It’s Time to Clean House

 [It’s Time to Clean House]( Current Teaching Series [Building Character]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [It’s Time to Clean House]( By Rick Warren — 12/07/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “We must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up.” Hebrews 12:1 (GW) Real change requires cleaning house. If you’re one of those people who can’t find the motivation to get your physical house clean, then cleaning your spiritual house may seem like a bigger task. But this is where you need to use your best energy—because God wants you to spend your life becoming more like him. And becoming more like him sometimes requires you to make difficult changes. The Bible says it like this: “We must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up” (Hebrews 12:1 GW). To decide what you need to clean in your spiritual house, you just have to figure out what needs to change in your life. Ask yourself questions like: What is slowing me down? If you want a healthy body, then maybe you need to keep healthier food in your house or create a meal plan. Or maybe you need to commit to regular exercise, even if you start small with 15 minutes a day. If you want a healthy mind, then you may need to unsubscribe to some magazines or block some channels. You may just need to delete some apps or put healthier boundaries around your screen time. If you want a healthy schedule, then you need to decide what’s most important to you. Then you can eliminate some less-important activities—sometimes even good ones—so that you can focus more on what matters most to you. If you want a clean heart, then you need to spend time in prayer, asking God what you need to confess and then confessing those things. This can be the most difficult step of spiritual cleaning. Through confession, you’re recognizing and rooting out sins that cause unhealthy habits throughout your spiritual house. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:22, “Get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires” (GNT). It’s time to clean house—but it’s not a one-time practice. Just like you have to regularly clean your physical home, you need to make a habit of asking the hard questions to identify what spiritual rooms need a good cleaning. Then, with God’s blessing, you get to work. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Why is it important to spend time in prayer before you try to clean up any area of your life? - In what area of your life do you find it most difficult to make changes? - Spend some time today talking to God about where you need to do some cleaning in your life. Confess your sin to him and ask for grace to do the hard work of change. The post [It’s Time to Clean House]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get the brand-new Daily Hope Prayer Journal when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Make prayer time the best time of your day with the brand-new Daily Hope Prayer Journal! This easy-to-carry hardback journal with a soft-touch cover gives you the tools you need to establish a consistent daily prayer time. It’ll help you connect with the Lord and enjoy a vibrant prayer life as you unlock the keys to praying with passion and purpose. Inside you’ll find 235 beautifully designed pages filled with: • Practical encouragement for your prayer life from Pastor Rick • Sections that guide you to pray for specific people and situations • Space for writing out what God is showing you • Encouraging Bible verses • Gorgeous artwork and inspiring photos Dive into this year’s theme, "Connecting with Jesus: The Source of Living Water," and tap into God’s power and presence as you’re reminded how much God loves you and wants to be an active part of your life. Your generous year-end gift to Daily Hope will be DOUBLED by a $100,000 Matching Grant, helping bring the Good News of God’s love to every nation on earth. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 3 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Building Character. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Making Hard Changes in Me Message 2: How God Tests Your Faith Message 3: Building Character at Work [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2022 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States