Clean Inside

Clean Inside

By Shirley Mitchell
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.’ ”

Luke 11:39-41

Happy New Year! Did you have a good holiday season? Were you better prepared for Christmas than ever before since we focused on the birth of Jesus and the meaning of Christmas? Did you spend time with the people that you love?

My holiday season was precious since I was able to spend almost 3 weeks with my family. My computer was quite neglected while I was able to be with the ones that I love. I also started to prepare for the New Year. At the close of every year I focus on clean and organize my house. The beginning of January is the best my house will ever look.

I start by doing a deep cleaning of the closets and drawers. If these are not in order, then the room can not be straight. The scariest place of all has always been my children’s rooms. While the older two children’s rooms are better now that they have separate rooms, nothing has tested my ability to not explode to the moon more. At the ages of 5-8 years, their idea of cleaning up their rooms is stuff every thing in a closet, drawer, or under the furniture.

So this year I focused on Victoria’s room. I found school papers, church stories and notifications, and loads of candy from church and friends. I found wadded up papers, used kleenexes, old catalogs from Land’s End stuffed under the bed. I found boxes in the closet that had never been unpacked since we moved in the house earlier this year. I threw away 17 bags of trash and have 10 bags of clothes, shoes, and toys to give away. All of these things were hidden from her sight so they didn’t bother her. But they took up space in her room so that she could not manage the things that really belong in her room.

The whole process of cleaning the closets, drawers, and things stuck under the furniture reminded me of Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in Luke 11. The Pharisees had the outer appearance that they were godly men. They wore the right clothes, went to synagogue on the right days, said the right prayers, and appeared to have it all together. However, on the inside, their hearts were filled with nothing but the desire to take care of themselves. They were greedy. Their hearts were wicked and ugly.

Gosh, God spoke to me through this. After 3 weeks with my family, it seemed that God exposed some things that were hidden in our closets. Things that we had moved out of the way, stuffed in drawers, and hidden through the busy, hectic pace of the year. We were able to have a lot of good talks about how we treat our family members. We used God’s Word as our standard, and realized we had a lot of work to do to be more Christlike. As a family, we have to work on cleaning up the inside of our hearts, if we are to ever make a difference in the kingdom on the outside. We have to get it right internally first.

So as we begin this year, tell me how are things inside your heart? If God were to inspect the closet of your mind, look under the bed of your heart, and pull out the drawers of your soul, what would He find? Would He be pleased with you? Or do you have some cleaning to do like I do? Don’t get down. Just start pouring God’s Word into your mind. It is the best way to get truly clean.

Pray with me: Father God, we desire to make 2011 a year that please You. We ask You to examine our closets, and reveal the things hidden deep in our hearts. We want to be like Christ. We want to be clean inside. Expose our issues and unveil our sin. Throw away the trash. Help us to let go of the things that don’t have a place in our hearts anymore. Make room for more of Your Spirit to fill us. It’s in Your precious Son Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.

Christ Compels Ministry 2011