Get Your House in Order

Yesterday was a day of house cleaning for me.  With the impending hurricane(s) I felt that I needed to get my house in order.   Why...because you never know.  We have what we call a 'game room' they had cleaned it, but it was only surface-clean.  Once I walked all the way into the room, could see stuff under the couch, in the corners, etc.  Obviously, a trashcan was not one of the cleaning tools they used.  I tell them all the time, that "Cleanliness is Godliness."  After repeating the saying it four or five times yesterday, I wanted to be able to say where it was from--like what book and verse--so I looked it up!  To my surprise, "Cleanliness is Godliness," is not a scripture, or even a derivative of one!  I've been repeating it like it was in Proverbs, for years!

Through my research, I found that I have actually been saying it wrong, it's "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." According to GotQuestions.org, the saying it is found in the Babylonian and Hebrew religious tracts.  A version of this saying was found in the writings of Sir. Francis Bacon (1605) and later in 1791 John Wesley wrote, "Slovenliness is no part of religion.  Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness."

This new knowledge made me wonder about my desire to, "get my house in order."  Is that a scripture?  In fact, it is, but my use of it...Hmmm!  In 2 Kings 20:1 NIV it states, "In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death.  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."  

I imagine I was not the only person watching the forecasts and making preparations for Hurricane Irma.  I probably was not the only person attempting to wash all the laundry in case the water went off; cleaning out the refrigerator in case the power went off, cooking the food that was in the freezer so it wouldn't spoil.  While these things are good to do, I believe this verse speaks to something bigger than our place of earthly residence.  The "house" that needs to be ready is one's life, one's heart, one's soul.  And there is only one thing that must be done to get one's house in order--make the decision to believe.  Of course we must then learn to study our Bible, pray, and live a life that is pleasing unto the Lord, but first we must make the decision to believe.  

How many of us know someone we think was gone too soon?  Was their house in order?  Had they made the decision to put their faith in God?  Did they know Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour?   In this verse, Hezekiah receives a message from the Lord that he would soon die, that he should put his house in order.  We never know the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36) so we must be ready.  The decision to believe in Christ Jesus is a decision that must be made while we are still living, in fact, I would testify that the decision actually makes for a much better life, one of peace and joy.     

Is your house in order?