When
we take the Lord as our Savior, we must make some changes in our lives.
You might say we need to do some "spring cleaning." For
example...if you were to start a diet, would you leave chocolate, pies,
cakes and fried chicken laying around? Its too tempting!
We must clean out to start anew as God tells us in II Corinthians 5:17,
"Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things
are passed away, behold, all things are become new."
Spring
Cleaning
This
first part is about "spring cleaning" getting rid of things
that can keep us "fat" in the devil. We need to become lean,
clean disciples for the Lord. Here are just a few of examples that I
have found help me "spring clean" not only my earthly home but
my Christian heart, mind, soul and body:
1.
Take a look around your home. Let's pretend God is coming to visit.
He's going to walk into the front door and look around. What will He
see? Make sure you get rid of things that could be tempting, that are
ungodly, etc. I got rid of romance books and all traces of cigarettes
and alcohol.
2)
Take a look at how you spend your leisure time. Let's pretend we are
taking God out on the town with us and our friends. As Christians we
must attempt to choose activities that are pleasing to God. A rule of
thumb? If you ask yourself, "Would God go out to bars with
me?" chances are He wouldn't want to go and you would both end up
being miserable. If you go to a movie, pick it carefully. Don't
watch something you'd be embarrassed to have God sitting next to you in
attending. Again, if you have to ask yourself, "Would God enjoy
watching this with me?" chances are He would be there for you, but
not very happy with your choice of movie.
3) Look
and listen to yourself and those around you. Let's pretend God is
playing at your table in Pogo's Battle Phlinx game. When we speak in
the room, do we sound like Christians, or someone that walked out of Joe's
Bar and Grill? There is a difference, and yes, God sees and hears
everything and so does everyone around you. If we want to be one of
God's children, we must act, talk and do as He wishes.