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Monday, July 6, 2015

Time to Clean House

Today was just one of those days. I absolutely had to spend time cleaning my house. The showers were beginning to take on an unholy shade of gross. The carpet appeared to be growing popcorn. Laundry was overflowing, both dirty and clean and in need of folding. Yep, cleaning just had to be done.

It is so easy in the summer to let the cleaning slide. If you're like me up here in Minnesota, we take full advantage of the warm summer months. We know that all too soon, the winter will come, trapping us all indoors. The summer is a time to be outside. In fact, it seems like a crime to spend an afternoon in. So, because we are always venturing outside, the typical daily cleanup gets pushed aside.  I had to give in. Today was a rainy day anyway, so I decided to embrace the cleaning.

Just like our houses, our hearts can be in need of a good scrub. If we are not intentional in our walk with the Lord, setting aside time to daily "clean up" with Him, the walls and floors of our hearts can get dingy with sin and sadness, sorrow and guilt.

I was reminded of Psalm 51 as I was vacuuming today. This is a Psalm of David who was no stranger to sin. And not just a little sin like yelling at your kids. No, David had conspired to have a man murdered so he could marry his wife. He had some issues. Psalm 51 is David's cry to the Lord to come and clean his heart.

In Psalm 51:2 it says, "Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin." The cries continue on, and in verse 7 he says, "Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow."

Only God is capable of such cleaning, purifying power! We have all sinned. Sometimes, we daily sin. If we don't approach God and ask for Him to clean our hearts, we will not be able to live the full, abundant life He promises. Life in Him is joy. Life in sin is sorrow, guilt, and shame.

Besides the purification from sin, David realized something else about asking God to clean up his heart. In verse 11, he pleads, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you." David knew that a clean heart leads to true joy. And joy in the Lord, true happiness in God, prompts obedience. And we are obedient to God, His blessings can freely flow to us. This equals abundant life!

So friends, it is so important to clean house. We must be intentional about spending time with God. We must also be intentional about asking Him to purify us and cleanse us from our sins. We cannot allow our hearts to become dingy. For just as a dingy, dirty light does not shine as brightly, neither can we shine brightly for Him if we are hanging on to the dirty, dusty cobwebs of sin.

When we bring our dirtiness to God, He is so gracious with us! He removes are stains and remembers them no more! David experienced this. He also wrote of this grace in another Psalm.
"He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12).
God doesn't remember the sins that we have asked Him to forgive. While I still remember the doozy of a mess my kids made this morning, those past sins are gone from His memory. Praise the Lord for His great mercy and grace! We are made clean!

So, while our houses will always need cleaning, our hearts can be spot free. God forgives, cleanses, and remembers no more. Thank you, God!


Linking up this week at: #Soulsurvival, #intentionalTuesday, #RaRaLinkup, #threewordWednesday, #livefreeThursday, #belovedbrews, #dancewithJesus, #fellowshipFriday, #graceandtruth
www.jenniferdukeslee.com

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8 comments:

  1. Both my house and my heart need cleaning, thank you for the reminder. Thanks also for linking up with Three Word Wednesday.

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    1. Glad I'm not alone in that, Katie! Thanks for visiting!

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  2. Isn't it wonderful when the Lord teaches us lessons, like in your case, in the middle of vacuuming!

    Your insights were so good. I never thought to pray like David to purify me of my besetting sins or to even intentionally go to Him for "cleaning up". I think I can tend to try to do this in my own strength which is silly.

    Thanks for sharing, and I'm so glad I stopped by!

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    1. I'm glad, too, that He even speaks to me in the mundane activities of life! Thanks!

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  3. Kristen, isn't it amazing how popcorn seems to multiply and hide ... grr. : ) But being intentional in cleaning my home and my heart (Jesus' home) keeps it all shiny for His glory. Thank you, Kristen, for sharing your heart at #IntentionalTuesday on Intentionally Pursuing. : )

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    1. So true, Crystal! We can't shine for Him if sin is in the way. Thanks for visiting!

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  4. I love this! I'm in a season of raising littles, so I'm used to my house always being in need of cleaning. Sometimes I forget that my heart needs that same consideration.

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    1. It's so easy to get busy and forget with little ones! Thanks for stopping by!

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