New Shoes

New Blog Post
It's Not Easy Being Clean
Nothing is more obvious than when your shoes are new.

This probably sounds really stupid right now, but I'll explain. So, whenever someone gets a new pair of shoes, it's really obvious because there aren't any holes, or large scuff marks, or discolorations, or even foul odors. They become very adamant about keeping clean. I mean super adamant, to the point where if you get too close they've already swung at you, but thankfully you moved quick enough. It's true. You never wanna get 'em wet or scuff 'em or anything like that, because if you do they don't have that brand new feeling anymore. Am I the only one who ever felt this way or observed this?

Well, part of the reason we like the shoes is because they're squeaky clean. We just got them, so we haven't had time to mess them up. It's kinda like when God gives us a new heart. When we're first radically changed by God, it's amazing. Talk about squeaky clean. He tells us in Isaiah 1 that He'll wash us white as snow, which is true. But what happens a year or so down the road...

All of a sudden, that new heart's worn out, just like those new shoes. All of a sudden, our heart's have gotten dirty again, and it's time for a change. Only God doesn't have to give us a new heart this time. He just reaches out to clean it up. Maybe that's what you need from God. I know I have for a while. He doesn't just clean it though. You have to ask Him to clean it. You have to repent. Otherwise, he's looking at your shoes with a rag and a bottle of 409, waiting for you to admit that they're dirty. 

I guess the question is just this: does your heart need to be clean? I'll admit mine does, now you must admit to the Lord that you are in need of a clean heart, or a new one if you have not been born again.