Washed By the Water

There is something powerful about water and the spiritual imagery of renewal and washing things clean. It has always resonated with my soul and stirs up waves of emotion that I believe were planted there by God to call me to something deeper. When it is tied together with music it vibrates a spiritual part of us that responds in a more intimate way than other mediums. It brings a desire to seek out the blessings of water and the renewal of life that God brings even through difficult times.

Even when the rain falls

Even when the flood starts rising

Even when the storm comes

I am washed by the water

Even when Earth crumbles under my feet

Even when ones I love turn around and crucify me

I won't never ever let you down

I won't fall

I won't fall

I won't fall as long as you're around me

Clean House

People's perceptions of what it means to clean house are not identical. Some people would be content with simply cleaning the surface without removing deep layers of grime. Others would feel things were clean if clutter was removed from sight even if it was shoved into a drawer. Then there are those who will devote hours of scrubbing, sorting, and disinfecting and still won't be satisfied with the results. It's our definitions of "clean" that vary and can cause conflict and confusion.

Submitting ourselves to God and asking Him to cleanse us doesn't involve a negotiable definition. We don't get to ask God to extricate us from messy situations, but leave us alone in the sinful habits we are comfortable holding on to. We cannot reserve the right to ask God to pull back on His personality and purification process. We either fully submit to Him or we don't submit at all. If all of God does all that God does, we can't surrender any less. This means that we have to be willing to surrender our mental focus, habits, words, relationships, attitude, aspirations, and behaviors.

If we're going to clean house for God we've got to deep clean the whole house by His standards and not our own.

Depth Finder

As I read through Ezekiel, there is a passage where God leads the prophet through some hidden chambers to show him where the people of Israel are sinning. They have falsely believed that no one knew about their sin, including God. 

This really is no different for the sins that we attempt to hide today. While we may not have golden idols hidden in our basement or poles in shady areas that we offer daily sacrifices to, we attempt to keep our sins out of sight. We hang onto resentment in our hearts for people around us, refuse to publicly acknowledge our addictions, rationalize our behaviors, and judge others to keep the focus off ourselves. 

The only way for this to change is for us to do as it says in Scripture and boldly ask God to examine our hearts. This request isn't for His benefit. He already knows everything there is to know about us--even those motivations that are hidden deeply from ourselves. The reason we ask God to search us is so that we can see the depths of our heart for ourselves. When God's light has exposed every dark corner of our soul we can finally begin the true cleansing & transformation that is necessary to be holy people.  

Being Cautious

There is a lot of sickness going around lately-strep throat, colds, stomach flu and just about everything else you can think of. It has made me a little paranoid as I spend time here at the church (especially about the stomach flu-no repeated projectile vomiting for me please!) It has caused me to be cautious as I interact with people and to limit my contact with them. I have also now developed a habit of using Germ-X every time I walk by the bottle in the lobby.  I have literally used that stuff at least 20-30 times since Sunday night. I am so worried about the doors that I am touching and the desire to not be sick that I don't want to take any chances at all.

As I read in James 4 this morning, I wondered why I don't take that same approach to sin. I should be concerned with avoiding sin and doing whatever I can to cleanse myself, but I get lazy with my discipline and find myself sick spiritually. What would happen if I was that adamant about staying clean and being with God? How different would my spiritual health be? What impact could I have in my family and in ministry if I was that devoted to God and less addicted to sin?

Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.  James 4:8-10