Spring is approaching here in SE British Columbia. The buds are coming out on the trees, birds are chirping and with that comes my annual urge to clean! The winter months have been long and I am itching to refresh my home with the sights and smells that come with the first signs of spring. I'm sure that this urge comes from childhood memories of mother's spring cleaning. I know it may seem old fashioned to some, but in my mind there is nothing better than to scrub away the grudge that has accumulated over the long winter months. I reach into every dark corner of my home in an effort to make it feel fresh and new. It is a lot of work but the reward of a fresh clean home with everything in order is well worth the effort.

Then it's time to move outside. I love to pull all the dead grass away and get the flower beds and vegetable garden ready for new plants. The smell of the fresh turned soil and the promise of new growth are wonderful. It is sure to make me smile!

Sometimes we need to do the same thing with our spiritual house and surroundings. Just like the season of winter, our spiritual winters can leave us discouraged, lonely, and sometimes isolated. It is easy for us to grow stale and need a spiritual freshening up. The dust, dirt, mold, and weeds of life creep in. We need to scrub away the grudge, dejunk and pull out the weeds.  We should always remember Who is dwelling in our spiritual house with us.  We who have claimed the greatest gift have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Where He resides there is no room for the clutter of a spiritual winter and the weeds & junk of the world. We are to remove them.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."  2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Just think about that for a moment; isn't that an amazing picture of the new life that spring gives us?

Now imagine the smell of a freshly mopped floor or the first lilac bush blooming.                               That is how fresh and fragrant our Lord would have us be.

"Now thanks be unto God, who leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ, among those who are being saved, and those who are perishing."  2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NKJ

You may have been through a long hard winter. Maybe you have accumulated that grudge in the crevasses, hallways and walls of your heart.  Hurts, anger, selfish desire and bad habits may be tucked into our spiritual closets.  Is it time to do a thorough cleaning?  Our loving God desires to do a new thing in us!

"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." Isaiah 43:19 NLT

So you may ask, "How are we to go about this spiritual housecleaning?"

v      Get rid of junk - those hurts, anger, selfish desires, bad habits. If it's something you should keep in your life it will pass the following guidelines of Philippians 4:8 NLT
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

 v      Scrub away the grudge- When you clean your house you know what supplies you work for you such as scrub brushes, mops, and brooms and various cleaners that are specific to the task at hand. For our spiritual house it's much simpler. There is only one cleaner needed. God's word and He will supply the good old elbow grease if you allow Him. 
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."   Hebrews 4:12