“Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:29-30 MSG
In the breath before this one, Jesus had just been explaining to the disciples how exactly to live this free life- in intimacy with the Father. He is telling the disciples to watch him, and promising that he will teach them how to live life in this free and light way.
So we can’t literally see Jesus at the moment, but as I have encouraged us in the book, we have invited him with us on the journey to a clean home and a clean heart. If we haven’t done this, then we might as well forget this bible study and just grab our trash bags and our cleaning supplies and get the work done.
So, I sat down to write some quick tips to motivate us to get started. And as he often does, Jesus rushed in as I called on him and he told me to encourage you with this:
Spring Clean the way Jesus would.
Can’t you just see him now? Like he did when he washed the disciples’ feet… wrapping a towel around his waist, eager to serve, a heart full of love; perfect love for the recipient of this work.
And sisters, this is EXACTLY what I encourage us to do in our homes in the month of April. I am not a cleaning expert. I am a girl wildly and madly in love with Jesus who has been given a home to make into his masterpiece.
I want you talking with Jesus the entire time you are on this journey,
thanking him for your clutter and excess,
asking him who to pass clothes on to,
inviting your children to join in the work, and
praying for the people you are cleaning for.
>>>Now a FREEBIE! For those of you who are not going to buy the book, here is a passage reading/cleaning schedule so you can join in too! >>>Click below!
Ok sister friend, I’m going to pass some wisdom on to you. I do it with the upmost love & concern for your sanity, your marriage, and your family. If your house is in a perpetual mess and you can’t ever get around to cleaning, it may be because
you are too BUSY.
Yes, I said the “B” word. I used to be the queen of busy. Always on the go, doing good, beneficial, fun things for my kids and myself. But last December, I finally decided I couldn’t have it ALL.
Through a lot of prayer and studying God’s word, Jesus confirmed:
There are not enough hours in each week to run around to all these activities AND make my home the haven I want it to be.
He especially used this passage to gently convict and encourage me to cut BUSY out of my life:
“Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” Titus 2:5 NIV
How fitting is it that the NIV translation reads to be “BUSY at home.” It’s the only place I used to not be busy at, because I was so busy running around everywhere else. To dig deeper, let’s check the concordance to see what the author, Paul, was really trying to convey to this group of believers.
Strong’s definition of the original Greek word used by Paul for “to be busy at home” is: a stayer at home, i.e. domestically inclined (a “good housekeeper”):—keeper at home.
Ouch. All spelled out for us, now in plain English; a stayer at home. Now, I want to be clear, I do not not think this means women should not work. If working outside the home is what the Lord has planned for you, you are contributing to your home by doing so. I think it is safe to say what Paul was trying to get across here is for women to make their homes one of their top priorities.
The world has twisted this high calling and made it seem more like a restrictive burden.
The enemy has tried to take beauty out of homemaking and leave an ugly, quick to-do list where a masterpiece was supposed to hang.
Instead of focusing on the never-ending ugly to do list, I started focusing on the beautiful masterpiece I knew God meant for me me to create at home. My thoughts shifted from all that HAD to get done to all the goodness waiting to be cultivated. I decided it was time to carve out time for my home first, and see if there was room left for the rest later.
Here are the activities I ended up cutting out:
~Spontaneous weekly playdates became more like monthly playdates. (Except for my sister who keeps her weekly spot 🙂
~My Wednesday morning zumba/bible study at the YMCA had to stop. I miss it but I am so happy with the peace being at home has created!
~Trips to Target had to be cut back to about once a month. (I do live 3o minutes from the nearest Target, keep in mind).
Do I miss these fun social activities? Yes, at times, but the peace in my home has far out-weighed the benefits these outings used to bring.
When I look back on my life, I want the most abundant, beautiful fruit to be the fruit that grew at home. It takes time to till, sow good seed, pull weeds, fertilize, and prune. But in the end, I know I will look back and see it was worth all the eternal beauty that will be harvested.
Spring cleaning challenge: Look at your schedule for the month of April. Consider what you could take off for the sake of working on a masterpiece–your home. I will be here to cheer you on, leading you to the feet of Jesus at the turn of every corner in your house.
I had my sister join in on the fun and make this funny video for us. Dead bugs on your windows? Toy boxes that won’t close all the way? Dust on your ceiling fan? Join the club ladies. Don’t keep throwing your hands up in defeat. Just stay home and join us in spring cleaning. PLUS- Pray over your entire family and submerse yourself in God’s cleansing word. It’s going to be a very refreshing journey!!!
I have still not “arrived” in keeping house! That is why I am dedicating the month of April to SPRING CLEANING! I hope you will consider joining us here at Refocused Bible Study. The link to the bible study is below. I start blogging through it Monday April 4th!
My college BFF and I were driving home from our other BFF’s wedding in my bright red ’99 Volkswagen beetle, reminiscing about the special weekend we had spent as her bridesmaids and reflecting on our lives in general. It was one of those good long talks that only happen on road trips with the ones you are closest to. Our conversation got pretty deep, and we started talking about God. This was nothing new for us, we both loved Jesus, studied our bibles together, and had grown quite crazy about him since our wilder younger days. But we got into some pretty deep theological discussion this time, and all of the sudden, it hit me.
