Our garage is a mess. Sure, I can park my car in it. Yes, I do have moving boxes from three years ago still filling up the far corners of the space. Of course, I have my practice net up for hitting golf balls in winter weather.
The periphery of my garage is full of stuff which is only used seasonally or not at all. A tool bench (came with the rental) sits covered in a box of old books and toys waiting for their final donation destination. Our garbage cans encroach on the area my car is supposed to rest. The back wall is hidden behind stacks of Christmas decoration totes and old yard implements (which also came with the place). My wife's car squeezes in between my car, the lawnmower and four snow tires I have yet to have returned to my car. A dismal and depressing sight to be sure. I need someone disconnected from the memories of this stuff to come clean it out.
My car is, far and away, the most valuable and impressive thing in the entire garage. Yet the place it "lives" would suggest I care very little about it. (That, and the fact it needs a good vacuuming.)
Your heart is like my garage. Each heart has varying levels of clutter and junk encroaching on the open spot where Jesus Christ should be forever parked. We have cherished pasts, useless trinkets, stinking garbage cans full of refuse, old moving boxes and decaying self-help tools which failed to help us keep our lives in order. You need a spring cleaning.
Jesus is the most valuable and impressive thing you could ever display in your heart's garage. And, unlike my car, He will gladly begin the process of making more space for Himself. He will passionately discard the clutter, the cherish items, the useless trinkets, stinking garbage, and old, decaying self-serving tools you've clung to for much too long.
Call Jesus up and ask Him to be your cleaning crew. Tell Him to throw out everything you don't need. Ask Jesus to do the work. Philippians 2:13 says, "God works in you to will and to do for His good pleasure." God works in you. God works. God works in you. God works in YOU!
Stop waiting to clean out your own heart before asking for His help. Hire Jesus as your heart cleaning company. He'll even bring His own dumpster.
Showing posts with label Anxiety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anxiety. Show all posts
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
First Flight Effect
"Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention to (insert name of your choice) at the front of the cabin as they demonstrate the safety features of this aircraft."
You probably remember vividly your first flight. I remember mine. Kansas City to Houston followed by Houston to Managua, Nicaragua for a mission trip my junior year of high school. (Awesome first flight, right?)
I played it cool whole time. Not sure if the anxiety and fear was well hidden by the ridiculous smile on my face. (My white knuckles on the first landing probably gave it away.) On the final flight home (my fourth flight every) I had figured out what to do and by now it's no big deal. But I will always remember the insecurity of the first flight.
Every week there is someone sitting in a church for the first time, or the first time in a long time, and I'll beat it feels a lot like a first flight. There is a certain dance performed similar to the airplane safety briefing. And most churches don't have a flight attendant or service card giving you the important details to avoid death (or at least utter humiliation and embarrassment).
Despite my fears and anxieties on my first flight, I made it through with the help of my kind seat mate. They encouraged me, walked me through the important things, and, most importantly, reassured me when the ride got bumpy. We need to practice being good seat mates at church. Seek out the newbies or returning folks and give them encouragement. Ask them to sit with you and help them know when to sit, stand, sing or pray. Show them where the hymn is found and where the Scripture reading is "hiding" in Habbakuk or Hezekiah. Ease their anxieties with a smile and comfort them when the turbulence of church happens. Reassure them they don't have to pretend to be perfect even if everyone else is trying their best to pretend. Be a true friend. By a church flight attendant and soften someone's first flight.
You probably remember vividly your first flight. I remember mine. Kansas City to Houston followed by Houston to Managua, Nicaragua for a mission trip my junior year of high school. (Awesome first flight, right?)
I played it cool whole time. Not sure if the anxiety and fear was well hidden by the ridiculous smile on my face. (My white knuckles on the first landing probably gave it away.) On the final flight home (my fourth flight every) I had figured out what to do and by now it's no big deal. But I will always remember the insecurity of the first flight.
Every week there is someone sitting in a church for the first time, or the first time in a long time, and I'll beat it feels a lot like a first flight. There is a certain dance performed similar to the airplane safety briefing. And most churches don't have a flight attendant or service card giving you the important details to avoid death (or at least utter humiliation and embarrassment).
Despite my fears and anxieties on my first flight, I made it through with the help of my kind seat mate. They encouraged me, walked me through the important things, and, most importantly, reassured me when the ride got bumpy. We need to practice being good seat mates at church. Seek out the newbies or returning folks and give them encouragement. Ask them to sit with you and help them know when to sit, stand, sing or pray. Show them where the hymn is found and where the Scripture reading is "hiding" in Habbakuk or Hezekiah. Ease their anxieties with a smile and comfort them when the turbulence of church happens. Reassure them they don't have to pretend to be perfect even if everyone else is trying their best to pretend. Be a true friend. By a church flight attendant and soften someone's first flight.
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