I'm so excited that it is officially Spring! Although some cities still have snow on the ground, there is hope for warmer weather and blooming flowers. Since my January post about spring cleaning brought about a lot of conversation (thanks for the emails!) I thought I would post it again. So enjoy!
Don't you love it when
spring time comes along and everything is fresh and new? People often do
deep cleaning and organization of their homes when the season comes. My
mother is a little different. Spring cleaning would occur in December.
She always says, "You don't start the new year with dirt and a
mess!" So, every year, we would deep clean the house, rearrange
furniture and get rid of things we didn't need and donate it to charity.
It was a tradition. A few years ago I decided to take my childhood
tradition and take it to another level: spiritual house cleaning. As we
say goodbye to one year and enter in to another, let's make an effort to go it
with a fresh start and a clean house.
Imagine this…
It is garbage day and you forgot to take the trash out to the
curb. Because of your busy schedule, you haven’t been able to put the
trash out for quite some time and now you hear on the news that the sanitation
department is on strike. You panic because you already have a lot of
trash built up and you have no idea when the next pick up will
be. Two things happen:
1. Your home smells foul and is dirty because of
all of the trash
2. You have no room in the house for the new
furniture being delivered because the house is a mess
Of course, this example is a little extreme (hoping no one can
relate to this) but it helps to explain the purpose of spiritual
cleaning. Many of us go through our busy lives fitting God in when we
have time instead of making time for God. As time goes by, we are busier
and more detached spiritually. We become used to the filth around us and
become more exposed to the enemy’s tactics. The results, similar to my
example above, are two-fold:
1. We become
irritated and irritating. Our relationships suffer because instead of the sweet
aromatic personality, we give off a stench of bitter garbage.
2. Our
spiritual house is so cluttered with junk, we have no room for the blessings
God has for us. Often times we can’t even recognize a blessing when
it is coming our way because our focus is on the wrong thing.
Spring cleaning - [spring klee-ning]
noun: the activity of giving a place a complete cleaning
We can polish our silver and organize our pantry but the spiritual
cleaning goes deeper. Sometimes we have things in our homes that leave us
open to spiritual attacks. Here is a list of few things that you would
want to get rid of during your cleaning:
- Ouija board and other items associated with witchcraft
(even if you think it’s just for fun)
- Things associated with past sins (there is no reason to
keep the bong as a souvenir)
- Art with demonic influence, such as, skulls, snakes
death, etc.
- Mementos from past inappropriate relationships (that
bracelet from the person you were having an affair with has to go)
- Pornography
If you have any of these items on my sample list, now is the time
to part ways with them. If you want to go in to the new year prepared for
what God has planned for you, it starts with a spiritually clean house.
Once you have gone through and thrown away what doesn't belong, that's
when the prayer begins. Pray for forgiveness. Pray for a spiritually
clean home. Pray that whatever spirits that were attached to those things
are gone from your home and God's protection prevails.
The bible says in Hosea:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6 (ESV)
Now that you have some knowledge, what will you do with it?
In my last post for 2014, I encourage you to start the new year off with less
junk, clutter and filth, physically and spiritually.
If you want more information and details on how to spiritually
cleans your home, email me directly at info@mendingmaria.com.
Have a blessed 2015!
Mending Maria
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