Clearing Out the Clutter

Been doing some spring cleaning around the house. If you’re like us, clutter is an issue. Can someone please tell me why we keep kickballs that won’t stay aired up, cracked Frisbees that won’t fly and old grungy hats that nobody wears?

Oh yeah, and broken lawn chairs nobody sits in, broken picture frames nobody wants and broken toys nobody plays with. Cardboard boxes we must have been saving for a special occasion? Worn-out old throw rugs not good enough to use in the house, but for some reason we kept them in the garage?

I don’t really consider myself a pack rat, but it’s amazing how much stuff accumulates. Whether it’s broken-down junk or just odds and ends you know you’ll never need or ever use again, clutter sneaks up on you pretty quickly if you don’t do something about it.

We haven’t had to deal with this yet, but I know many of you have had the unenviable task of going through your parents’ home upon their passing. It seems some, especially those who lived through the Depression era, couldn’t bear the thought of throwing anything away. Even in their older, prosperous age, decades removed from impoverished conditions, many from that generation simply cannot get rid of stuff.

Spring cleaning is refreshing to the soul. It frees up space in your house, your yard, your attic and your garage. And it feels liberating. It helps you loosen your attachment to “things” and frees you to invest your time more productively.

When the Lord called Amy and me to seminary in 2001, we left our modest 3-bedroom home with a basement and garage to move into a 2-bedroom compartment – I mean apartment. Needless to say, we had to get rid of a lot of stuff. But in doing so we realized that most of it we didn’t really need anyway. And it actually felt good to live on less. The Lord provided for us in so many ways – but that’s another article for another day. Just don’t ask Amy about the kitchen table.

The arrival of spring is refreshing in itself, but I can’t think of a better way of being refreshed this spring than by being revived spiritually by the Lord. We’ll be hosting Spring Revival Services this Sunday through Wednesday, March 27-30, and would love for you to be our special guests. God wants to do a work of revival in His church, and He wants to bring His work of salvation to this community and throughout the world.

Just like the clutter in and around your house, there’s clutter in your life as well that needs to be removed. Without even realizing it, the clutter of sin sneaks up on you pretty quickly sometimes. And if you don’t deal with it right away, it begins to take up residence, crowd out the spiritual space in your life and ends up enslaving you.

It’s time to do some spiritual spring cleaning! Clean out those cobwebs of anger and jealousy. Wipe away the dust of lust and immorality. Remove the broken toys of bitterness and malicious talk. Discard the old clothes of disunity, dishonesty, despair and doubt. And take the garbage of pride, lies, greed, idolatry, cruelty, impurity, godlessness, drunkenness, arrogance, disobedience and self-sufficiency out to the burn barrel and set them ablaze.

If you’re a believer in Christ Jesus, it’s time to return wholeheartedly to the Lord your God! Remember His great mercy and grace toward you. Remember that His kindness leads you to repentance. Remember the stripes upon His back, the crown upon His brow and the nails piercing His hands and feet. Remember the sins He bore in His body for you upon the cross. Remember that you have been forgiven, redeemed, saved and born again. You are not your own, you’ve been bought with a price. Repent from your sins, return to His mercy and receive His grace.

If you’re not sure about salvation, or if you’ve rejected Jesus, then know today that you are loved by the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. His offer of eternal life still stands by His grace through faith in Jesus. But if you don’t respond, you will face the day of judgment with no hope and no way out. I plead with you to come to Christ Jesus while you have the opportunity.

You’ll find that His forgiveness is the most liberating, refreshing, joyful and satisfying experience known to man. God’s bringing the revival to Ridgway. Don’t miss it!