Skeletons in Your Closet

by | Oct 30, 2012 | Uncategorized | 6 comments

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year.  I mean, come on!  Who doesn’t like CANDY??   Candy corn happens to be my favorite treat and considering my family is on our sixth bag this season…well, let’s just say we started a little early this year!

What I don’t like about Halloween is all of the nasty skeletons.  Yuck!  They are creepy, scary and most certainly, unattractive!  And the skull is what frightens me the worst.  The hollowed out eyes staring at you no matter where you are in the room…talk about a Scooby Doo episode.  Jinkees!!

Sadly, most of us have had skeletons in our closets at one time or another in our lives!  Those boney, hideous creatures terrify us, hold us captive and have nothing to do with Halloween!

Skeletons are akin to sin.  We would like to stuff them away in a dank, dark space never to be seen again…but, they just keep rearing their ugly head!

James puts it simply – “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17

The crazy truth is that the more we try to hide our sins, the more we sin!!  We end up lying about the sin, denying the sin and wasting a whole lot of energy covering up the sin.

God gives us an alternative.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

It’s just that simple.

When we place our trust in Jesus Christ, we encounter the One who conquered sin.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation…. God made him (Jesus Christ) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2Corinthians 5:17-21

Thank you, Jesus!!

Don’t let the menacing boogie man lurk behind dark doors or hide in your clothes’ closet.  TURN THE LIGHT ON!  Shine the light of Jesus Christ on the secret places of sin in your heart and run those skeletons OUT of town!!!!

Clearly, sin is something we all have to deal with, but hiding them only makes the job that much harder!   Here are a few ways to open up the closets and let the skeletons out…

  1. Review – think of your sins.
  2. Reveal – tell God about each and every sin.
  3. Repent – ask for God’s forgiveness and courage not to sin.
  4. Repeat – do the above three items as often as needed!!!

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6

God has the power to SAVE US from the skeletons in each of our closets.  YIPPEE!

Tomorrow as you enjoy the treats of Halloween, remember that you have the opportunity to SHOW and SHINE the love of Jesus Christ to many of God’s children.

Please hand out some of God’s love along with your Halloween candy!!!

Some Wisdom for Today:  Proverbs 5:21 – For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths.

6 Comments

  1. Jason

    Wow! You are good. You seem to hit on things that are in my wheel-house quite often. When I truly gave my life to Christ, quite late in this life, things started coming to me about the person that I was that I never really thought about before now. These include things that I did years ago that I now really regret. Trust me, there is a skeleton army out there. One that particularly bothered me was my relationship with my first college roommate. I was running headlong into sin like a convict that just busted out of prison. Moving away from Mom & Dad for the first time can do that to someone or at least give them the excuse that they were looking for. By luck of the draw (or perhaps Divine Providence) my roommate was a devout Christian and was truly walking a different path. Perhaps God was trying to draw me closer to Him. Conversely, maybe He just wanted to galvanize my roommate’s resolve and Faith! Over that year of school, I did a lot of things that I now regret and I will certainly not expound on here. God never let me forget. About 2 months ago, I started looking for my old roommate and was unsuccessful in finding him. No Facebook page, no trail from the Baptist Student Union at the University, no Google results, nothing. I was starting to fear that he might not be alive anymore and I would not have the opportunity to tell him that I was sorry for all of the things that I had done. Last week, I paid an Information service on-line and they were able to get me some additional info that led me too him. We actually spoke last Thursday. I was able to ask him to forgive me for all that I did and thankfully he accepted my apology and forgave me. 21 years later, I was able to do the right thing and I finally feel like I can close that chapter. We actually have a lot in common now and we are going to try to get together for lunch or coffee sometime in the future. While asking for forgiveness did not make everything alright, it did make me feel like I had done everything that I could to try to heal a scar in my life and someone elses. It is never too late to try to do the right thing. The rest of the skeleton army is still out there, but I am going to try to take them on even if it is one at a time.

    Reply
    • meghays

      That is fabulous, Jason!!! What an amazing experience you just had and I’m sure your ex-roommate is still in shock 🙂 Actually, being a Christian, he is probably smiling and thanking God for doing such an awesome work!!! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing!

      Reply
      • Jason

        I could tell there was some nervousness in his voice when I called. I am pretty sure that I was the last person he expected to hear from last Thursday. I am amazed at the work that God is doing all around us and through us. He will use His people that are receptive and obedient. My old roommate has actually been going through a tough time in his life lately, so perhaps this was all set up to encourage him? I don’t know, but it is exciting to be a part of it. To God be the Glory!

        Reply
  2. jenni

    Boy, am I glad I came over to read today, Meg! I agree with Jason, you’re so often talking about something that I’m dealing with inside. Just this week I had realized a bad habit of mine that I wanted to lay down…a skeleton…a way of interacting that’s not healthy. I’m thankful to God that He’s going to replace it with gratitude instead. And Jason, experiences like you’ve shared here encourage me. I think your effort to reach out and willingness to humble yourself and seek your friend are totally evidence that the Holy Spirit is alive, moving, and working in your life. What a blessing to read what you’ve both said here! 🙂

    Reply
    • meghays

      You encourage me, Jenni!!! I’m blessed to have such a faith-filled friend!!!

      Reply
    • Jason

      Thanks for your kind words! As I mentioned in my reply to Meg above, I feel like God puts certain things on His people’s hearts to say or talk about that is targeted to encourage someone else. That obviously includes Meg by bringing relevant messages to her subscribers. He knows everyone so intimately and knows what makes us all tick! He loves us all with a love that we can’t begin to comprehend. God is in the Changing-Hearts business and I know that He will be there for you in your struggle as well. Ask for His help in earnest prayer and He will give you the strength that you need.

      Absolutely, the Holy Spirit is Alive and Well. I find it sad that it seems that many people don’t have encounters with God in that manner including professed Christians. I have read several books including Charles Swindoll’s “Embraced by the Spirit” and I am currently reading Blackaby’s “Hearing Gods Voice” which both lay out Scripturally why that does not happen and what needs to take place before He will move within us. For us to be useful to Him, we need to be repented of all sin, be humble, listen for His Words, and lastly, be Obedient (always the toughest one!). With His strength, I hope that we can all be Faithful (and I am aiming much of that statement at me!). Just as in the Parable of the Talents, when you prove to Him that you can be trusted with what He has given you, you will be entrusted with More! Now THAT is life More Abundant!!

      Again, to God be the Glory for all that He has done!

      Reply

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