I was sharing with someone recently in a follow up discussion to one of my posts ,about a time my wife and I attempted to get serious about decluttering our house back in Texas. And this was well before moving to California was anywhere close to being on our radar.

You just tend to collect a lot of ‘stuff’ over the years, especially when staying in one place for an extended period of time like we did. And we had a pretty good sized house then too. For some reason, I agreed to start the process in a closet located in my ‘office’ which is where I stored a lot...of stuff. And it was easy for Kathy to just start rummaging through asking...”Why do you need this?”, or...”this can go , right?” I found myself quickly vetoing her on every suggestion. It became apparent, rather quickly...that I was not that serious about wanting to ‘declutter’.

Friends...this is pretty much what ‘boot camp’ entails when we first come to Jesus and ‘supposedly give Him our whole heart’. In fact, I have come to believe from all I read in scripture that the process of ‘abiding in Jesus’ cannot even begin until we have surrendered our whole heart to Him. That is what it means to ‘come to Jesus’, in order that we ‘might have life’. (John 5:40). Only then...will the ‘veil be removed’ from our eyes ...after we ‘turn to the Lord’. (2 Cor. 3:16). What ‘veil’, you ask? Read the next chapter there, vs. 3-4.

This next statement may hurt some feelings, but we need to be reminded that God does not ‘need...our skills, talents, or gifting’ in order to build His kingdom. He needs our heart – as in ALL. OF. IT. What is the greatest commandment that sums up the whole ‘law’? We are to love the Lord our God with ALL...our heart, soul, and mind’. (Matt. 22:37-40).

So regardless of what motions you went through when you first did this, or regardless of the setting or location this took place when you ‘thought’ you gave your heart to Jesus, God took you at your word and was ready to being the process of ‘de-cluttering’ your heart. Oh, what was in your heart that needed to come out? Take a look at Mark 7:20-23. You will also find a more exhaustive list of these ‘carnal traits’ in Rom. 1:28-32 and Gal. 5:19-21.

Please note in both passages, Paul seems to explain why this is such a serious matter. People who ‘practice such things are deserving of death, (32) and those who continue to practice these things “will NOT inherit the kingdom of God”.(21).

It really does not matter what you were taught previously; I am simply pointing out to you what God’s word has to say about all this, and many of us ‘fell asleep’ or ‘drifted’. (Matt. 25:5; Heb. 2:1). So when God begins to deal with, and point out these areas in our hearts that we need to acknowledge, confess, and then repent of (turn from), He is as serious as a heart attack. He means it, and if we don’t repent, we will all ‘likewise...perish’. (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 3:22-23). This is the process of ‘putting the old man to death’; or as I call it: ‘boot camp’. And just like any other ‘boot camp’, there will be some ‘suffering’ involved; but that is the process we must undergo if we ever expect to ‘cease from sin’. (1 Pet. 4:1-2)