A dark, heavy feeling of DOUBT.
I silently prayed about it as I heard her continue to speak what was on her heart.
“Lord, am I really asking myself these questions? Are you really REAL? If you are, please show me a sign.”
The thoughts were threatening to suffocate me if I tried to keep them in. So I spoke them.
I asked my friend, “But how do we really know for SURE that Jesus is REAL?”
She very sweetly tried to soothe my anxious heart with her own testimony. As soon as she finished talking, we neared an intersection. I looked up at the road sign between the stoplights. I will never forget what it said:
FAITH.
I was literally at the intersection of FAITH RD and Highway 52 in Salisbury, NC but spiritually I was at the crossroads of faith and doubt. I had whispered to him in my heart to show me he was real, and he did.
Does the bible challenge us to have faith even without seeing? Yes.
But God knows our hearts. He knows when we are having doubts, and he loves us so much, that we can be honest with him and he will meet us where are in our lack of faith.
He did this for Thomas in John Chapter 20:
27 “Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas must have been one those “touchy feely” people; a hands on learner. People usually get caught up calling him the “doubter.”
But if we are all honest, hasn’t everyone gone through what Thomas experienced?
Even if you haven’t doubted Jesus’ existence, have you doubted his POWER in your life?
This is what struck me today as I read this chapter. Am I believing He’s here, listening to my prayers and actively working on my behalf or not?
Do I need to feel the holes in his hands to remember what he did for me and to know since he died for me, there’s no good thing he would withhold from me?
We would all like to be the disciples who heard and believed. But sometimes we follow in Thomas’s footsteps, and we just need a sign! (Sometimes, an actual road sign apparently:)
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
I didn’t actually see Jesus that day. But I knew he was there. I knew he had made sure that I was positioned right under the word spelled out that I needed to see when I doubted. And I know he will do the same for you as well.
Whisper your doubts to him and wait.
I’ve never doubted his existence again.
This post correlates with the Alive! Book of John Journey, found here:
NEW! “SPRING CLEANING for Your Heart and Home” starts here a week from tomorrow! Go to amazon to get your copy in time! I want to purge and clean with some sisters!
“When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.”
John 19:30
This is the verse I saw all over social media today. It is our write it out verse of the day as well.
But what did Jesus really mean when he said this, right before he breathed his last breath?
“It is finished” is derived from one Greek word, “teleo,” which means: complete, execute, conclude, discharge (a debt):—accomplish, make an end, expire, fill up, finish, go over, pay, perform.
“In Jhn 19:30 the word means, “It is finished.” Christ satisfied God’s justice by dying for all to pay for the sins of the elect. These sins can never be punished again since that would violate God’s justice. Sins can only be punished once, either by a substitute or by yourself.”
More specifically, how do these three words make me live my life differently?
Am I still living with a heaviness of guilt when I should be thanking Jesus that IT IS FINISHED?
This was the question I found myself pondering last night as I rewinded the day in my head. After I confessed to Jesus my shortcomings of the day,
I still felt heavy.
Sad.
Sinful.
And I heard Jesus say: IT IS FINISHED. Trade in your heaviness for light heartedness. Trade in your sadness for joy. Trade in your sinfulness for holiness, that I already clothed you in when I called you mine. Thank me that I took the record with all your sins and I nailed it through my flesh.
“He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:14
Thank you Jesus.
This post correlates with the ALIVE! Book of John Journey, found here:
<<<Get ready for Refocused Bible Study’s next series: SPRING CLEANING for Your Heart and HOME! You can purchase the book below at Amazon! The study starts here April 4th! >>>
It’s one of those “church” words that you don’t understand until you put it to practice. We don’t ever use it, until we talk about Jesus.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 ESV
Abide- a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):—abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), thine own.
Abiding is staying connected to Jesus.
I taught my daughter about abiding while we were eating grapes one day.
“Jesus is this part,” I said, pointing to the vine.
“We are this part,” as I pointed to the little branches coming off the much thicker, stronger vine.
“And these are the amazing things that come out of our lives when we stay connected to Jesus,” I said, as I pointed to the grapes.
It stuck. Today, over a year later, as I told her my verse of the day, she said she remembered and she explained it to me like it was the first time I had heard it!
I love how Jesus taught in parables. He knew one day we would need these concrete illustrations to teach our children. He saw this conversation between my daughter and I, even the very day he spoke it. How wild is that?
Sometimes the best way to stay encouraged to abide is to look at past fruit he has produced in your life. Things you know were only produced and sustained by staying connected to Him. Things you wanted to quit on. Things you never would have imagined doing if it hadn’t been for his prompting and provision.
My favorite part about abiding is that is replaces
striving.
You can’t stay connected to Jesus and press on in your own strength at the same time. It’s either his power running through the vine, or you’ve cut yourself off and you are rolling around aimlessly trying to get it done on your own.
So which one are you doing today?
Abiding OR Striving?
Abide in Life Himself today!
See fruit in seasons to come.
This post correlates with the Alive! Book of John Journey, found here:
<<<Don’t forget to purchase your Spring Cleaning Bible Study for April! Click on the pic below to go to amazon and check it out, you will love it!!! It starts here on the blog Monday, April 4th!!!>>>
“Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:29-30 MSG
Amy D Terry 