As For Me and My House

Lots of cleaning going on at my house.  Would like to say the "regular fall cleaning"  but it is a bit more than that, especially since I didn't do the "regular spring cleaning"....we are prepping for a wedding!!!  So you can just imagine!

Now some of you may be thinking ahead.."she is going to talk about cleaning the rooms of my heart", which would be a good one...or "cleaning out the clutter of our lives"...another good one...and maybe it will tie in. BUT you have come to know my brain....
I had washed an artificial vine ( the only kind that can grow in my home) and putting it back around the large mirror that centers the wall....there is also wall art stickers....one says our family name and the other..."Christ is the head of this home"  it was given to me by a very dear sweet friend and it has become the focal point to our home...the wall is the first thing people see when you enter my house and it overlooks our kitchen table...where family and friends gather for food and fellowship, frequently.
But it got me thinking.  Does Christ rule this house?....this one built of wood and sheetrock?

But even more than that, "this home",  my body, the being that houses my soul?
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5

It is my prayer everyday that I am ruled by Christ!
I give my body to Him to be used in His service.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2
I believe that if I am ruled by Christ then there is a better chance this home will be too.

And maybe you are the only one in your household who is ruled by Christ..but you would like your home to be....it starts with you...YOU allow the presence of Christ to be evident in you....and it will permeate your household.

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”    They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”  Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.  The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. Acts 16:29-34
We have the ability to influence our household with our faith...

 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”   The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”   Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed. John 4: 49-53

...with whom we choose to put first....

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:15-20

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.   See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.   For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,  and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority  Colossians 2:6-10

So ..yes a "big cleaning" ties in....clear away anything that might be hindering you from allowing Christ to be your "Head",  your "Ruler".   You want nothing to creep in and grow, nothing to get in the way of allowing Christ to rule your Spiritual house , and your home.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.   Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms,hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 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. Colossians 3:12-17

It is up to YOU whether or not you have peace in your house, because it is up to you WHO rules your heart, and then your home.  

 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house"   Luke 10:5

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

                            AMEN!