The weather is beautiful and I have been opening the windows, which has cast light on some of the corners and crevices of my home. Even the windows are covered in dirt! This is the time for spring cleaning. In our homes, we are scrubbing windows and cleaning out garages and closets that are full of winter junk. But we should also be cleaning and evaluating our spirits so that the junk of the past few months doesn’t continue to clutter our minds.
Christians are given tools to scrub our minds and behaviors. The word of God is just like bleach and ammonia and can take something that is dirty and make it clean again.
Psalms 119:9 says:
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word
What is dirty in your life? Do you have a dirty mouth? Can people respect the things you say, or do they have to wade through profanities and negativity? Is your thinking filthy? Do you assume that people are thinking the worst of you? Do you wake up with a stanky attitude? Is your behavior grimey? Do you talk about people behind their back? Are you a liar or a cheater in your relationships?
These are all things that can hinder you from hearing God’s word. Daily, I ask God to cleanse my heart and give me the strength to do things in a clean way. It is easy to say, but how do we actually change and what steps can we take to be a new and better person?
Renew Your Mind
We can renew our minds through confessing to what is wrong in our lives and using the word of God to correct it. Not Dr. Phil or your homegirl down the street. But God’s word. Because your favorite TV psychologist may tell you to dump your lying husband, but the Word says to forgive. That’s why I love using the Juanita Bynum Topical Bible, because it can take me right to my issues and the scripture I can meditate on to correct it. If you are battling depression, instead of waking up thinking the world is against you, you can make a list of scriptures that uplift you and reaffirm to you that God loves you. It sounds corny, but your faith and commitment to changing is a small step to the miracles God can perform in your life!
Take Your Prayer To The Next Level
Sometimes our prayers are filled with sadness, tears and we beg God to get us out of situations He never put us in. Try focusing your prayers on something besides yourself. I like to start out my prayers acknowledging the presence of God, telling Him how wonderful He is and expressing my gratitude for the many things that He has done for me. The sadder I am, the more I try to enumerate them. Then instead of trying to tell God what I need Him to do, I humble myself and ask Him to have his way in my life. I pray for my friends and my family and ask for forgiveness. I’m not saying I’m the perfect prayer warrior. I come to Him differently now than I did a year ago, and I can say that my relationship and understand that I get from God has changed as well. I try not to complain and whine to God, and my complaints and whining to my friends have changed as well.
Do or Say Something Good To Others
Just being nice, even when you don’t want to, can add a fresh air to your life. I used to hang out with this girl, and she never understood why people would always tell her she looked mean. She was mean! And she looked like she had a bad attitude! As a Christian, we are supposed to light up a room with positivity, not be Debbie Downer! Being nice starts as a practice and can be a lifestyle. Make a point to be nice to five people a day. Compliment them on their clothing, hair, work ethic or anything! Buy someone lunch who looks sad (or hungry). After a few weeks, increase that number to 10. Before you know it, you will be a nice person!
Find Your Purpose
In the movie Mahogany, Diana Ross sings a song that goes, “Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you?” Some of us are going through life aimlessly, not knowing what God put us here for and missing blessed opportunities! At the beginning of the year, New Covenant invited John Stanko, a speaker and writer who helps people discover their purpose. If you visit his Website (www.purposequest.com) there is an assessment there that can help you to figure out what it is your good at. If you already know what it is that blesses you and others, then why aren’t you doing it? Don’t let your dreams die our of fear!
Cleaning you home can surely make you feel better and opening those blinds after a cold and snowy winter can make you feel good. But cleaning your mind and committing to being a better Christian will change you for the better! Don’t choose to be dirty when you can be clean!
2 Corinthians 7:1 says:
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
