Some time ago I was asked about doing a bible study about cleaning our houses and I thought, why not? I've always tried to clean my house for the Lord based scripture and thought I could share that with the rest of you. When I was a little girl, it was my job to set the table for dinner and I would always set an extra place for Jesus just in case He came. (It drove my mother nuts! 
) That's where it really started for me though. From there I determined to keep my room clean, just in case the Lord should show up "for real".
When I was saved as an adult and began studying His Word, I discovered that I wasn't being really silly by doing those things after all. When the Lord was teaching the Jew's about how to worship Him, and giving them His laws, He also taught them quite a lot about cleanliness and how important it was. Part of what He was trying to teach them was that everything they did and said should be done with Him in mind, which is why He gave them so many rules about cleanliness. They had to think about Him no matter what they were doing at home, at work, or at play or they would wind up "unclean" and unable to worship Him. When you think about it, it's very much like what we're told in Colossians 3:17 —And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. *
The Lord wants to be part of everything in our lives, not just part of the supposed "religious portions" of our lives. He doesn't want what we do for Him to be somehow separate from the rest of our lives. For instance, He wants to be part of it every time we bake a casserole, not just when we're baking one to give to someone in need.
Another thing I learned was that if we wanted something we then needed to take good care of what we already had. I'd been told that if we didn't take care of what the Lord had already given us, why would we then expect Him to give us something more- like a bigger house or nicer car, etc? I was also reminded that the Lord expects us to be grateful for what we already have and because of our gratitude we should take good care of it. That's true in every area of our lives but for me, I applied it especially to my home.
If I didn't take care of the home the Lord had given me, then to me that was showing Him that I didn't appreciate it enough to do so and I certainly didn't want Him to think that!
I remember when I was living in the apartment the Lord had gotten me before we were able to buy our house. I'd prayed for His help to find a home for myself and the children and this was the one He'd brought me to. It was just plain horrible as far as I was concerned. To me it was like living in a slum and I hated it, but it was all I could afford. I was relieved and grateful to have found it though because otherwise we wouldn't have had any place to live. It took me quite awhile to go from hating that apartment to truly appreciating it, but I kept working on myself until I did. I really was grateful that we weren't out on the street so that was where I started. From day one I began cleaning that apartment (it was filthy) until it shone. Once it was clean it didn't look quite so bad. Next, little bit by little bit, I did whatever I could to make it more comfortable for us and make it look nicer, both inside and outside. We didn't have a driveway, all the cars just parked right in front of the building with a street running behind the parking spaces. But at least once a week I was outside sweeping those parking spaces to make it look neater and to keep the dust down inside the house. The neighbors thought I was nuts, but I didn't care. I did it for the Lord to show Him I appreciated what He'd given me. The water was unusable for drinking or bathing, but I managed to buy a water filtering system as that was really a necessity. The lord had His hand in that because the company had never allowed anyone to buy it on credit and just pay a certain amount a month...they never did till they met me anyway. I know that was the Lord's doing though. I painted inside with the help of my children (I'm not good at that but did the best I could). Little by little over the years, with the Lord's help, I turned that nasty apartment into a home.
We'd been living there for 8 years when I finally asked the Lord for a new home and He brought us to the house we have now. it was a dream come true! But all that time in the apartment, I'd kept it clean and took good care of it for Him. Now I do the same in the house He's given us as a way to say thank you to Him
There's yet another reason to keep our homes clean though. It's called self control and/or self discipline. When you study the bible, from Genesis to Revelation, the Lord talks about being self disciplined and using self control. In fact, self control is even one of the fruits of the spirit. There were many times and still are, when I don't want to clean my house, but I know that by doing so I'm exercising my muscles of self control and self discipline which the Lord requires of us. In 2 Timothy 1:7 —For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. * we see that when we're saved, God gives us the ability to have self discipline. (depending on the translation you use, that word can be translated either as self discipline or self control and means having an orderly life.) That's a very important characteristic for us to develop for the Lord. (It must be important or He wouldn't give it to us or include it as a fruit of the spirit, right? Like any gift though, it must be used in order for it to grow and be strong. Luckily for us, we have many opportunities every day to exercise this gift. 1 Corinthians 14:40 tells us that everything should be done in an orderly way...meaning using self discipline/self control. In fact, we're warned in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and other places to keep away from those who don't have self discipline, and are not leading orderly lives. It seems that the Lord wants us to practice self discipline and control in all areas of our lives as this is something that's spoken of in many places throughout the bible. Since we all have homes that need cleaning, that gives us all a very easy way to improve our self control and self discipline. I've always felt it was important to do that since we're told to exercise self discipline at all times. ) That's where it really started for me though. From there I determined to keep my room clean, just in case the Lord should show up "for real". When I was saved as an adult and began studying His Word, I discovered that I wasn't being really silly by doing those things after all. When the Lord was teaching the Jew's about how to worship Him, and giving them His laws, He also taught them quite a lot about cleanliness and how important it was. Part of what He was trying to teach them was that everything they did and said should be done with Him in mind, which is why He gave them so many rules about cleanliness. They had to think about Him no matter what they were doing at home, at work, or at play or they would wind up "unclean" and unable to worship Him. When you think about it, it's very much like what we're told in Colossians 3:17 —And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. *
The Lord wants to be part of everything in our lives, not just part of the supposed "religious portions" of our lives. He doesn't want what we do for Him to be somehow separate from the rest of our lives. For instance, He wants to be part of it every time we bake a casserole, not just when we're baking one to give to someone in need.
