Clean house!

 

dusty

We have all heard that saying that cleanliness is next to Godliness. Although that phase is not in the Bible, we will find that cleanliness is necessary for protection, peace and prosperity.

2 Chronicles 14:2-7 MSG

2-6 Asa was a good king. He did things right in God’s eyes. He cleaned house: got rid of the pagan altars and shrines, smashed the sacred stone pillars, and chopped down the sex-and-religion groves (Asherim). He told Judah to center their lives in God, the God of their fathers, to do what the law said, and to follow the commandments. Because he got rid of all the pagan shrines and altars in the cities of Judah, his kingdom was at peace. Because the land was quiet and there was no war, he was able to build up a good defense system in Judah. God kept the peace.
7 Asa said to his people, “While we have the chance and the land is quiet, let’s build a solid defense system, fortifying our cities with walls, towers, gates, and bars. We have this peaceful land because we sought God; he has given us rest from all troubles.” So they built and enjoyed prosperity.

King Asa was a King of Israel who did right in the sight of God. He cleaned out all the idols and false religious alters. He also instructed his people to center on God and follow His commandments. The Bible states that because he did all this that his kingdom was a peace. Also because of this peace and lack of war he was able to build up strong defenses.

In our own lives and hearts there can be battles and wars. Many times we have these battles because we have not cleaned our house, our hearts. These old idols and alters were built up in our hearts prior to being saved. Many times we lack peace in our hearts because we still retreat and use these idols for refuge instead of turning to God. It maybe our lack of trust in the unknown of God’s future for us.

Without peace it’s not possible to build up our defenses, so the cycle continues. We may not intend to keep these alters or idols in our lives and may not even consciously think about it in that way. The fact is that we have to clean house and give God complete control. Once we give Him complete control we will receive peace from the war in our souls.

Once we have peace we can build up our defenses against the enemy of our soul. God will keep peace in our hearts, through Christ. As we work with The Holy Spirit to clean our heart house peace will settle in. As it is written here, our hearts will be quiet, peaceful trusting in God to be our defense!