Tuesday, March 8, 2016

SPRING CLEANING, TRASH BURNING

Over the weekend when I was out walking, it seemed like the sky was on fire.  It smelled like everything was burning.
 
And that’s when I began to notice all the small piles of trash burning in several places.
 



Maybe everyone felt it was time to clean. I could relate.
 
I think you can feel it when it’s time to “spring clean.”
 
You can feel when a change is needed, the old for the new. Winter clothes get packed or given away. New or different clothes are hung. Windows are opened, things are aired out. Nothing feels sweeter than when this task is done… closets and files are purged. Laundry is cleaned and drying, trash is removed.  There is a newness, a freshness in the air.  I love it when spring cleaning, or any season of cleaning, is done!
 

 
It’s not spring here in Ethiopia. There are only two seasons… dry and sunny (most of the year); then a three month rainy season (usually June- August).
 
But for me, I have felt the need to “spring clean”!
 
We often tend to live in clutter, don’t we? To hoard things, to keep too much stuff. It’s often embarrassing how much we hold on to. And things pile up.

And then there’s trash- we allow this in our homes, our relationships, our hearts and minds as well. And if we’re not careful to clean these things out IMMEDIATELY, they can sit there and affect us more than we realize.
 
The trash- the areas of unhealthiness or negativity, maybe the hurt, or regret, or disappointment from the past or present, if left uncleaned and unremoved- these can smell and pollute everything else. Our behavior, our words, our actions, can show if there is something in our life that needs cleaned.  Maybe it’s bitterness or anger. Or a hidden sin or addiction. Maybe it’s jealousy. So much can rot in us and around us and can make our light dark for others- or smeared. 

 
All of these things can distract us from God and others and can make us miss the purpose we were made for. 
 
What needs spring cleaned in your life, in your heart, in your home?
 
Is there clutter? Is there trash? 
 
Psalm 139: 23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
 
Romans 6:12-14
Therefore, do not let sin reign in your body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God … for sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace…
 
Ephesians 4:22-24
Put off your old self… and be made new in the attitude of your minds; put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
 
Hebrews 12:1-2
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…
 
Ephesians 4:26, 31-32
Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. … Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, … be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you
 
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart…
 
I’m so thankful that God can help us with “cleaning.” If we ask Him to- He can show us the clutter. The trash. And He is more than willing to create in us a clean heart, … to renew us, purge us, so we can represent Him well. He can forever burn off the areas that are rotting and give us a new look, a new song, a new story to live out.
 
Ezekiel 36:26
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you … I will save you from your uncleanness…
 
2 Corinthians 5:17
If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!
 
Isaiah 43:18-19
Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
 
Revelation 21:5
I am making everything new!
 
So,  “spring cleaning?”  Are you ready? Where do you start? Where do I start?
 
First, You Must Take Inventory.  Look into your life, your home, your relationships. Under the bed, in the closets, in the dark areas…. Look at it, and face those things.
 
Some good questions to ask in doing this….
-Are priorities in the right place, wrong place?
-Are you doing too much of one thing; not enough of another?
-Do you have too much of something that is distracting you?
-Does any part of your life stink?
-Are there areas of unhealthiness?
(ask a trusted friend or family member these questions about you as well, sometimes when you’re in it, you can’t see it or smell it)
-Does your behavior, words and actions, reveal trash/clutter?
 
Then, Lift Those Areas Up to God
-Allow God to burn what needs burned, to simplify and clean where needed
-Have others pray for you and help hold you accountable in keeping those areas clean and those priorities straight
- And remember to leave the trash outside, burning, and MOVE ON in the newness and grace and you’ve been in Christ Jesus!
 
This is my prayer for you, and for me, in this spring season! May it be our best season yet for God!

Onward in His grace!!!
 
Prayer Requests, Praises
-A huge praise that my work permit-residence visa for one year was approved! Thank you to everyone who prayed!
 
 
-I’ve continued teaching a new spring semester at the Evangelical Theology College. I’m teaching a Communication-Writing course and a Youth Ministry Course.  Please keep those courses and students and the staff there in your prayers.  It's an honor and privilege to help build the church here.
-A new semester began this week at Hope College. I am teaching about 120 students this semester. Please keep these classes and new students in your prayers. 
-Please keep my family in prayer. My sister Noel is stateside now serving as the Mission point person at our home church.  Please keep her in prayer as she continues there. Our country overall needs a ton of prayer as presidential elections are this year. And also remember to keep my parents, Jim and Rosie, in your prayers. They are fantastic and such a blessing. They will celebrate their wedding anniversary on March 26! Be sure to hug them for me if you see them. :=)

 
-The countdown to Ethiopia’s Easter (Fasika) has begun. The Orthodox here are in a two month fasting time. May we remember what Jesus did for us and share this amazing news with others!
 
Thank you for praying for me and please let me know how I can pray for you as well!
 
Blessings from Ethiopia!