I found something I didn’t know what to do with, it got grabbed up and forced into a drawer. My cabinets were jammed packed with things I used all the time, but didn’t want anyone else to see. What do you do with “stuff” when you run out of places to put it? Clean out, of course…
Sitting in church last Sunday morning, I felt the Lord speaking to my heart, “Clean out your temple, just like you are cleaning out your house.” Boy, I wasn’t expecting that! As I meditated on that thought, I realized just how much I had let pile up spiritually through the years. I had refused to deal with anything. It was much easier just to tuck it away somewhere in the closet of my heart and forget about it. My trials and tribulations had brought me much pain and confusion. There was so much I didn’t understand about my life and God. I’d been struggling to endure for a while.
My spiritual closets were crammed full of things I thought I might need one day. Could I dare to part with anything? The drawers of my heart and mind were full of stuff I didn’t know what to do with. And the realization had finally hit me as I sensed the cabinets of my soul were filled with lots of things that I was using, but didn’t want anyone to see. What a mess I had made of my life. After months and months of confusion, I came to realize what the Lord wanted me to do; I just didn’t know how to do it. I prayed and asked God, “How can I clean out my temple?” Little did I know then, how soon the answer to that question would come.
The very next day after my prayer, the telephone rang. The voice on the other end was from someone in my past that I hadn’t spoken to in a while. Some nerve, I thought to myself, that they would even be calling me in the first place. Didn’t they get the message? I had decided some time ago to put this person out of my life for good because they had wronged me. Should I even be expected to deal with a person that had created such pain in my life? Pain that I didn’t know what to do with, so I tucked in neatly away somewhere in the drawers of my heart. The Lord was now opening that drawer and telling me, “Clean it out!” The answer to my prayer was facing me and I wasn’t sure I could pass the test.
This person on the phone was not only calling me, but also asking me to do a big favor for them. Doing this favor would mean a big sacrifice and just the thought of giving them what they wanted, made me feel sick. What should I do? I wanted to scream, “I can’t” and hang up the phone, but something kept tugging at my heart. My mind was thinking, “What have they ever done for me?” I don’t owe this person anything. I didn’t have time to finish the thought before I felt the Lord tugging at my heart again, “Forgive and you will be cleaning out your temple.” He was showing me what I needed to do; answering the prayer that I prayed the day before and helping me do the right thing.
It was then at my weakest point when I started to tuck the pain back into the spiritual closet, that a peace came over me. Not only was I able to forgive the person on the other end of the phone, but also I agreed to go above and beyond and do what they were asking of me. God gave me the strength to do what was right and I passed the test.
I’m so thankful for the day God spoke to my heart to start cleaning up my house… Now I have one less drawer full of stuff. Thank you God. Amen!
I’ve been working real hard lately! I’ve been cleaning my house. You know how it can get sometimes, shuffling through closets, drawers and cabinets. You have to stop and ask yourself, "How did I get so much “stuff”? Boy, how things can pile up after years of “putting away and hiding.”
My closets were crammed full of things. Stuff I was sure I might need or wear someday, so I couldn’t throw anything away. My drawers were running over with all sorts of things. Every time I found something I didn’t know what to do with, it got grabbed up and forced into a drawer. My cabinets were jammed packed with things I used all the time, but didn’t want anyone else to see. What do you do with “stuff” when you run out of places to put it? Clean out, of course…
Sitting in church last Sunday morning, I felt the Lord speaking to my heart, “Clean out your temple, just like you are cleaning out your house.” Boy, I wasn’t expecting that! As I meditated on that thought, I realized just how much I had let pile up spiritually through the years. I had refused to deal with anything. It was much easier just to tuck it away somewhere in the closet of my heart and forget about it. My trials and tribulations had brought me much pain and confusion. There was so much I didn’t understand about my life and God. I’d been struggling to endure for a while.
My spiritual closets were crammed full of things I thought I might need one day. Could I dare to part with anything? The drawers of my heart and mind were full of stuff I didn’t know what to do with. And the realization had finally hit me as I sensed the cabinets of my soul were filled with lots of things that I was using, but didn’t want anyone to see. What a mess I had made of my life. After months and months of confusion, I came to realize what the Lord wanted me to do; I just didn’t know how to do it. I prayed and asked God, “How can I clean out my temple?” Little did I know then, how soon the answer to that question would come.
The very next day after my prayer, the telephone rang. The voice on the other end was from someone in my past that I hadn’t spoken to in a while. Some nerve, I thought to myself, that they would even be calling me in the first place. Didn’t they get the message? I had decided some time ago to put this person out of my life for good because they had wronged me. Should I even be expected to deal with a person that had created such pain in my life? Pain that I didn’t know what to do with, so I tucked in neatly away somewhere in the drawers of my heart. The Lord was now opening that drawer and telling me, “Clean it out!” The answer to my prayer was facing me and I wasn’t sure I could pass the test.
This person on the phone was not only calling me, but also asking me to do a big favor for them. Doing this favor would mean a big sacrifice and just the thought of giving them what they wanted, made me feel sick. What should I do? I wanted to scream, “I can’t” and hang up the phone, but something kept tugging at my heart. My mind was thinking, “What have they ever done for me?” I don’t owe this person anything. I didn’t have time to finish the thought before I felt the Lord tugging at my heart again, “Forgive and you will be cleaning out your temple.” He was showing me what I needed to do; answering the prayer that I prayed the day before and helping me do the right thing.
It was then at my weakest point when I started to tuck the pain back into the spiritual closet, that a peace came over me. Not only was I able to forgive the person on the other end of the phone, but also I agreed to go above and beyond and do what they were asking of me. God gave me the strength to do what was right and I passed the test.
I’m so thankful for the day God spoke to my heart to start cleaning up my house… Now I have one less drawer full of stuff. Thank you God. Amen!
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6: 14-15