Cleaning House

When Jesus came into Peter’s house . . . — Matthew 8:14

Every time we have company coming over to our house, we clean. I don’t know about your children, but mine can clutter up a house very quickly. Therefore, when the time comes, all of us pitch it and begin to put things in their proper place. In fact, some things get put up, some things get tossed. After a few hours of work, everything looks great and we all vow to keep it that way. Then, the whole process eventually begins again.

Peter had Jesus coming to his house. Now, it is one thing to follow Jesus “out there.” It is entirely another to allow Him into your home. Up until this point, Peter had been more like a guy who listened to Jesus while he was at work and simply went to prayer meetings and church services. Everything Peter did for the Lord and everything he saw the Lord do was outside of his home. Keep in mind, Peter had probably been a follower of Jesus for a year or less by this point.

Now, if Jesus were coming to your house, what would you do? I remember when I let Jesus into my house. I didn’t know Matthew 8:14, but I just knew in my heart that I had to clean out some things. I saw quickly that certain books I had on my shelves had to go. I looked through my DVD collection and tossed some movies that would never be watched again. I went through my CD’s and tossed a ton of the very music I used to defend when someone told me it was poison to a Godly mind. I got rid of Hell’s Box Office, I mean HBO and several of those “premium” channels that leave nothing to the imagination. I placed a Bible on my computer and prayed over it. I told God that if I ever looked at pornography again, I would rip it out of the wall, slam it on my concrete walkway several times, and toss it in the trash.

Why so extreme? (Read Matthew 5:29-30 and then tell me I’m being extreme)

Because for the first time in my life, I was going to let Jesus in my house.

It is one thing to go to church on Sunday, put “Christian” as your “Religious Views” on Facebook, attend all the potluck dinners (known as a “carry in” at Lifeline Community Church FYI), and play “church.” It is entirely another to let God determine what you watch, who you hang out with, what you read, what you listen to, what you spend your money on . . . This list goes on for a while.

Believe me, I understand the immediate pushback, because I’ve been there. “It is my life!” Right?

Well, that is up to you. If God really is God, serve Him! If you want your life to be your own, be bold enough to tell God the areas He can have and the areas He can’t have. Tell Him He can have 11:00 – 12:00 on Sundays as long as you get to the buffet first. Tell Him His Word can have a little space on your coffee table, but not to expect you to actually read it, and definitely don’t expect you to do anything that is written in it. After all, it is hard to read and understand and even harder to actually live out.

Now, I know that sounds harsh . . . It is harsh. But, even though I would have NEVER told God those words, that is exactly the way I treated Him with my actions. I was a clock watcher on Sunday who wanted to get to The Steak House (Only Oconee County people know what a temptation that actually is). I was a hypocrite who acted like I had it all together yet never read His Word unless I was opening my Bible to where the preacher was preaching on Sunday. I had no plans of ever giving Him more than a few dollars in the offering plate, forgiving my enemies, or loving my neighbor.

That is, until I found out He wanted to live in my house.

Now, there is nothing I’d rather do than get up early, listen to the rain, type this WMD, and give Him thanks for completely changing my life.

Has He completely and dramatically changed your life?

Take a walk through your house today and decide if it needs a good “cleaning.”

Later

Adam