Spring cleaning...

It needs to be done.  It does not matter who you are, what you do, where you live.  
Things get dusty, out of sorts, misplaced and piled up.  It is time to clean out and let it all shine. 

We procrastinate about it, and wonder why things have gotten so out of hand.  For some, they  just assume skip it, and let it all accumulate. 

But wait...I am not even talking about your house!

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Just like this woman, I have already confronted the dirty, ash-flying, hour-long task of cleaning the fireplace.
But unlike her, I was dressed in my "nasty-work" gear. For in the end I was covered in soot, my hands black and smelled like PineSol. It's a messy job but it has to be done and heavens who wants a house smelling of left over burnt wood. 

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But in all honesty, this writing is not about spring cleaning of the house.  
It is about spring cleaning you, from within.  Just like those over-filled closets that need cleaning out, we too, as women of faith must take time to be clean from within.  

Just what am I speaking of?   So glad you asked dear friend. 

It is often so easy to let sins of omission and guilt build up within.  Omission?  
The sin of omission is a sin that is the result of not doing something God’s Word teaches that we should do.   "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."   James 4:17
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A perfect example given by Jesus is in the account of the Good Samaritan.
After a man had been beaten and left in need of help, the first two men to pass by—a priest and a Levite, both of whom knew better—failed to act. The third man, a Samaritan, stopped to show compassion to the man in need (Luke 10:30-37). 
Jesus used this example to teach us that we are to likewise help those in need. By doing so, he clearly communicated that it is sinful to avoid doing good, just as it is sinful to pursue what is evil.

There is often so much that we put before our focus on His work.  We neglect reaching out to others who need to come to know Him, we neglect getting involved in women's ministry  to bond together in serving others;  as the women of the New Testament did.  We neglect praying for those who need to come to know Him.  

We pile up all those things we know we should be doing in His service. 
It is so easy to let sins of omission accumulate.  But we must not!  We are all human and we are all guilty of neglecting what we should be doing as women of faith; time in His service to others and time in prayer.     

Then there are those women who have told me they feel guilty  for not being a better witness for Christ. Many hold guilt within for failed relationships.  All is not in our hands, and often we take on guilt that we really should not. 

So will you "spring clean" your heart closet with me ?  
Open up that heart!  Release all the feelings of guilt that have accumulated within. 

The only way to live free of the burden of guilt is to confess our sins to God. He has promised to “forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

​Let us open up to Him in prayer and confess our sins of omission and guilt. It is such a blessing to come to Him, open up and live free of the burdens.  Let's not let it pile up. 

When we do the will of our heavenly Father (Matthew 12:50), we avoid sins of omission and live productive, fruitful lives pleasing to God (Romans 12: 1-2)
                                                                                                                                       All for Christ!   Jo Wilmer