Cleanliness Truly Is Next To Godliness....

...a distant second to be exact!

TV commercials may have been helpful to the religious elite back in Jesus day. Maybe they could've seen an example of how washing the outside of a dish only leaves the residue of the original contents on the inside. I can picture the ad now.....

"Divine Dish Detegent"
Cleanliness truly is next to Godliness

The Scriptures talk, very specifically, about dirty dishes and dirty hands.
"and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.". -Mark 6:4

Certainly nothing wrong with cleanliness, but there are 2 things one must be cautious of in striving to obtain it.

1. Cleanliness is next to Godliness - ...It had better be, lest we end up like the Pharisees. Cleanliness should ONLY be next to Godliness! Had their priorities been straight, much more; their own hearts been right with God, this act of cleansing would surely be an act of worship to the Lord. But their un-circumcised "hearts" had left them filthy.

While in Kenya in 2009, a few of our team (..all pastors..) were working with, and had just been worshipping with, many Kenyan pastors at a conference in Mwingi. The dusty surroundings , and really a pre-departure call for hand cleansing agents, called for, on this dusty, hot, evening, a well-deserved round of Purell shots in the van as our own countrymen left the conference. Like we Westerners so often do ...they held out hands with eager anticipation of removing the grime, the filth of these third-world surroundings. Only one problem; the few Kenyan pastors who had hitched a ride back to their stay-houses were in that van as well. We'll never forget our missionary friend's remark / question once the countrymen were dropped off at their respective residences.... "Did you just tell those men they were dirty?"

Oh the careless automation of our Western-ism!!! With no intent whatsoever, those Kenyans just heard, and saw, us communicate just how dirty and unacceptable their dusty little country is! When we speak without words....it is difficult to take those word-less statements back.

Our own rituals, habits, and traditions surely raised, at least, eye-brows as to our genuine-ness.

2. Cleanliness is next to Unattainable - Really! Romans 3:10 clearly indicates... as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; . In all honesty... there is no true cleanliness within us. Our righteousness is as filthy rags.

In our efforts to be "right with God", let's be sure that we first realize that ...."God is right."

"And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." -Mark 4:9

The Lord has made every possible sanction and plea for us ...short of dragging us un-willingly to Him. He could do just that! When I ask my kids for a hug, and they give it ...I am thankful. When they offer it without my asking ...I am overjoyed. We should hear, and heed, His offer.

Land of The Free, And Chosen

"But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel," -Romans 9:6

I am, much, a patriot. Not necessarily by proxy, not only because of ancestry (though both are factors) ....but by choice, a choice of adherence, and dedication, to a foundational, and fundamental, truth that all men are created equal, with certain inalienable rights ...given to us by our Creator.

These are truths which find their very premise in God's word. To be "American" is, at it's very origin and core, a choice, more so than even a birthright. Case in point ...one does not have to "defect", as it were, if they so choose to seek, and apply for, citizenship elsewhere.

Therefore, it stands to reason that not everyone who calls him / herself "American" is in agreement, or in alignment, with the principles which this sovereign nation holds dear.

In his letter to the church in Rome ...the Apostle Paul makes clear that being a descendant, alone, does not make one "God's chosen". Likewise, Matthew's record of the gospel boldly states... ""Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. -Matt 7:21

This is the, much debated, doctrine of election. Who can become an "American"? Anyone who agrees to her laws. Who are "God's chosen"? Any who will call on His name, seek His face, and turn from (repent) of their wicked ways.

Christian Lawn Care

"But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." -Mark 4:20

Without proper fertilization, water, grooming, and "continued" care ...even the best lawns will be overcome with weeds and undesirable growth, or simply burned up. The same is true with us as we receive God's word. Without continued work and grooming ...our Christianity becomes a mere placeholder; a dead memory of the potential for where God's truth could have been lush. Like a neglected lawn... our faith, without works, truly is "dead".

Be a good steward of God's lawn. Make it a place where others can find rest and not be afraid to walk barefoot.

A Hard Saying

"But many who are first will be last, and the last first." -Matthew 19:30

Easier said than done! That is... to forego what the world offers for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom. I wonder what God thinks of our thoughts of the lowly ..those who have foresaken all... to follow Him? Not for recognition, not even for self-affirmation. Not to quantify or justify money and time spent on academic achievment .....but just for Christ' glory. We think / say they "lack ambition", they have no drive, nor direction. Maybe that's because the're always looking up.

The Means and The End

Following Christ is not a means to an end. He is the means and the end.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." -Revelation 22:13

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -John 14:6

True Humility

Genuine humility moves the focus from "me" to "we", from "I" to "Him".

"So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" -Luke 17:10

False Humility

You'll never have to "downplay" righteousness if you never "play it up" to begin with. This is false humility. "He must become greater, and I must become lesser" ...indeed.

"They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long," Matthew 23:5

Step Up!, But Step Aside.

"Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." -Matthew 9:37-38

Read a great quote from Pastor Marc Driscoll (Mars Hill Church-Seattle)... "Ministry is not what we do for God. It's what God does through us." When we are willing to step aside, while stepping up ...it is then God can use us. Christ has already done the task. We're traffic cops.