Another thing I learned was that if we wanted something we then needed to take good care of what we already had. I'd been told that if we didn't take care of what the Lord had already given us, why would we then expect Him to give us something more- like a bigger house or nicer car, etc? I was also reminded that the Lord expects us to be grateful for what we already have and because of our gratitude we should take good care of it. That's true in every area of our lives but for me, I applied it especially to my home.
If I didn't take care of the home the Lord had given me, then to me that was showing Him that I didn't appreciate it enough to do so and I certainly didn't want Him to think that!
I remember when I was living in the apartment the Lord had gotten me before we were able to buy our house. I'd prayed for His help to find a home for myself and the children and this was the one He'd brought me to. It was just plain horrible as far as I was concerned. To me it was like living in a slum and I hated it, but it was all I could afford. I was relieved and grateful to have found it though because otherwise we wouldn't have had any place to live. It took me quite awhile to go from hating that apartment to truly appreciating it, but I kept working on myself until I did. I really was grateful that we weren't out on the street so that was where I started. From day one I began cleaning that apartment (it was filthy) until it shone. Once it was clean it didn't look quite so bad. Next, little bit by little bit, I did whatever I could to make it more comfortable for us and make it look nicer, both inside and outside. We didn't have a driveway, all the cars just parked right in front of the building with a street running behind the parking spaces. But at least once a week I was outside sweeping those parking spaces to make it look neater and to keep the dust down inside the house. The neighbors thought I was nuts, but I didn't care. I did it for the Lord to show Him I appreciated what He'd given me. The water was unusable for drinking or bathing, but I managed to buy a water filtering system as that was really a necessity. The lord had His hand in that because the company had never allowed anyone to buy it on credit and just pay a certain amount a month...they never did till they met me anyway. I know that was the Lord's doing though. I painted inside with the help of my children (I'm not good at that but did the best I could). Little by little over the years, with the Lord's help, I turned that nasty apartment into a home.
We'd been living there for 8 years when I finally asked the Lord for a new home and He brought us to the house we have now. it was a dream come true! But all that time in the apartment, I'd kept it clean and took good care of it for Him. Now I do the same in the house He's given us as a way to say thank you to Him
But I have to admit, for me, I still like cleaning my house in case the Lord should pop in physically to visit...and I remind myself daily that He is here in the house He gave me every day, and I most certainly want to make sure He's comfortable and that He sees I'm taking good care of it for Him. Doing it for that reason seems to make what many consider an onerous chore into something done for love, so it's not so onerous anymore.
That brings me to one other idea I had along ago... the first Christians, like us, really believed, they knew Jesus would be returning soon and that it could be at literally any moment. They were literally looking over their shoulders to see if it might be Him they'd just heard or caught a glimpse of. That's how I try to live too... as if He could pop in at any moment. I don't want Him to find me being lazy or not taking care of what He's given me, or not doing the work He's given me to do. And more then that, I want Him to find me doing it with an attitude of thankfulness.
I'll tell you as secret too. It's something I didn't even realize until my boss pointed it out to me a number of times. It was part of my job to clean the house where my patient lived and she discovered that whenever I was cleaning, I'd be either singing or humming a praise song.
I was terribly embarrassed when she pointed it out and actually tried to stop because I have a terrible voice when it comes to singing but no matter how I tried, as soon as I'd forget, I'd be singing again! I still do it. I don't know when or why I started doing it, it just seems to be part of how I clean. But I have to admit that I do like doing that when I'm cleaning...it makes it much more enjoyable. Sometimes people use the story of Mary and Martha to excuse them from keeping their house clean, but that's not at all what Jesus was saying. Martha had her priorites mixed up, true, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't keep our homes clean. If she's been prepared for a possible visit like this, then she wouldn't have had to be overworked and anxious would she? So if she'd shown more self discipline before His visit, things might have gone quite differently for her. Jesus was also trying to tell her another thing the Bible teaches, that there's a time and a place for everything. (do you see the "order" in that?) and that she wasn't seeing what was important for that particular time and place. If her home had been clean and the meal prepared as much as possible in advance, with everything that could be taken care of already done, then she too could have sat at His feet and learned from Him instead of trying to listen as she worked to get things done. Being prepared is something else the Lord teaches us.
I guess the last thing I tend to think about as far as keeping my house clean is that we're all ambassadors of Christ and as His ambassador what other people see when they see me or my house, is going to reflect on how they view Him. I want to make sure that their opinion of Him isn't bad because I don't keep my house clean and therefore give a bad impression.
There's probably much more that could be said about this, but for me these are the things that come to mind right away about it. Let me leave you with this scripture which is all about what we do in our homes and how we live. It too is talking about being self controlled and living an orderly life, so that others won't malign God's Word.
Titus 2:3–5 —Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. *Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, *to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. *
LiveJournal Tags: bible,cleaning,god,house cleaning,house keeping,jesus,orderly,prepared,rapture,self control,self discipline,thankful,thanksgiving
