Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

SATURDAY JULY 1


CLEANING HOUSE

TODAY’S READING
1 Peter 1:22-2:5
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Recently, I switched rooms in the home I rent. This took longer than expected, because I didn’t want to simply transfer my (extensive) mess to a new room; I wanted a completely fresh and uncluttered start. After hours and hours of cleaning and sorting, bags of stuff sat by the front door to be thrown away, donated, or recycled. but at the end of this exhausting process was a beautiful room I was excited to spend time in.

My housecleanig project gave me a fresh perspective when reading 1 Peter 2:1, as paraphrased in the Message: “So, clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy, and hurtful talk.” Interestingly, It’s after a joyful confession of their new life in Christ (1:1-12) that Peter urges them to throw away destructive habits (1:13-2:3). When our walk with the Lord feels cluttered and our love for others feels strained, this shouldn’t cause us to question our salvation. We don’t change our lives to be saved, but because we are (1:23).

As real as our new life in Christ is, bad habits learned do not disappear ovrnight. So, on a daily basis, we need to “clean house,” throwing away all that prevents us from fully loving others (1:22) and growing (2:2). Then, in that new, clean space, we can experience the wonder of being freshily built (v.5) by Christ’s power and life.
__Monica brands

**Heavenly Father, thank You for the new life You are building in us
through our Lord Jesus. Help us to daily turn to You for
cleansing and renewal.
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Every day we can reject destructive habits and experience new life in Jesus.