Dilapidated Houses and Dynamite

How many times have you been driving down the highway and found your eyes drawn to one of those ancient, run-down, farm houses along the way? Then when you see them, how long d0es it take to say the corny one-liner; "Now there's a fix-er-up-er!...?" I admit, I say it all too often just to see my wife roll her eyes. (Don't worry, it's fun...I have no risidual self-image problems)

Fix-er-up-ers are great parallels for those of us who continually feel like our spiritual house could use a little fixing up. No, it's not just my age! Uh-uh, not the pains and aches in various places. It's not the shell. It is the insides, the inner man, the house of the Spirit. The more I make my way down the straight and narrow I see how my heart is way too broad in accepting the thought patterns and behaviors of a decaying culture. My innards, spiritual speaking, need to be repaired constantly. ATTENTION: HELP IS AVAILABLE!!! There is a person with a loaded tool belt ready to go to work. "If any man is in Christ, (the fella with the tool belt and hammer in his hand) he is a new creation. All the OLD is gone, and everything is made brand new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17...Bible) Talk about a refurbishing...whew. It's like a continual remodeling project.

But there is a problem! If you aren't IN CHRIST yet, you need more than a make-over. You need dynamite....you know, the kind that goes....BOOOOOM!....and blows your dilapidation to smithereens. You see, to really find new life, the old one has to die. So, the first step is to turn away from your dilapidation and cover your eyes. When you call on Jesus to make you new, he will make you NEW. Booom.......hammer, hammer.....NEW HOUSE!

Moral of these rantings? A holy stick of dynamite is Goooood!
I'll await the sound of your kaboom! Pastor Jim