Come into my heart, Cleanse my heart, and Show me the way.

Darkness.  Have you ever felt full of darkness?  Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the early morning hours of darkness, they are the most peaceful and worshipful of the day for me.  It is in those hours that God feels closer than ever.  But really, God is always close, if we let him be…  Back to my point, when I am grumpy, grumbly, or I am having to get after my kids to pick up dirty socks (a serious pet peeve –‘on your feet or in the laundry’) my heart feels dark.  Dark, dank, musty, moldy, and whiny.  It is not a place Jesus can dwell in at all!  Sometimes I feel I could possibly sink into a depression.  I am a neat freak, I am not relaxed, can not relax, unless I have no chore needing done.  Well, if the house is a mess, there is a chore needing done.  A clean and orderly house just brings peace to my brain.  I would say peace to my heart and soul – but that’s when I realize I am seriously messed up!  God brings peace to your heart, His forgiveness brings peace to your soul.  When I get in a clean crusader mode, I can feel that darkness in my heart – it shrivels it like the sun shrivels a prune!  Then I am left with a dark moldy prune heart!  I have 4 kids (ranging from 10 to 14), 2 dogs, and 5 cats (they are fixed now – no worries), and we live on an acreage with plenty of grass, mud, and dirt (which I adore)—my house is always a mess!!!  I struggle to stay out of the clean crusader mode.  I am so good at looking at the bright side and trusting God with all in my life, and not stressing.  But for a person who took care of the entire household at 14 years (cooking, cleaning, budget, the whole nine yards) it just makes me angry to see my 14 year old (or any age for that matter) on the couch with some electronic device when the floor is covered with the remains of a dog toy!  It is a major arrow of Satan for me.  I hate that darkness, I hate Mrs. Clean Crusader, I love a clean house – I love my children… I love my children.  I do not like to remind them they have responsibilities – but  I do not have to give Satan that foothold – I do not have to let him leach that awful darkness into my heart!  And I don’t have to.  I have Jesus.  He is like a sand blaster, he can come in and sandblast that dark mold and “create in me a clean heart”, a heart full of windows, where the sun streams in and cats stretch out and take naps.  I want my heart to be a place that draws cats at naptime!  Have you ever noticed that the cat sleeping in that shaft of sunlight will wake up and move to follow that sunlight across the floor?  That’s the heart I want.  That’s the heart that Jesus provides us – it is there for the taking – a heart that shines forth with the warmth of the Lord whether I find dirty socks wadded up in the couch cushions or not.  I want a heart of light and peace, not the shriveled moldy old prune of darkness, I want a heart in which the Holy Spirit has an easy chair and a permanent address, a heart that is a Holy Spirit habitat, full of light for the Lord.  Please dear Lord, COME INTO MY HEART, CLEANSE MY HEART, AND SHOW ME THE WAY!!!! Come in to my heart, cleanse my heart, and show me the way.  As I was typing this and repeating that phrase over and over, my plaque that hangs by my computer fell off the wall.  I hear you Lord, loud and clear, thank you!  The plaque that fell of the wall right by my computer says this “Whatever is True, Whatever is Noble, Whatever is Right, Whatever is Pure, Whatever is Lovely, Whatever is Admirable…Think on these things”.  Show us the way Lord, please show us the way… and he just did. ----“Whatever is True, Whatever is Noble, Whatever is Right, Whatever is Pure, Whatever is Lovely, Whatever is Admirable…Think on these things” that is the way to keep that heart clean and shining with the light of the Lord.  First, ask God for forgiveness, and to banish Satan from your heart, then follow his way, let God show you the way.  That quote from the plaque is from Philippians 4:8-9, in which Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about these things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing.  Then the God of peace will be with you.” (NLT)

Get rid of the dead mice! You don't want them around!

“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”  Proverbs 17:9 NLT

Have you ever watched an authentic game of ‘cat and mouse’, an actual cat catching an actual mouse?  I have a few indoor / outdoor cats.  We also live in a house that is about 100 years old.  Due to this, I have witnessed several mice meet their end.  When I got up this morning, I was watching one of our kittens playing, I looked closer when he began to growl at the other kitten.   He had a dead mouse clutched tightly in his jaws!  He backed away from intruder kitty and began to play again, flipping it into the air – batting it across the floor – he was having a ball with this dead mouse – GROSS!  But… it made me think of ‘the human condition’ so to speak.  We will latch onto something: some offense or mistake another made towards us, a mistake we have made ourselves and can’t stop thinking about, or maybe a piece of gossip, or even something we are proud of.  There are so many things that distract us from the Lord.  Okay, how does this relate to a cat playing with a dead mouse?  Is the mouse any more caught, is the cat doing anything worthwhile?  The cat misses the chase, the cat wants to continue the exciting pursuit, so he releases the mouse to let it run away – it doesn’t run, it’s dead – so he bats it across the floor and pounces in imitation of the earlier chase. 

