GET THE TRASH OUT

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com   

GET THE TRASH OUT.

Do you ever feel like the dumpster above, full of trash?

I often do.  It can be the result of attitudes, wrong actions,

moods, events or just about anything.  It can make a person

feel like they need a good scrubbing on the inside.

The good news is that something can be done about it.

Consider King David.  One evening he saw another man's

wife taking a bath.  I guess she was prettier than his own

wife.  The result was he lusted for her.  Then he found a

way to get her and you know what he did.  Now he was

guilty of adultery.  Then in an attempt to cover it up he 

had her husband killed.  Now he is also a murder.  BUT,

it was not hid from God.  God let David know in no 

uncertain terms that he had screwed up big time and really

King David deserved to die.

However, King David also knew that there can be 

forgiveness from God.  Listen to David's words as he

calls out to God.

"Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your

lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of Your compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me."

***********

"Creat in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

(Psalms 51:1-3 & 10 NASB)

Do you want to feel clean and new inside?

You can.

Obviously if you continue the way you have

been going, what's going to change?  First we

have to turn and go with God.  We need to submit

to God and allow him to become our Lord, Master

and Savior.  Remember, He loved us enough to 

come down to earth and became a man like us 

named Jesus Christ.  Then he died as a sacrifice in

 our place, if we will accept it.

Then as we begin to live with and for God He 

tells us;

"If we confess out sins, He is faithful and 

righteous to forgive us our sins and to 

cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

(1 John 1:9 NASB)

God wants to clean us up inside and out.

Go talk to Him about it.

AN OPEN MIND???????????

Image courtesy of:www.Pixabay.com      

All my life people have either bragged about having

an open mind, or said we should have one.  But if you

pay any attention, most of them have collected a lot of

trash in their "open mind".

How do I know this?

Jesus Christ gives us the answer.

"A good person brings good out of the treasure

of good things in his heart; a bad person brings

bad out of his treasure of bad things.  For the 

mouth speaks what the heart is full of."  

(Luke 6:45 GNT) 

  

All you have to do is listen.  What comes out

is what a person is full of.

Would it not be better to simply have a "guarded" mind?

That is, guard what you allow into your mind.

Consider this Scripture.

 "Be careful how you think; your life is 
 shaped by your thoughts."  
(Proverbs 4:23 GNT)   





 

STAND OUTS

Image courtesy of:www.Pixaby.com

I am sorry.  I missed the picture of the actual flowers and had
to rely on good old Pixabay.  The flowers I wanted to show
were absolutely beautiful yesterday.  But, I forgot to get my
camera.  Today -  well, you don't want to see them.

But the story.
Yesterday I went out to my scrap metal pile for something.
You know what I mean.  You do have a scrap metal pile
don't you?  You have to have a scrap metal pile to make
stuff.  Think about the grand kids if nothing else.  You
cannot whittle it all out of a tree.

So, here I am standing at the scrap metal pile behind the
shop.  To most people it would look plain old junky.  It is.
But out of that pile of junk stood two totally gorgeous
white morning glory flowers.

WHAT A CONTRAST.

Beauty in the midst trash.

You and I live in a trashy junk pile of a world.
I never have been and never will be good looking.
But I do not have to be like the old rotten world I
live in.

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless
and innocent, children of God above reproach in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you appear as lights in the world,..."
(Philippians 2:14,15 NASB)

RESTORED

Yes, it is only a cup.

But twenty four hours ago it was buried trash.

I was down in the bottom of a ravine cleaning up again.

After every storm or rain something else always seems to

show up.  So I was looking for any trash that might have

been missed.  You know, tin cans, bottles, beer cans etc.

Walking along searching for trash a corner of 

this little cup peeked out from under the leaves.  After

digging it out it appeared to be in tact.  So a clean up was

in order. It probably had been discarded with the trash ten to 

fifteen years ago.

After a good scrubbing and a trip through the dish washer,

you can see what I was rewarded with.

That little cup is just like a lot of our lives.

Discarded.  Thrown out with the trash.

On the trash heap of humanity.

But like I wanted to clean up that little cup,

God wants to clean up and restore us.

However, there is one difference.

That little cup is an inanimate object.

It has no will of it's own.

God gave you an I a "free will".

We have the choice.  We can turn to him

and let him restore us.

Or, we can stay on the trash heap.

"The LORD says,

'Now, let's settle the matter.

You are stained red with sin,

but I will wash you as clean as snow.

Although your stains are deep red, 

you will be as white as wool.  

If you will only obey me,

you will eat the good things the land produces.

But if you defy me,

you are doomed to die.

I, the LORD have spoken.'".

(Isaiah 1:1820 GNB)

MAN'S WAY, HIDE IT.

After removing a large trash pile from the hill side it left an open area vulnerable

to erosion.  Something needed to be done to keep the soil from ending up in

the ravine.

It seemed logical to use what was at hand.  That is, several dead trees and some

of the trash pile that would make a suitable trash line forming a small 

terrace.

On the uphill side of the tree trunk (Right side.) is the trash line.  You don't see the trash

because I did not like the looks of the trash.  So, I buried it under leaves.

But the trash is still there.

Another terrace.  The same hill side, a little further up.  And - more buried trash.

 (On the left side this time.) This time buried under mostly decayed wood and dirt. 

But the trash is still there. 

That is the way mankind does it.  If we don't like the looks of it - or want other

people to see it, we hide it, or try to.

It has been that way from the beginning of time.  Our first ancestors sinned

and tried to hide it by sewing fig leaves together for clothes.

It did not work.  They knew and God knew.

Then their kid Cane killed his brother Able and tried to hide it by burying his

brother.  It did not work.  He knew and God knew.

We try to hide our sins, mistakes, short coming etc.  But they and/or

their effects are still there.

BUT GOOD NEWS.

God has another way.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,

and there is no truth in us.

But if we confess our sins to God,

he will keep his promise and do what is right:

he will forgive us our sins and 

PURIFY

us from all our wrongdoing.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar

out of God, and his word is not in us."

(1 John 1:8-10 GNB)

Pure, clean, gone.

Another place it says,

"As far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our 

sins from us."

(Psalms 103:12 GNB)