FOR WRITERS

FOR READERS

FOR PUBLISHERS




FREE CHRISTIAN REPRINT ARTICLES

Christian Articles for All of your Publishing Needs!

LIKE US
Translate this Page Here

FOR WRITERS

FOR READERS

FOR PUBLISHERS




Word Count: 931

Send Article To Friend Print/Use Article

Contact Teresa Altman


CLEANING YOUR ROOM

by Teresa Altman  
6/11/2008 / Christian Living


When my children were young, a constant source of my anguish was the condition of my youngest daughter's room. Like many adolescent children, she struggled with the concept of household chores. Her room was in a continuous state of disarray; clean clothes mixed with dirty clothes on the furniture and floor, school work scattered among the toys, dirty dishes with crumbs or leftovers lying on the floor like confetti.

One day in particular, I recall my daughter asking to go skating with her friends. As I considered her request, I saw it as an opportunity to, finally, have her clean her room. I offered my approval with the condition that, before she left, her room was cleaned to my acceptance. On hearing my terms, she hurriedly turned and ran to her room to get started. Time was of essence.

Barely an hour following my proffer, she returned to me with eyes glowing and chest puffed. "Come see my room now!" she said. Amazed that she could clean her room so quickly, I cautiously followed her down the hall for the final inspection.

At first glance, I was astonished! I could actually see the carpet and it was vacuumed! Her bed was made and her school books neatly stacked on her desk. Nothing was out of order. I saw no toys, no food crumbs, or dishes, and there were no clothes in sight clean or dirty. How did she do it?

She stood proudly during my inspection, gleaming with pleasure. But when I walked over to her closet, I noticed that her glow suddenly paled. As I opened the closet door, all the toys and school papers that had been crammed into her closet and piled on the floor, came spilling out the door. Next, I walked over to her bed, bent over and raised the bed skirt. There I found all the dishes, food and clothes.

Needless to say, my daughter didn't go skating with her friends because the remainder of her day was spent cleaning her closet and beneath her bed. That was the day my daughter learned she cannot hide the dirt from her mother (inspector) and that actions come with consequences.

What does God see when He becomes our inspector? At some time in every ones life, we have hidden our secret dirt under a blanket of darkness, in the closet of our heart. Hidden from our own consciousness as well, we are convinced our filth cannot be seen. It would hurt too much to know it is there. So our self-righteousness refuses to look within the subconscious heart, where knowledge exists.

It is not an easy or painless task, using the light of God's truth to chase the hidden darkness from our heart. But the rooms of our hearts will never be cleaned unless we, ourselves, are first to see and acknowledge a cleaning is required. Often, because a deep seated sin is forced into the darkest chambers of the heart, we fear to acknowledge it even exists.

The clich, "Out-of- sight, out-of-mind" serves no justice with God. That is merely a delusion that Satan uses to destroy souls. Whether we like it or not, God walks with us continuously, reading each thought and intent of our heart. Our motives and thoughts are, to Him, as a full-screen movie. He knows everything. Even our self-deception and inability to face our own corruption. If we refuse to face our deep-seated sin, we are only hiding it from ourselves. Nothing is hidden from Him.

Although what God sees in us is vile, His Love remains faithful and He desires that we be free from all sin. That's why, sometimes in a church service or while reading His word, a verse will "prick" our heart. You recognize that He is speaking to you because you 'felt' and 'heard' His still, small voice in your innermost part. That is God's way of telling you, "My light has revealed sin. Clean that area of your room." What you do once He "pricks" your heart, is where the sword divides the soul. What do you do?

Similar to my daughter's attempt to hide her mess instead of cleaning it, for us to disregard the "prick" of God is forcing it to dwell in the shadows of our sin, which can ultimately quench the Spirit of God. Unless the "prick" is used to remove the sin, it will be used to harden the heart. However, when we choose to recognize God's voice (and it IS a choice) and as a result, act upon it, He will show us how to dispose of that sin forever. When we admit the presence of sin and release it to God's cleansing, it is then and only then, that we are allowed to abide IN HIM.

Abiding (continuously living) with God, within the sanctuary of your heart, means all crevices, nooks and crannies MUST be cleaned by His Light. Nothing can remain, hidden or unhidden, which is not 'OF HIM'. The very presence of God repels sin. So think about it Whenever you call on God's Spirit to abide in you, He will be inspecting your cleaning... with a "prick".


Hebrews 4:12-13:
12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart. 13 No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. (HCSB)

Teresa Altman, http://www.faithwriters.com/websites/my_website.php?id=28787 , an engineer for 25 years, answered God's call to write in 2007. A mother of two and grandmother of six, she lives in Northwest Tennessee.

@2007 by Teresa Altman

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Teresa Altman

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

User Comments

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:


Not readable? Change text.



The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer


Main FaithWriters Site | Acceptable Use Policy

By using this site you agree to our Acceptable Use Policy .

© FaithWriters.com. All rights reserved.