You are thinking, "what on earth are you talking about lady? I'm alive! I don't have dead man's bones!" Do you really? You see, when I was a teen and young adult on more than one occasion I was called "goody two shoes". I was the girl who everyone thought would have it all. I was loved and spoiled by my parents. I had every toy and gadget the day it came out. I had friends and family. I was respectful and treated others kindly. I was sweet, quiet and naive.
Matthew 23:27 says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead en's bones and everything unclean." Still to this day I haven't even been close to drunk, I've never tried any kind of drug, not even a cigarette. On the outside I appeared clean and lovely when in fact I was quite the opposite, my inside still housed dead bones! Friends, that was me, still is at times but I fight like crazy now for it not to be. I wasn't who everyone thought they knew on the outside. As a matter of fact, on the inside I was pretty much the opposite. I have made more bad choices, had more failed relationships and and have had more despair and hardships than any of my friends. Was I saved? Yep! Did I truly rely on God to guide and control my life? Nope! I was a Christian...I believed in God. Was I going to let Him control my life? Why? I was doing okay on my own right? Not hardly. Was God trying to get my attention by allowing me to go through trials? You betcha! I am a firm believer that because God is our Heavenly Father, He will not hesitate to spank our bottoms when necessary. I feel as though I have suffered for the most part of 20 years in various aspects of my life like my failed marriage, dealing with a husband with drug and alcohol addiction, an uncle who was touched children inappropriately including myself, a father with an explosive temper among many other problems, 2 husbands infidelity, my mom who way my best friends tragic death 2 days after Christmas, financial problems to the point of bankruptcy, having to move my children to many times to count and I could go on and on and on. Do I regret these trials? No way. They make me who I am today. More importantly, God was trying to get my attention and HE DID! I obviously need to be sifted and shifted and He knew just where to hit me to get my attention! I'm not saying God will intentionally hurt us. I am saying He will allow satan to put us through these things so that we will realize that we need to reevaluate our lives and adjust them to be more in line with God's plan. You see, God had and still has plans for my life. I was relying on the world and myself to make me happy, not my Creator. Just as the inventor who has just created a brand new invention. Who else knows this item more than the one who created it! The One that created you, knows what is best for you. We all need to listen to what He is telling us!
You see, when you are in the midst of doing things you shouldn't do, you just don't see the sin, you just don't see it.
I was trying to think of a good example of how to explain the Matthew 23:27 syndrome when it hit me...I was a Realtor for 2 years. You find your clients this wonderful home, fresh paint, new counter tops and cabinets, new hardwood! Wow, it is magnificent! You are excited that you found their dream home, they couldn't be happier and they decide they want to buy it. Well, for any of you who have every bought a home, your Realtor will advise you (or at lease they had better!) to get an inspection! So it is inspection day, he comes in with his clipboard and pencil, crinkled eyebrows and eye like an eagle! But your are smiling from ear to ear because you just know this one will pass with flying colors! After going through the home with a fine toothed comb, Mr Inspector comes over to you with a list that makes the smile no only recede, it falls right off your face! How can this be?! This must be the wrong inspection report! This house is perfect! It can't have mold in the crawlspace! Termite tunnels! A furnace that needs replaced! And the roof? How can it need replacing, I don't see any stains on the ceiling!
Friends, are you just like that home? I was, still have to fight to not be that home daily. Everyone may not be able to see your stains...but they are there and God can see them. We all have stains and mold. But what are you doing about them?
It's your turn...
Take a look at your life today. Is what you are portraying on the outside the same as it is on the inside? Are you a Sunday Christian only? I was. I called myself a Christian for years and rarely dusted off my Bible or said a prayer of thanks over the food the Lord diligently provided for me day after day. I listened to music that by the worlds rules were "normal" but by God's high standards, was shameful! Is that you? Would the words you use please God? Would your pages on the internet make you blush if Jesus was sitting next to you? You had better look and see because friends... He is sitting next to you. Do you have a myspace? I do, it's http://www.myspace.com/angellahall, does it glorify God? I try my hardest to make sure it does! Does your friends, classmates and co-workers know you are a Christian? If not, that's a problem. You shouldn't have to say a word for people to know you are a Christian. As the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words." I love the quote I heard years ago, it said, "Go out into the world and spread God's word. And every now and then you may have to open your mouth!" Think about it, first impressions are very important.
Evaluate your life today. Make sure you aren't full of dead men's bones. It may be painful, but you won't regret it.
In His Name,
Angie
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His [own] glory, and [in His] Father's, and of the hold angels." Luke 9:26
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