I just told my husband we needed to do a Mom-is-coming-cleaning at our house.
His grandmother and mother use to do Spring-cleaning and Fall-cleaning. And I mean they cleaned. Furniture was taken outside to air. Mattresses taken into the sun. Woodwork and walls were scrubbed. Every single solitary item in the house was not dusted; it was washed in soapy water. Curtains and drapes were taken down. Windows were cleaned with amonnia and vinegar. Closets were cleared out and painted. Cupboards were emptied and old shelf-paper ripped out and replaced with new. That's what my house needs. A good old-fashioned Mom-cleaning.
It might behoove us to clean out a lot of houses this way. Politically speaking we could strip those Congress seats and instead of spraying them with Fabreeze, we oughta wash them down with Lysol. Some may need reupholstering. Religiously speaking we should strip those pews of all that comfy upholstery and wake up those hineys so they can hear the messages of God's annointed.
Spiritually speaking? Well, we should start by taking a long look at our committment, our allegiance, and the cluttered rooms of our lives.
"By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separated curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is through His flesh, and since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God, let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith,... having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water." Hebrews 10:20-22 Amplified. (emphasis mine.)
Folks, we have a wonderful Priest who rules over the house of God. That is me. That is you. We are indeed the house that needs a Holy Spirit-cleaning on the level of my mother's-in-law each Spring and Fall.
"But Christ was faithful over His [own Father's] house as a Son [and Master of it]. And it is we who are [now members] of this house..." Hebrews 3:6 "Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who live within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own." 1Cor.6:19
So, as members of the Big House, our temple should be continually kept free of the dirt and grime of bitterness, anger, vindictiveness, laziness, idleness, apathy and faithlessness. These are only a few of the particles of dust that fill our hearts on any given day and cover our spirits. How in the world can we serve the fruit of gentleness, peace, tolerance, love, kindness, goodness, self-control and joy when our tables are covered in this soot? How can we cook up a pot of Christian witness when our pots and pans are covered and caked with envy, strife and hatred? How can we offer the lost in this world a welcome through the front door of our house, when the doormat says, "You aren't good enough. Go away."? How can we clothe anyone with our coats of grace when we give them our least favorite moth-eaten garments of condemnation?
Yeah...we need a Fall-cleaning. And then maybe we will be forced to our knees to pray for the revival of our souls which lives within the house of God that He has purchased with His only begotten Son's blood. selahV
[© SelahV Today, hariette petersen, 2008]