 Just let it go….  It is dead, over, finished, continuing to play with it and dwell on it is not doing anyone any good – it can even make us growl at our family and closest friends.  Thinking or dwelling on something for to long is like a dead mouse that is stinking up your house and rotting your relationship with God.  Forgive, ask forgiveness, refocus on God, give your problems to him, let him help you, and stop playing with a decaying carcass!   

Think of how you feel inside when you can’t stop thinking about something – is it good, is it positive, is it bringing you closer to God, is it helping anyone?  More than likely it is not.  When something gets into my mind and won’t go away, it is usually eating me up inside – making me hate myself – making me think I am not good enough and can’t do anything right ---- all arrows and squirrels of Satan taking your focus off God.  These thoughts are rotting away my direction and purpose, they are interfering with God’s perfect plan for my life.  I am sure it is the same for many of you too.

So that presents the big question...how?  Just how do I stop dwelling on these things?  How do I get rid of the dead mouse?  Maybe these will help answer that question:

Matthew 11:28 - 30  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Psalms 46:1  1God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. (2 So we will not fear...)

John 14:1  "Don't let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God and trust also in me."   (this is Jesus talking)

Psalm 37:5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him and he will help you.

Hebrews 13:6  So we can say with confidence, ‘God is my helper, so I will have no fear. What harm can mere people do to me?’

Romans 12:14  Bless those that persecute you.  Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

Psalm 55:22  Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.  He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Colossians 3:13  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  

Philippians 4:6-7  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 4:4  Don’t sin by letting anger control you.  Think about it overnight and remain silent.

Psalm 50:15  Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.

Nahum 1:7  The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes.  He is close to those who trust in him.

Psalm 40:1,2  I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.  He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

Nahum 1:7  The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes.  He is close to those who trust in him.

In short – here are some quotes my brother-in-law had written on their fridge years ago:

                NO GOD = NO PEACE, KNOW GOD = KNOW PEACE

and

                LET GO, LET GOD

Hey... just pray!

The Lord Rebuke You!

I have sinned, please forgive me Lord!.  I have let Satan derail me from my writing.  The usual stuff:  "no one can benefit from what you have to say", "you are to busy right now", "God can reach people without you", "you'll never be published anyway"......   THE LORD REBUKE  YOU SATAN!  GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN!  JUST GO AWAY!  I am back to stay now!  God has sent some very special people into my life.  Summer arrived, and I finally joined our Wednesday bible study at church (I am a teacher and thought I was just to busy during the school year).  I have been rewarded with an awesome group of friends!  We are studying what God says about the talents he has blessed us with and using what he gave us to serve Him and devote our lives to His work...  go figure.  I admitted running from years of be called to write.  God is using them to keep me on track.  Last night we discussed God's intentions for us, Christ's example, and the ways Satan derails us from God's work.  We did an activity based out on Ephesians 6:16 (NLT)”In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.”  We used a cheap child’s toss game that includes Velcro shields and tennis balls that stick to the shields.  The balls represent the devil’s fiery arrows (or his squirrels as I referred to them in earlier entries) and the shields are used to block them.  As we blocked the ‘arrows’ we said “the Lord rebuke you”, or “get thee behind me Satan”, or I capture these thoughts in the name of the Lord!” – when we threw the ball we would give an example of an arrow Satan uses against us, like: ‘you are not good enough’, ‘you are to busy’, ‘it’s just one time’,  ‘everyone else does it’, ‘no one cares’, ‘just a few more minutes, ‘ you are just a druggy’, ‘no one cares what you have to say’, ‘who do you think YOU are’, etc.  It was great practice for life.  The Lord will lift you up and stand you firm if you stand in his name!  Anything is possible with God!

I also want to let you know just how hard Satan has worked against me today.  First, my internet would not work, I got that going, then I was referencing a bible verse and my internet froze up in a place where I could not even access what I was typing !  I did a few morning things – and told Satan he would not win – and continued to check on my internet connection.  Then, inspired by my husband, finished on a word document to cut and paste when the internet is working again.  I also realized I should type all my entries on a word document so I have them and the connection is not such a bid deal.  Thank you Lord, for turning away Satan’s arrows today.  Please keep me on solid ground!

What are your arrows from Satan?  What is your plan for defeating them?  Be sure to ask God.