Cleaning house and the Lord

Cleaning house and the Lord Some time ago I was asked about doing a bible study about cleaning our houses and I thought, why not? I've always tried to clean my house for the Lord based scripture and thought I could share that with the rest of you. When I was a little girl, it was my job to set the table for dinner and I would always set an extra place for Jesus just in case He came. (It drove my mother nuts! ) That's where it really started for me though. From there I determined to keep my room clean, just in case the Lord should show up "for real". When I was saved as an adult and began studying His Word, I discovered that I wasn't being really silly by doing those things after all. When the Lord was teaching the Jew's about how to worship Him, and giving them His laws, He also taught them quite a lot about cleanliness and how important it was. Part of what He was trying to teach them was that everything they did and said should be done with Him in mind, which is why He gave them so many rules about cleanliness. They had to think about Him no matter what they were doing at home, at work, or at play or they would wind up "unclean" and unable to worship Him. When you think about it, it's very much like what we're told in Colossians 3:17 -And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. * The Lord wants to be part of everything in our lives, not just part of the supposed "religious portions" of our lives. He doesn't want what we do for Him to be somehow separate from the rest of our lives. For instance, He wants to be part of it every time we bake a casserole, not just when we're baking one to give to someone in need. Another thing I learned was that if we wanted something we then needed to take good care of what we already had. I'd been told that if we didn't take care of what the Lord had already given us, why would we then expect Him to give us something more- like a bigger house or nicer car, etc? I was also reminded that the Lord expects us to be grateful for what we already have and because of our gratitude we should take good care of it. That's true in every area of our lives but for me, I applied it especially to my home. If I didn't take care of the home the Lord had given me, then to me that was showing Him that I didn't appreciate it enough to do so and I certainly didn't want Him to think that! I remember when I was living in the apartment the Lord had gotten me before we were able to buy our house. I'd prayed for His help to find a home for myself and the children and this was the one He'd brought me to. It was just plain horrible as far as I was concerned. To me it was like living in a slum and I hated it, but it was all I could afford. I was relieved and grateful to have found it though because otherwise we wouldn't have had any place to live. It took me quite awhile to go from hating that apartment to truly appreciating it, but I kept working on myself until I did. I really was grateful that we weren't out on the street so that was where I started. From day one I began cleaning that apartment (it was filthy) until it shone. Once it was clean it didn't look quite so bad. Next, little bit by little bit, I did whatever I could to make it more comfortable for us and make it look nicer, both inside and outside. We didn't have a driveway, all the cars just parked right in front of the building with a street running behind the parking spaces. But at least once a week I was outside sweeping those parking spaces to make it look neater and to keep the dust down inside the house. The neighbors thought I was nuts, but I didn't care. I did it for the Lord to show Him I appreciated what He'd given me. The water was unusable for drinking or bathing, but I managed to buy a water filtering system as that was really a necessity. The lord had His hand in that because the company had never allowed anyone to buy it on credit and just pay a certain amount a month...they never did till they met me anyway. I know that was the Lord's doing though. I painted inside with the help of my children (I'm not good at that but did the best I could). Little by little over the years, with the Lord's help, I turned that nasty apartment into a home. We'd been living there for 8 years when I finally asked the Lord for a new home and He brought us to the house we have now. it was a dream come true! But all that time in the apartment, I'd kept it clean and took good care of it for Him. Now I do the same in the house He's given us as a way to say thank you to Him. Part 2 There's yet another reason to keep our homes clean though. It's called self control and/or self discipline. When you study the bible, from Genesis to Revelation, the Lord talks about being self disciplined and using self control. In fact, self control is even one of the fruits of the spirit. There were many times and still are, when I don't want to clean my house, but I know that by doing so I'm exercising my muscles of self control and self discipline which the Lord requires of us. In 2 Timothy 1:7 -For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. * we see that when we're saved, God gives us the ability to have self discipline. (depending on the translation you use, that word can be translated either as self discipline or self control and means having an orderly life.) That's a very important characteristic for us to develop for the Lord. (It must be important or He wouldn't give it to us or include it as a fruit of the spirit, right? Like any gift though, it must be used in order for it to grow and be strong. Luckily for us, we have many opportunities every day to exercise this gift. 1 Corinthians 14:40 tells us that everything should be done in an orderly way...meaning using self discipline/self control. In fact, we're warned in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and other places to keep away from those who don't have self discipline, and are not leading orderly lives. It seems that the Lord wants us to practice self discipline and control in all areas of our lives as this is something that's spoken of in many places throughout the bible. Since we all have homes that need cleaning, that gives us all a very easy way to improve our self control and self discipline. I've always felt it was important to do that since we're told to exercise self discipline at all times. But I have to admit, for me, I still like cleaning my house in case the Lord should pop in physically to visit...and I remind myself daily that He is here in the house He gave me every day, and I most certainly want to make sure He's comfortable and that He sees I'm taking good care of it for Him. Doing it for that reason seems to make what many consider an onerous chore into something done for love, so it's not so onerous anymore. That brings me to one other idea I had along ago... the first Christians, like us, really believed, they knew Jesus would be returning soon and that it could be at literally any moment. They were literally looking over their shoulders to see if it might be Him they'd just heard or caught a glimpse of. That's how I try to live too... as if He could pop in at any moment. I don't want Him to find me being lazy or not taking care of what He's given me, or not doing the work He's given me to do. And more then that, I want Him to find me doing it with an attitude of thankfulness. I'll tell you as secret too. It's something I didn't even realize until my boss pointed it out to me a number of times. It was part of my job to clean the house where my patient lived and she discovered that whenever I was cleaning, I'd be either singing or humming a praise song. I was terribly embarrassed when she pointed