Remodeling God’s House
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
1 Corinthians 3:16
The two most important things I have learned in my life are: Number one, Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. And number two, if Momma ain’t happy there ain’t nobody happy.
The other day, I heard a terrible slamming noise from the kitchen. I walked in and my wife, Amanda, was slamming a cabinet door. I could tell from the expression on her face that she was upset. I asked, “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” She glared at me and growled, “Nothing.”
Amanda and I grew up together. I have known her for many years. When she says that “nothing” is wrong, it means that something is terribly wrong. It usually means that I messed up somehow. Furthermore, it means I should know what I did to mess things up.
My mind began to race. What did I do? I was pretty sure that I had not forgotten a birthday or an anniversary. I took out the trash. I put the toilet seat down. What did I do? Then it hit me. She is upset about the kitchen.
When Amanda and I moved to Fort Scott, Kansas, we purchased a Victorian House that was built in 1887. The kitchen had been remodeled numerous times over the years. It is in desperate need of remodeling again. Amanda was not happy with the old kitchen. So, I went to work. For the past two weeks, I have been remodeling the kitchen.
Remodeling is different from building a new home. When you build a new home, workers go out and pour a slab. Then they begin the construction. The great thing about building a new house is you live somewhere else while all the construction is happening. The difficult thing about remodeling a house is you live there during the construction.
When you remodel, you must take some things out before you can put in the new. It gets messy. It is messy when you tear apart a home while you are living there so you can rebuild the inside and make it more beautiful.
Amanda and I have completely remodeled five homes since we have been married. We have ripped up floors. Then we have put new tile and new wood floors in the place of the old. We have torn out walls. Then we have hung new sheetrock. We have ripped out cabinets. Then we have hung new ones. While we were doing the remodeling, we lived in all that mess.
The Bible says if you are a Christian, then you are the house of God. Do you need to take some things out of your life as part of God’s remodeling project? Put down that beer. Don’t smoke that joint. Turn off that pornography. Don’t go to bed with that person. Refuse to give up on your marriage. Get out of that alternative lifestyle. Quit telling those lies. Say, “no” to sin.
Remember, it is messy when you remodel. Giving up those sins will be messy. The devil wants you to stay trapped in sin. He will throw everything he can at you to keep you in sin. The devil wants you to stay addicted. The devil wants your marriage to end. The devil wants you to be defeated. But the Holy Spirit lives within you. Greater is He that is within you, than he that is in the world.
The point is: Everyone could use a little remodeling. Allow God to do an extreme makeover from the inside out. Let the Lord transform you today.
Pastor James Collins serves at Fort Scott’s First Southern Baptist Church. He can be reached at (620) 223-2986 or through the webpage www.thepointis.net.