cleaning

Putting it All Away

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Christmas was two days ago. At my house, you wouldn’t even be able to tell that Christmas took place. All the debris, decorations, and disruptions are cleaned up and put away. I think I got that attitude from my mother.

People get so excited about Christmas. The buildup, the gatherings, the presents, it all stimulates us. And most seem to be nicer. There are a few Grinches, but overall, people behave for December.

But what happens after December 25th? How do you feel while cleaning up and putting things away? Does a normalcy come over you? Does life resume to its regular scheduled program already in progress? It doesn’t have to.

If you celebrate the One that Christmas is all about, then you still have that spirit and attitude in your heart. You might put away the things that come out because of the holiday, but you don’t pack up Jesus. You don’t put him away until Easter. I know some do, and those are the only two times a year they enter a church. Other than for weddings and funerals.

You can have that excitement and feeling inside you all year by knowing and having accepted Jesus into your life. You can experience the joy and peace year-round. I have said several times before that just because you have accepted Jesus, your life isn’t magically better. Jesus helps you get through the things in life that “happen” to us.

So, this Christmas, as you are cleaning up, packing up, and putting up, don’t pack away Jesus as if He is only a nativity scene. Leave him out and in your heart all year! If you haven’t accepted Jesus, do so. Ask him into your life and to forgive you of your sins. He is the best present you will ever unwrap your whole life.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Eph. 3:17 (NLT)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Clutter? Or Clean?

/ Mark Brady / 7 Comments
Photo by: cottonbro

Is there any correlation between a clean house and a clean spiritual life? Is someone who is too busy, too lazy, or too distracted by life to pick up the place where they live also due to that stuff challenged to pick up the mess in their life with God? I would dare say, “yes.”

I’ll share a truth with ya; if people enter your home and don’t see clutter, they tend to think your house is clean, even if it isn’t, but if they see a mess everywhere, they will sense your home is dirty.

Keeping a house clean is a constant job. There are no days off, vacations, or holidays. The same goes for maintaining your spiritual life with God. I learned from my parents to look around whenever moving about the house and to pick up something out of place and return it. I also learned to put things up as soon as you finish with them. I understand that living with others who do not share your desire to keep items picked up can make your job more difficult.

So how does all of this relate to your spiritual life? Keeping on top of your relationship with God takes desire, time, and effort. You have to make a mental decision to make it a priority. Even when there are things in life that are begging for your attention. Yes, you may be tired, have distractions, hardships, financial pressure, or have relationship struggles, but you still need to make time to spend with God. In fact, if you have anything from that list going on, you would be crazy not to go to God and take it with you to turn all of it to him.

15 But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.
Luke 5:15-16 (NET)

Sometimes you can’t get to the house, but don’t let anything keep you from your time with your heavenly Father. Take the example of Jesus himself. He knew how important it was to spend time with his heavenly Father. Doing so keeps your mind and heart clear, clean, and uncluttered.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

God, My Enemy?

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Have you ever heard someone blame God for their troubles?  Or insurance companies label calamities as an “Act of God”?  I have.  Job, from the Bible, he certainly did.  In fact, he went so far as to accuse God as his enemy.  (Job 16:9)  I have also heard people say this, “When I get out of the hospital I am going to start living for God.”  Yeah, as you might have guessed, months later they are still living life in the same manner before they went into the hospital.

I was cleaning a stain from the ottoman we recently picked up with a chair for our new “Conference Room” where we go to meet with God.  I looked at the can of “stain remover” and couldn’t help thinking about God removing stains from our own lives.  The foam that comes oozing out of the can is white, and because Jesus died for our stains, our sins, he makes us white as snow.

Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become white like wool. Isaiah 1:18

Did you notice who makes the stain remover?  “Woolite”.  Did you also see the brush on the end of the can?  Even after our sins are forgiven when we accept Jesus and ask for that forgiveness there can be consequences of wrong doing in our life.  And sometimes it takes a lot of work, or “scrubbing” for those results to be removed.  It can take time and commitment to clean up the mess we have previously made with our lives.  Max Lucado once wrote,

“My mess, is His message.”

I also liked on the can where it said, “Triple Action”.  As you know the Trinity is made of God the Father, Jesus, God’s son, and the Holy Spirit.  All three work together to bring us to the saving grace of God.  I am so thankful to know that when I make mistakes I can be forgiven.  Being clean, free from sin, is a good feeling. God is not our enemy, but our friend and loving father.

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.