Clean it up!

"Clean it up!" My coach used to yell this at us when we were playing a little too relaxed. It was his way of reminding us that we were sloppy, and our little mishaps needed to be "cleaned up." Our focus would get off and therefore we would not be sharp. We would miss balls that we shouldn't, we would make mental errors, and we would just get sloppy. Every team experiences this.

Christian, God's Word calls you to clean up your life, to stay focused on Him, to stay sharp so you don't slip. Evaluate your life to see if your decisions and behaviors reflect a faith in God.

Be careful, though. Some, who don't understand the teachings of the Bible think that God requires us to clean up our lives before we can come to Him. You hear people say things like, "Oh I can't go to church, they'll kick me out of there" or "I've got some issues to take care of first."

1 Timothy 1:15 says, "Christ came to save sinners..."

Christ did not come to die for those who were clean. He came for those who were unclean, and those who recognized that no matter how hard they tried, they could not clean themselves up. In fact, if you read the Gospels (Mat., Mark, Luke, and John) you will find that the people Jesus had the most conflict with were those who thought themselves to be clean (The religious leaders). The truth is that we have all sinned. (Romans 3:23) and that we are all in need of Christ's cleansing.

The encouraging thing is God wants to clean us up. Our responsibility is to respond to Him by believing. With believing, or faith, comes salvation."Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life." John 6:47

Don't be mistaken, though "Christian." There is a false teaching out there which has been named "easy believism." Easy believism is where people say they believe, but there is no evidence in there life that they truly believe. If you truly believe that Jesus is God (who He said He was) there would be a dramatic change in your life. Your faith would be evident by the way you live your life.

God's Word does call us to "Clean it up!" The good news is, He gives us the power to turn away from unrighteousness (sin) once we believe and surrender our lives to Him.