If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We don’t have any sin,” we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.   1 John 1:9-10 HCSB

“When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. Then is says, ‘I will go back to my house that I came from.’ And returning it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order.
Then it goes off and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45 HCSB

Let’s face it, some of us like clean. We like for things to be orderly. We cannot be at peace when our homes or our yards are in disarray. Friday night our area felt the outer bands of Hurricane Delta. The wind and rain blew limbs down in our yard and left us without power for several hours. Saturday morning, I picked up enough of the limbs to get down my driveway, but I had made a mess in my house from doing some painting. I had furniture that was pulled into the middle of the room and things were not in place and it was chaotic in that area of the house. I spent the whole day Saturday getting things cleaned up. Now house cleaning is a continual process. The only way to stay on top of it is to clean as you go or keep things tidied so that you can keep up with the other things like sweeping and mopping and keeping windows and baseboards clean. Either way, it’s a lot of work. We must be mindful of keeping it clean or eventually it will turn into a bigger mess than we had before we started cleaning the first time.

Our hearts are like that as well. We must keep them clean and free of evil spirits.  The best way to do this is to fill them daily with the Holy Spirit. We need to stay in prayer and study our Bible daily in order to keep a good close relationship with our Lord and Savior. When the Holy Spirit cleanses us from our sin, we are cleansed from within. The Holy Spirit changes us on the inside and the change becomes evident on the outside. We began to talk differently, we begin to walk or live differently than before.

In our second scripture passage, Jesus is speaking of a self-transformation project. You see, when we decide we can clean up our act on our own, it just doesn’t work. We need the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and keep us clean. We need Jesus in our hearts. This changes our desire. Our desires are no longer about what we want, but about what He wants for our lives. And my friend, let me tell you from personal experience that what God wants for you life is so much better than anything you could ever imagine.

If the storms of life have scattered your life and made a huge mess of it, know that it’s not too late. God can clean everything up for you. He can sweep up that mess and put your life in order, but He won’t force it on you. You have to draw near to Him. When you do, He will draw near to you (James 4:8). Then you can cleanse your hands and purify your hearts.

If you are busy trying to clean up the mess, know that another storm is coming and you will never get ahead. Our lives are full of storms and ups and downs and are chaotic when Jesus is not in charge. Give it all over to Him. Let Him help you clean up your life and set everything in order. Trust in Him today. Be cleansed from within and allow His Holy Spirit to help you keep it clean and orderly.

Have a great day!