it out and actually tried to stop because I have a terrible voice when it comes to singing but no matter how I tried, as soon as I'd forget, I'd be singing again! I still do it. I don't know when or why I started doing it, it just seems to be part of how I clean. But I have to admit that I do like doing that when I'm cleaning...it makes it much more enjoyable. Sometimes people use the story of Mary and Martha to excuse them from keeping their house clean, but that's not at all what Jesus was saying. Martha had her priorities mixed up, true, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't keep our homes clean. If she's been prepared for a possible visit like this, then she wouldn't have had to be overworked and anxious would she? So if she'd shown more self discipline before His visit, things might have gone quite differently for her. Jesus was also trying to tell her another thing the Bible teaches, that there's a time and a place for everything. (do you see the "order" in that?) and that she wasn't seeing what was important for that particular time and place. If her home had been clean and the meal prepared as much as possible in advance, with everything that could be taken care of already done, then she too could have sat at His feet and learned from Him instead of trying to listen as she worked to get things done. Being prepared is something else the Lord teaches us. I guess the last thing I tend to think about as far as keeping my house clean is that we're all ambassadors of Christ and as His ambassador what other people see when they see me or my house, is going to reflect on how they view Him. I want to make sure that their opinion of Him isn't bad because I don't keep my house clean and therefore give a bad impression. There's probably much more that could be said about this, but for me these are the things that come to mind right away about it. Let me leave you with this scripture which is all about what we do in our homes and how we live. It too is talking about being self controlled and living an orderly life, so that others won't malign God's Word. Titus 2:3-5 -Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. *Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, *to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. * Part 3 I'm unable to do as much as I used to, but you know what? That's ok with the Lord! He knows us and He knows what we're able to do and what we're not and although sometimes people may expect more of us then we can do, and often we expect more of ourselves then we're capable of, the Lord never does. He's constantly telling me to "stop, sit down, relax" LOL So now I'm learning to obey Him in that too...kind of like Martha had to, isn't it? All we can do is do the best we can and leave the rest to Him. You know, I used to fight any kind of weakness. I think one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn from the Lord is that it's not only ok to be weak, but it's what He wants us to be. As long as we're relying on our own strength, we're not doing things in His strength, but once we admit our weakness and that we simply can't do anything without His help, why then He makes us strong in Him! Maybe not strong physically or in what we were doing at the time, but spiritually strong. I'm afraid that this is a lesson He's constantly having to remind me of because always being "strong" was something that was practically hardwired into my brain since birth I think. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Oh, I meant to say, that doing all we can on our "good days" is normal for those of us who live with pain. (and then paying for it big time the next day) I too have done things that way up till recently. But again the Lord put His foot down so I've been trying to space things out and figure out a plan that I can do on all but my worst days when I can't do anything at all. For me that's easier though as it's just me, Bruce and the cats except once a week when the kids come over. But Jenn's been helping a LOT on those days. Last week she cooked supper for us all and did the dishes which spared me a lot of pain - not to mention work! Part 4 What do you start with? Start with what bugs you the most. Talk to the Lord about it. Remember, you're doing it for Him and because since you are an ambassador of Christ, your home should also show others what God is like, to the best of our ability with His help anyway. So start with one thing, or one area that bothers you the most, talk to the Lord about it and make a plan with Him about how you're going to take care of that one thing or one area. For those of us who are disabled and live with pain, we also have to take into account both our bad days as well as our good days though. In other words, we cannot plan on sweeping the kitchen every day because we won't be able to do that. Instead we plan what we are going to do with His help on our good days, what we'll do on our "in between" days, and what we'll do on our bad days. On our bad days we may not be able to do anything at all except talk to Him about it some more - see how we're doing or if we should change something. Keep in mind too that for those who live with pain, we have to balance what we do each day. The Lord does not expect us to do what we're physically incapable of doing, but He does expect us to discipline ourselves for godliness & manage our time according to His Will - not ours. Another one of the things the Lord expects is for us to hold other members of our household accountable for cleaning their messes or doing whatever chores they have, or even asking for help on our bad days. This was the hardest part for me as I was used to just doing it myself. Many people think being a Christian is all about morals, and while it is about that too, it's also about our daily life and how our daily life should reflect our Lord and our relationship with Him. The biggest problem most of us have is knowing where to start, but often that's just another way to put it off. What we have to do is simply make a decision, knowing that just as walking from one room to another starts with one step, so cleaning our house and getting it in shape, starts with one step. It really doesn't matter where you start - as long as you start. Another problem we have is trying to do too much and that can be just as bad as not doing anything at all -especially for those who live with pain. In fact cleaning our houses like this is not only a good way to grow in the fruit of self control/self discipline, but it's also a very good way to practice listening to the Lord and obeying Him. He will tell us to stop when it's that time, our job is to obey Him right away instead of what I used to do... I tended to say, "Ok, Lord, just let me finish this real quick first..." Trust me...not good to do! Keeping our homes clean really is important, much more so then most of us would like to admit. It doesn't matter whether you have your own house or just have your own room. It's really amazing when you think about being His ambassador or representative. Everything we do and say reflects on our Lord, how we dress, and even how we take care of our belongings reflects on Him and our relationship with Him. Add to that, that everything we have was given to us by God, and that again shows why it's important to take good care of our belongings, of our room or house, or whatever. 2 Corinthians 5:20 -We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. Colossians 1:16 -For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. * John 3:27 -To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. * 1 Chronicles 29:14 -"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. *