SpringCleaning! Knock, Knock March 15
SpringCleaning!
March 15th, 2021
Knock, Knock
Haggai 1:2-9, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’” Then the Word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.”’ (NIV)
I was reminded just the other day as I was listening to a sermon podcast that we are His temple where the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor. 3:16). The pastor said that in Biblical times, the temple was considered where heaven and earth meet (paraphrased, Andy Stanley). If our bodies are the intersection between heaven and earth, then I realized I need to do some housekeeping. This means, I think, it is pretty important then that we make sure we have done some SpringCleaning in the areas of what we do and where we go.
So you say to me, ‘Michelle, I just was watching my calendar, and like, I go take pictures of the fall colors, and I decorate and shop for Christmas, and I welcome in the New Year, so do I also like to SpringClean. It’s like a national event, ya know? But it’s never meant before that I need to clean up what I do and where I go. Usually I just wipe the floorboards, dust the cobwebs, sweep the corners, rearrange the furniture… Michelle, I don’t usually SpringClean my activities.’
Beautiful you, I never have either. But has anyone ever asked you if Jesus were to come knock at your door, would you switch off your TV or put up the material you were reading at or looking at online? Or if he walked into a room where you were at, would you slink down beneath the table or hide your face in your sleeve or run to the restroom for cover? See, the thing is, He is with you wherever you go, and He is standing at your door and mine, knocking to be let in.
I realized that in a very profound way about two years ago. At the time I was the owner of several businesses; one of which was a bar and bowling alley in eastern OK. I made a lot of excuses, like, well, the bar is attached to the bowling alley which doesn’t make any money, but the bar kind of meagerly keeps it all afloat so I have no choice. And if people are going to go drink at least at my place they’ll be served some love and fellowship and Jesus. I didn’t hide Him, but if He walked in, I would have crawled under a table or hid in my office.
The thing was, He was there all the time, right with me. He knew; He saw. He knew I was good to my customers and staff, and that I cared greatly for them. But He also knew I was a stumbling block; some brothers and sisters, yes, in Christ, but also to many who didn’t know the Lord at all. I heard recently that a hypocrite isn’t someone who does a wrong thing; its’s those that act like they never do (paraphrased, Steven Furtick)! I blurred so many lines, even to my children; some I even tried to ‘White-Out’ completely but there was still a trace always left behind, refusing to be erased.
So April 2019, I was at a First Wednesday worship night at my church and the leader asked us to close our eyes and picture someone(s) who came to mind that we should show Jesus to for Easter, whether tell them about His great love for them or invite them to our Easter service. Essentially, who did we picture that needed to see Jesus in us. Suddenly I saw a room full of customers, sitting at my bar, drinking alcohol I was making money from. The shame in me almost ate me up, devoured me.
There is a radar within me now, called the Holy Spirit, Who allows me to see through His lens at the hurting, broken and lost people who need Jesus as desperately as I do. I will never be the same again since He has helped me clean up where I go and what I do. The God of this universe has chosen to make His place inside of me. I owe Him everything that I am, and that also means to keep my temple a holy place for Him to dwell.
Come with me in March and let’s clean house!
If you are anything like me, you have kept some things around far too long
and now they got to go! And with the Lord’s help, they can!
