Spiritual cleansing is necessary from time to time

Published 2:22 pm Thursday, June 11, 2020

By DAVID ODOM

In Psalms 51, David is taking a long hard look in the mirror at himself and his life. It seems that he is not very satisfied with what has been going on in his life. David is in desperate need of a spiritual cleansing in his life. In Verse 10 you can almost hear him crying out to God…. “Create in me a clean heart O God, Renew a right spirit within me.” He needs a fresh, clean start.

In the past few months I have been introduced to some different types of cleaning. I found out there are multiple levels of cleaning, some of which I never knew existed. There is regular cleaning. Then, there is a spring cleaning, that we all do around the house to make the outside pretty and clean for all the neighbors to see. Then, there is a deep cleaning that we go through and clean thoroughly and pack up or get rid of unwanted stuff that we don’t need. The rest is tucked away in the attic or basement, which we usually refer to that as “out of sight, outta mind.” But, there is a cleaning like no other that you have ever seen before. I call it a “move out cleaning.”

We are in the process of moving out of one house and into another home. The only problem with that is that every single thing and every single square inch of that house has to be cleaned out. It needs to be ready for the new people that will call this their new home. I cannot just pack away a bunch of boxes and leave them behind in the attic or the basement. I have to “clean it out” entirely. That’s the kind of spiritual “clean out” that we need in the church today.

We have left our life cluttered up with the old things that we tucked away in the closet and put it way back in the corner somewhere. Those things that do not define you as a person anymore. But, we tuck it away in the attic and sometime, somewhere along the way it will creep up and we will find it again and have to carry around that box of stuff to the next place. We need to “clean out” the attic of our life. Those old things we need to get rid of will clutter up the space that you need to store the good things in our life. Same with our life with Christ. If we want him to fill our lives and take control of our lives, we are going have to have a “move out cleaning” spiritually. We must let Christ come into our lives and forgive us of our old sins. Do not carry around the shame and guilt of those old sins from the past anymore.

Before we start our move out process there are a few things that you have to decide during the “clean out” process. Here are the three steps:

What needs to go? If it’s broke, falling apart and it has been packed up for three years, “clean it out.” Spiritually we have tried things that don’t work and we hold onto them or pack away our shame and our guilt from our past, “clean it out.” Sometimes, we hold onto someone else’s past shame and guilt and wait for the moment when we can bring it up and throw it back in their face. If you are holding on to that, “clean it out!” What are you going to give away? Some things we hang on to and no one ever sees them or gets to hear the stories and good times that go along with the stored up items. Clean it out. You may have some items that you can give away to someone that may need it. Spiritually, we have some things that we need to give away and quit holding on to them. Our Salvation is a free gift that we could share with others and they could benefit from. The Bible tells us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. We know the Bible is true, so if we don’t speak it and we just store up that free gift and not share it, then we must not have an abundance of Christ in our heart.

What needs some love? When doing a move out, you don’t have to get rid of everything in the attic. Some of the things that you have packed away is good stuff, but maybe it needs a little bit of love. We found a small wooden canoe shelf that I have had for years and it was just tossed back in the attic. The new owner of this canoe put a fresh coat of paint on it and displayed it nicely with some other items and it was like new. Some things in our spiritually life need a fresh coat of paint. Unfortunately, most of us are in need of more than just a fresh coat of paint. Most of us need a complete and total makeover.

Spiritually, whether you are in need of a fresh coat of spiritual paint or you heart needs a complete makeover, I have great news for you. Jesus is the number one contractor and specializes in “makeovers.” Just let him in and he will “clean out” every single inch of your old heart and create a new creation within you. Let him in this week and start a “clean out.” You will be glad you did. God Bless!!