Cleaning out my...

Today, I cleaned the garage.  This is not to say I never do, and so making this announcement is an earth-shattering event.  What this is to say, is I don't clean it often enough.  Who knew there was actually a concrete floor under all the bikes, bottles, boxes, and assorted other stuff that tends to accumulate - all on its own, of course - in a garage!

What prompted me to clean the garage?  Dirt.  Yup, good ol' dirt.  Plain ol' dirt.  Oh, and stuff.  Dirt and stuff... Now before you start wondering about my sanity, let me say something - you know you have dirt and stuff in your garage.  You know you do.  Most of us do.  Unless we are one of those clean freaks or something, we have dirt and stuff.  It's what we do; it's what we have.  Dirt and stuff... 

READ:  Psalm 51

Dirt and stuff... cleaning my garage got me thinking about God.  It did too!  It got me thinking about dirt and stuff in my life, dirt and stuff in our lives, dirt and stuff in our church, dirt and stuff in... well, you get the drift.  We all have some dirt and stuff in our lives, no matter how "holy" or " righteous" or "religious" we might consider ourselves to be.  Actually, let me venture to say that the more "holy" or "righteous" or "religious" we think we are, the more dirt and stuff may actually be in our lives.  Well?  You see, we live in a world full of dirt and stuff, and it's really difficult to 'stay clean', so to speak - unless we are cleaning out our 'garage' with God.  Yea, yea, sounds weird; I said it sounds weird, not me!  My garage was full of dirt and stuff, but it couldn't clean itself; I needed to do it.  Basically, dirt and stuff tends to stick to us until we wash it off - the stuff in our lives that is not of God tends to be difficult to 'get rid of' unless we allow God to do the washing, to clean us.

Psalm 51: 10-12
Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit within me.  Do not banish me from your presence,and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, asnd make me willing to obey you.

King David done wrong... er, did wrong - he knew it, and he was asking God to help him come back to where he was when he first knew God.  He was asking God to get rid of the 'dirt and stuff' in his life (not his exact words, but oh so close!), and he was begging God not to leave his presence.  Interesting that a man who was king  but did so much wrong, was referred to by God as a 'man after God's own heart'!  Man, if that doesn't spur you on to clean up, I don't know what will!

And so I ask the inevitable questions...

• What kind of 'dirt and stuff' do you need to clean out?
• What kind of 'dirt and stuff' do you find difficult to clean up, to 'get rid of'?
• [Easy question!]  Who will help you get rid of the 'dirt and stuff' in your life?

Today, I cleaned my garage, and I'm glad I did.
Today, I will clean the 'dirt and stuff' from my life - and I'll be glad I did.

Today, will you say, "I'm cleaning out my _____" - I hope so; you'll be glad you did!
And so will God.  'Cause cleaning out dirt and stuff is what He's all about...

PRAYER
God, there is 'dirt and stuff' in my life.  I don't like it.  You don't like it.  I can't get rid of it on my own.  Help me, please, to be clean - clean like you want me to be.  Clean like I want to be because I love you.
Thank you, God.
Amen.