By Senator John Grant, FL (Retired)
Week Thirteen, 2018
CLEANING OUT
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).
Our refrigerator has hung around our kitchen and has served us well, but when it was time recently for her to depart to the great scrap yard in the sky, we shopped for and purchased a new one.
When it was time for the new one to be delivered, my bride and I cleaned out the about to be departing one. My, what surprises we found tucked on the corners and hidden by other items. We began examining each item and I soon discovered that when the discard date ends in BC (Do I get a rebuttal in this assessment? – Beverley), that is not a good sign. Some of what we had been cooling was just plain expired junk and needed to be thrown away.
Our lives are much like that. We harbor junk, some of which we don’t even realize, yet it is deeply imbedded in our subconscious and affects our daily behavior. The prophet Isaiah (1:16) said “Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings, so I don’t have to look at them any longer.”
Sometimes our morning room table gets cluttered. For one, it’s a big table. It actually takes up so much space in our morning room that It’s become the easiest place to set stuff. Toys. Mail (JG’s mail). Homework (BG’s Bible Study). Cups. More cups. The generous tabletop makes it simpler to just move things around rather than move them away, and after a while, it accumulates a swath of unrelated, inordinate objects into one centralized location, which is called clutter, which can be a lot like life. (So we took out the leaf. Now there is less table top!!)
We are constantly piling on one thing after another onto the tabletop of our lives. There are always more things we should be concerned about, and give attention to, and make room for — somehow. Before long, it’s a life full of clutter. It’s a whirlwind of good intentions, but bad directions — maybe a load of participation, but a litter of purpose. And it stays this way until God’s arm intervenes, mighty to sweep, and clears the table.
Paul told the Romans to not be conformed to the world, yet in this digitalized, technology driven world it is so easy to get conformed to this world and not even realize it. Yet, we are called to present ourselves holy and acceptable to God.
How about you? Have you cleaned out the outdated, immoral and other junk out of your life? If not, do so today and begin living a renewed life.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
Reminders
“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” – Jude 1:24-25 NIV
Reminders are all round us…
We have Calendar Pop-up Reminders on our phones and computers. We have alarms that serve as reminders. We have Post-It Notes and pocket notecards that can serve as reminders. We can even get phone calls from friends or a service to remind us of a special day or appointment. Facebook, Instagram and others can remind us of special dates, days, anniversaries and birthdays. Some of us have Spouses and Office Assistants who remind us all the time of places we need to be, people we need to see and when.
Sometimes… we need a reminder of who He is, what He has done (and continues to do), and the glory, majesty, power and authority that He has and deserves.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
While we are in awe of famous people, it is easy to forget the unique and wonderful ideas that the very people that surround us possess. Dwight Short
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©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618