TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• I can’t wait for Wednesday. A wonderful woman I know is coming to deep clean my house and I’m so glad. It needs it. Having my house cleaned is a splurge I don’t indulge in very often, but since Christmas, between being busy with work and trying to avoid getting the flu from Wayne, my house has been neglected. But before she comes over to clean, I’ve got a lot of clean up to do.
Wha-what? I know… why would I clean my house to have someone clean my house? It’s a baffling logic but one I know is shared by others… But I’ve got to clean up the assortment of sticky notes that are all over my desk and the pile of mail in my office… and I have books all over my couch. Stuff just needs to be put away.
Similar to my clean-the-house-before-the-house-gets-cleaned way of thinking, how many of us think we need to clean ourselves up before we can go to Jesus? It’s a pretty common assumption, but Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
We tend to think we need to be in a certain condition in order to go to church, pray, or read our Bibles. But that’s not what Jesus wants. He wants us to bring our brokenness to Him and leave it at His feet… He wants us to let Him carry our burdens (Matthew 11:28)… He wants us to entrust our very lives to Him and let Him work through us.
In Philippians 1:6, it says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Nowhere in that passage does it make a caveat for you to clean up your life first. It says, “He who began a good work in you…” It doesn’t say that YOU begin a good work, but God does!
So while yes, I’m still going to clean up my house before it’s cleaned on Wednesday—I’m going to leave the cleaning up of my heart entirely to Jesus. He can get the corners and reach the hidden places far better than I can…
All we need to do to get ready for Jesus is offer Him a repentant heart. He does the rest.
Today, as you pray, thank Jesus that He invites us and accepts us, despite the filth of our sins. Ask the Holy Spirit to do a good work in your heart and help you to leave all that is broken about you at the feet of Jesus. Ask Him for the courage to let Jesus do mighty and wonderful things in your life according to the will of God.
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