A friend of mine once shared a picture of something they were working on at his job.  I could not really tell what it was, but it looked nasty. He explained that what I was looking at was the band which holds the house up they were working on.  The band was rotted in several places. That band has a pretty important job – holding a house up.  But he shared the instructions they received was not to fix or replace the rotted band, just cover it up by replacing what was on top of the band, the outer layer if you will. The part that would be seen by others. So, on the outside the house would look good and solid. Now I do not know how that story ended up, but it certainly made me think.

It gave me a picture of our rot as humans.  Our hearts.  Pretty important job our hearts have – not only physically but in how we live and honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  It is where the “change” is made in us when we are born again.  If  we don’t truly repent (turn away from) and clean our heart up with God, and even after we are saved if we don’t clean up our “issues” (continuing sin) with God, our heart is NOT healed (fixed). The rot is just covered up and it will seep through. If we do not truly walk it through and all we do is brush it under the rug thinking that is all we have to do.  Make the outside look good. If we don’t address the sin (rot) and just “fix” the outside like the team working on that house with the rotten band were talking about doing, then all we are doing is covering it up and the rot will seep through.  And just like with that house, it will become evident in our lives what shape our hearts are in. 

Much more work will have to be done to that house to keep it standing and safe but until the root of the rot (band) is fixed it will just be patch work with no real change.  Outside changes are awesome, but until you change the inside, it is not real change and you are just patching things to make the outside look good to get by.  But it will not stand the test, my friend.  When the inside, the foundation, is cleaned (fixed) the outside will come together as you grow, and it will be lasting and real. 

“Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.”  Matthew 23:26.

The One who matters, He sees the inside.  He knows.

He is the only way to receive the cleansing of your heart.  Do you feel the Lord calling you today?  Answer Him.  There is not a specific thing you have to say. If He is revealing Himself to you, all you have to do is accept Him. Accept His gift of salvation. Accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invite Him into your heart to be your Savior. 

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Matthew 10:9-10

I pray that if you have felt His invitation that you respond to it!  You can reach out to the ChurchDirect.Net Ministry via phone
(866) 971-0111 or private message if you would like to speak to someone. 

Finding My Way,

Sheri