Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
The definition of “clutter” is: “A crowded or confused mass or collection” or “Interfering echoes visible on a radar screen caused by reflection from objects other than the target” – Webster Dictionary.
Pro 4:20 My son, listen to my words; bow down your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to all his flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from you a wicked mouth, and devious lips put far from you.
Our thoughts govern who we are - how we respond - and how we operate in real life situations. What are the thoughts I have of myself and about myself ?
Am I who my parents think I am ?
Am I Who My wife thinks I am ?
Am I who my teachers think I am ?
Am I who my boss thinks I am ?
Who do I think I am?
Whose report shall we believe - will we believe the report of the Lord or will we believe the liar?
We know that the Word states that the Devil is a liar so - let`s read :
Psa 139:15 You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. 16 Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. 17 Your thoughts--how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them-- any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
Ø God knew us from the beginning - in the secret place of our mothers womb.
Ø How precious are your thoughts towards me - read aloud - emphasize ME !!!!!!
Ø When I fall asleep I am with Him and when I awake I am still with Him. He never leaves
me or forsakes me
Some of the lies (clutter) we fall for and struggle with :
- Everything must be perfect :
The truth is:
Nobody is perfect : we all make mistakes - Some of us are driven to be perfect in everything we do - nothing wrong with excellence - but when it becomes obsession with no room for mistakes - we are out of line -
Our Self worth comes from who we are in Christ - not in what we achieve.
- `Life should be perfect` (Marriage, work etc)
The truth is:
In life we will experience storms : Jesus warns us about storms that will come - we must be ready : our foundation must be solid in order to handle the threats and dangers of life
You will not face trouble on your own
- The lie that you are not good enough for God to use:
Jeremiah thought he was not good enough - likewise Moses - he also thought less of himself - all sorts of excuses - God raised him up - gave him helpers.
The same God said to them He is saying to you and me: You are good enough - God knows everything about you - the weaknesses and strengths - You are not a mistake!
Un-clutter your thinking.
It is said that the Eastern shepherd, as he brings his sheep back to the fold each night, stands at the door and counts each one. As he does so, he puts his hand on the head of each animal. He makes a habit of touching each one of them. If he were to grow careless and neglect to habitually touch his sheep, it would soon turn its head away when it heard his voice! This, of course, could be very serious, for with such a broken habit would follow the animal's actually ignoring the warning shout from the shepherd and subsequently could be disastrous for the sheep.
If we are experiencing the Shepherd's touch daily in our lives, then we will recognize His voice when He warns of impending danger.
This will mean "practicing His presence" daily.
It we do not practice His presence then we have probably been practicing the presence of our enemy. Our Lord awaits the moment to "touch" our day with His presence.
Joh 10:3 The porter lets him in; and the sheep give ear to his voice; he says over the names of the sheep, and takes them out. 4 When he has got them all out, he goes before them, and the sheep go after him, for they have knowledge of his voice. 5 They will not go after another who is not their keeper, but will go from him in flight, because his voice is strange to them.
During the days of the great `sail-ships` a ship's mate once challenged a chaplain with the question, "How is it that you are always talking to my men about Jesus Christ? Did you ever see Him?" "No, I never did." "Then how can you tell a man to trust in someone you have never seen? I can't see any sense in that." "Well," replied the chaplain, "when you head for a place of refuge in a storm, what sense is there in telling your men to let go the anchor when they cannot see the ground? On what principle do you trust your ship and your life to ground you have never seen and never can see?" "Oh," said the mate, "we go by our chart." "Exactly," replied the chaplain, holding up his Bible, "and I, too, go by a chart, and it is an infallible one, while yours is not. It tells me of the only sure ground of my salvation-the atoning work of Christ upon the cross. My faith, like your anchor, takes hold of this unseen but real ground, and so rides out the storm of life in peace and safety."
Psa 1:1 Happy is the man who does not go in the company of sinners, or take his place in the way of evil-doers, or in the seat of those who do not give honour to the Lord. 2 But whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and whose mind is on his law day and night. 3 He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, which gives its fruit at the right time, whose leaves will ever be green; and he will do well in all his undertakings. 4 The evil-doers are not so; but are like the dust from the grain, which the wind takes away. 5 For this cause there will be no mercy for sinners when they are judged, and the evil-doers will have no place among the upright, 6 Because the Lord sees the way of the upright, but the end of the sinner is destruction.
At one time, that thoughtful man who became St. Augustine was greatly disturbed because he could not understand the essence of God.
"I admit there is a God," he mused, "but how can I know of what He consists?"
Christ had come down to earth with the claim that He was God. By His resurrection, which He Himself predicted, He proved that claim. He revealed that God is a Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But how could a mind as developed as that of Augustine accept this?
One day as he was walking by the sea, he saw a small boy who, with the help of a shell, was emptying water from the ocean into a hole he had dug in the sand. "What are you doing, son?" asked Augustine.
He was impressed by the naive answer, "I'm going to empty all the sea into this hole." Augustine smiled. An inner voice, however, was saying to him, "You are trying to do the same thing by thinking you can understand the depths of God with your limited mind."
A Young boy was returning home from a store with a pail of honey in his hand. A gentleman who walked beside him saw him slip one finger down into the pail. Then, because his mother had told him never to wipe his sticky fingers on his blouse or trousers, it found its only logical destination, his mouth. It really tasted good. After he had done this several times, the gentleman approached him and said, "See here, Sonny, what have you in that pail?" "Some honey, sir." "Honey-is it sweet?" "Yes, sir." "How sweet is your honey?" "It is very sweet, sir." "Well, I do not understand you. I asked you how sweet your honey was, and you have not yet told me. How sweet is it?" "Why, it is very, very sweet, sir." "Well, you are a funny little fellow; I asked you how sweet your honey is, and you just tell me it is very, very sweet. Now, can't you tell me really how sweet your honey is?" The little fellow was impatient by this time, so he stuck his finger down into the honey, and holding it up said, "Taste and see for yourself."
Psa 34:8 Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see-- how good GOD is. Blessed are you who run to him. 9 Worship GOD if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness.
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