Spring Cleaning

Now, I know it's not Spring yet. But don't we all have junk in our rooms/homes/lives that we just need to get rid of? I sure do. I've been reading Romans lately, which is awfully dangerous if you are harboring sin in your heart. Paul just cuts to the heart of the matter. No matter your situation in life, you have no excuse for sin. So cut it out!

"So they are without excuse . . . their foolish hearts were darkened . . . therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity . . . because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie . . ." Romans 1:20-25

"But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant hear, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath . . ." Romans 2:5

What are you holding back? What lies has the world convinced you of, instead of the truth of God's world?

I actually made a list in my journal of lies from the world that I have spent a good deal of time believing. Then I found scripture to disprove them. Here's a sample:

• Lie #1: Your body is your own. What you do with it is your choice.
• "You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." 1 Cor. 6:19-20. And this goes for finances, time, and other resources that God has blessed us with. God has given us gifts, but they are on loan, and we must honor him in how we choose to use them.
• Lie #2: It can't be wrong if it makes you happy.
• "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Phil. 2:3-4. We should not seek our own pleasure. We are called to serve our Creator and his creation. As Christians, we are servants. We must live sacrificially, not selfishly.

I challenge you to think about sin/lies in your own life. What is God calling you to give up, to confess to him? Lay it at his feet; seek his forgiveness, and his help in removing it from your life. I'll be the first to admit: I'm weak and I can't root out the sin in my life alone. I need divine strength to resist the temptation. And it's even harder when the sin lies in your thoughts. Actions are so much easier to control than thoughts. When I was in high school, I used to pray this verse as I fell asleep, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things," (Phil. 4:8) because I felt that my thoughts were so hard to control.

Think and pray about the sin in your life. Don't hold back, because God already knows what you've done. He's already forgiven you and covered you sin in his blood, he just wants you to admit your guilt, humble yourself before him, and ask for his forgiveness.