Keep It Clean

Blind Pharisees! First cleanse the inside of the cup, and then the whole cup will be clean. Matthew 23:26 The Living Bible

Good Morning Girlfriends:

Rising early one morning, my husband and had made plans to go into the city for a little shopping and to visit family that we didn't get to see often, so of course I was on the mad dash to get ready. For some reason it always took me longer to get ready than it did for my husband, trying to pick out the right outfit, styling my hair the right way, oh and don't forget putting on my make-up before heading out the door. I was so thankful that my husband took care of getting the vehicle ready, checking all the fluids and everything that had to be done before one would head out on a road trip. Making a coffee to go and grabbing a couple of snacks, we were off and running.

Pulling into my husband's brothers driveway, there he was polishing his new truck that he had just purchased. As we began talking, he filled us in on all the details about his "new find" and how it fell right into his lap, so to say. The metallic blue "Ford 150" shined and sparkled as well as the chrome glistened in the sunlight, what a beautiful vehicle. Opening the doors to look at the inside, you could not see a speck of dust anywhere, as the leather seats shone, along with the dash, the steering wheel and the windows were crystal clear, he was enjoying his new truck. It was always so wonderful to visit my brother in law as we went inside for a visit before heading out to shop. He always had such a wonderful personality, as he loved to tell funny jokes, telling funny stories, it was always a treat to this our first stop. Looking around, I noticed his home was just a immaculate inside as well as the property outside, he worked hard to keep everything looking so nice.

Learning this over the years, it is important for us to keep our things in order, looking after our homes, our belongings and taking care of it. As I have grown in the Lord, and I have seen such a change in myself, I have learned that it is more important to work on the inside of us, to work on any anger issues, to clean up any unforgiveness that we may have towards another person, to clean up the way we talk, getting the way we think turned around and how do we do all of these things, by renewing our mind, getting in the word of God. (Romans 12:1-2, 2 Cor. 4:16) We live in this world but we are not to be conformed to this world, we are to look different, act different, and talk different than the people who do not serve Jesus.

Let's look at Matthew 23:25-27 where Jesus was explaining to the Pharisees that worked hard to "appear" Godly to onlookers, but Jesus could see the inside of their hearts and He told them to clean the inside as well as the outside of themselves. In verse 25 Jesus said, "Woe to you, Pharisees, and you religious leaders-hypocrites! You are so careful to polish the outside of the cup, but the inside is foul with extortion and greed." Jesus went on to say in verse 26 to first clean the inside of the cup, and then the whole cup will be clean. As I was thinking about this analogy girlfriends, I was thinking about when I was a glass or a bowl, I always put my cloth down on the inside of it first, then I wash the outside of it before putting in on the drying rack.

Another account in the Bible came to me about "Martha and Mary," how Martha was concerned about cleaning the house and having things prepared, but is that more important than what Mary was doing, even though it is a good thing, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, she was putting Him first in her life, before anything else. (Luke 10:38-42) God does want us to keep our homes, our vehicles, our belonging kept well, but it is more important to get our mind, body and soul well first and we do this by spending time with Jesus first, taking time to read His word first thing in the morning, sitting and talking to Him, sitting and listening to what He is saying to us. As we do this each day, because it is a process it doesn't happen all at once, we become more and more like Jesus, and that will shine out to other people so they will see the difference in us because it will be the result of how we now act, how we now talk, how we now respond to others. We will not only shine from the inside but the outside as well, there will be a glow that other's will notice, because we take the time to spend with Jesus and getting to know Him on a deeper level, a deeper friendship and love will grow, just like we do with our best friends, we spend time with them.

My brother- in- law always takes times to clean his vehicle and to have a clean home, but I can say that he spends time with the Lord, he reads his Bible and that is why he shines like he does, with such laughter from within himself, and that is what will happen with us as we continue to spend time with Jesus, sitting at His feet. Let us not forget that Jesus was a true servant on this earth, He washed the feet of His disciples and that is found in John 13:1-17, so let us be a follower of Jesus and "Keep It Clean."

Let's Pray,

Precious Jesus, I thank You for this glorious day. Lord I thank You for the love that You show us by all of Your teachings that we have to follow in Your precious word. Lord, help each and every one of us to continue each day to get into Your word and let it get down into the depths of our souls as it washes us and conforms us day by day into the image of Jesus. Lord, let us shine with the glow of Jesus on our countenance, so that other's will see that we have spent precious time with You. Let us each one share the simple gospel to each one that is put in our path each day, so that others will come to know our "Precious Jesus" like we do in the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Be blessed, for you are blessed and pass the blessings on, as you pass this message on. Many thanks in advance.