Cleaning Time

After breakfast and group devotions, we spent the morning cleaning the neighboring parking lots and the cafe from top to bottom. It looks so much better. The weird thing is, I really didn't notice how dirty the cafe was until we cleaned it. I believe our lives can often be the same way. We get caught up in the flesh and lose our cleanliness.

Firstly, I don't mean to say that we ourselves are ever perfectly clean here on this earth. I mean that when we are in a state of repentance, the Lord keeps us clean through Christ. Secondly, I don't necessarily mean we get caught up in sin. Sometimes we just get so distracted by the things of this world (i.e., work, school, friends) that we aren't focused on our walk with Christ. We may spend time with Him faithfully every day, but lose focus of Him throughout the day. So we need to spend time every morning letting the Lord have a field day in our hearts. And every day and every thing we do should be done for the glory of God.

So, more than just reading the Bible in the morning we need to seek the Lord and His spiritual "custodial" skills, if you will. What I mean is this: even when we spend time in our devotions in the morning, we often do it out of some feeling of obligation, or we read and pray because we are going through something and are seeking the Lord's will in a situation. We are obligated to read the Word IF, and only if, we desire a close relationship with Him. And seeking His will in our situation is required to live a Godly life.

However, there is much more to spending time with Him. We need to daily allow Christ to crucify our flesh and to fill us with Him. We need to take time to pray "God, I desire You and You desire me. Empty me of me and fill me with You. Keep my eyes focused on you continually so that I don't mess up and remove myself from Your presence. Purify my heart, and make my hands clean so that I can climb on Your mountain and praise You with holy hands." Until we allow Christ to cleanse us with His blood--DAILY--we cannot seek the Lord's will in our lives, we cannot become closer to Christ. Romans 12:1 says to offer our bodies as sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to Him. We must allow Christ to cleanse and renew our hearts and minds; THEN we "will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will." And how can we grow closer to God if He cannot look at us? For God has "hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins" Isaiah 64:7b. Now, we can never focus completely on Christ 100% of the time while we live in this world. But, we are required by grace to seek His face in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. All throughout the day we need to pray for His healing hand to reprimand our sinful flesh and pride spirits. And--Praise His name!--He was, is, and will always be FAITHFUL to Forgive and Forget, to cleanse us every time we seek His mercy.

Now, like Paul, I don't say any of this because I am already at this place in my walk with Christ, but because I 1) seek your accountability and prayers in this area of my walk, 2) seek to grow daily in my walk and my humility, and 3) seek to exhort you all and encourage you. The main reason I write is because the Lord has been convicting ME about this and I believed it good to share with you all. So, please pray for me as I pray for you.

With love,

Kentaro

"Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands." ~ Isaiah 42:12