Renovation

They're replacing the carpet in my office so I had to take everything out. I'm still at my desk, but it will have to go soon. Everything else is gone. Books, boxes, credenza, stuff in my desk. Everything has to be cleaned out. Thankfully, they aren't going to paint, but I feel as if the whole place is being renovated. Junk is everywhere!
Hmmm. Do you see a spiritual application? When we turn our lives over to Jesus, a major change has to occur. Old has to be emptied out in order for Him to replace it. Sometimes there is junk everywhere...and it is so painful.
A few years ago I was in Vladivostok, Russia. There I studied with a welder who worked very hard every day. He'd come to our evening sessions extremely tired, but he wanted to hear the gospel. After studying with him and showing him Christ, he wanted to become a disciple. He was baptized (That's another long, interesting story!) He wrote me a letter that my translator put into English for me. He talked of becoming a Christian and how his life was new again. He said he felt as if he had been renovated. Renovated. We have all kinds of names for it. But I kind of like renovated. It kind of gets it all. Out with the old, in with the new. Some stuff you do get to keep, but other--the most damaging stuff--is gone forever.
So, soon we'll back to normal here. We'll once again be back at our desks, doing what needs to be done, and we'll be renovated. I hope it happens more and more every day. "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." Have a great day! JW