A
friend of mine went to a house on a business call. When they opened the front
door, he was shocked to see the house was filled up to the ceiling with garbage!
The owners had made a winding path through the house with walls of trash on
each side. They hadn’t taken out their garbage as long as they lived there but
had learned to live with the filth.
In
Exodus 12:19, the Jews were commanded to clean their houses of leaven before
the Passover. Leaven represents sin. The apostle Paul says if we don’t clean
out the spiritual leaven in our lives, it will spread and infect everything it
touches (1 Cor. 5:6-8). Just like we must remove garbage from our house, we
also need to get rid of our spiritual garbage. Here’s how.
1. Identify the
garbage. This
isn’t as easy as it sounds. We might
convince ourselves that our spiritual trash isn’t hurting us, so we can keep
it. But it will eventually destroy us. The Scripture identifies our garbage—Bitterness,anger, slander (Eph. 4:3), guilt (Rom. 8:1), depression (Ps. 42:11), sexual sins (1 Thess. 4:3-5). You might be hiding secret sins (Ps. 90:8) but you must admit
they’re perverting your life.
2. Decide to get rid
of it. A
pastor friend was walking into a convenience store and noticed a garbage truck in
the parking lot. The odor of the truck was so revolting that he almost gagged. Then
two garbage workers came out of the store with hot dogs, sat on the back of the
truck, and ate their lunch. They had gotten so used to the revolting odor that
it didn’t bother them anymore! By an act of your will, you must decide you no longer want your spiritual garbage ruining your life.
3. Find someone to
take it away. Garbage
men will take away your trash because it’s their job. Jesus is willing to take away
your spiritual trash because it’s why He came to earth. “And you know that He
(Jesus) appeared in order to take away sins” (1 John 3:5). When He takes
away your sins, He spiritually cleanses you and you no longer have them. Have
you taken out your garbage? www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
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Discover 3 reasons
Jesus told you to pray for your enemies. Read If God Knows What I Need, Why Should I Pray?
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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net Twitter:
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