I'm never quite sure what I am going to say, Lord......but, during the sermon on Sunday, when we were asked what we would do if we heard Jesus was going to stop by.....(at our house).....I giggled along with some others that I'd do some quick cleaning up!  Yeah....cleaning up, alright!  I wonder if dishes in the sink or a dirty floor compare with a yucky spirit in my heart about someone or some thing.  It is funny how the enemy can deter our progress in our Christian walk with unessential worries and fear of how folks perceive my spiritual acuity.  Is acuity the right word, Lord?  I guess I have always thought that my "spiritual-ness" was a little more perfected than it really is.  Oh, dear One.  That sounds so awful.  So.....full of self.  So......unlike You.  I'm so sorry to be so human.  I guess, regrettably so.....that I am as human as everyone else.....fallible to all the outside energies that try to subvert my attention.  Lord, my job is to honor You.  To be as much like You as humanly possible.  Another responsibility I have, is to allow my self, ample room to move and breathe, think and speak.....but, cautious in my interaction with others.  To be responsible in my advice.  To live and think and act towards those I am to be an example to, thoughtful words and consideration of their own fallibility's.  Lord, it is not my job to fix the lives of those I come in contact with.  My job, I think, is to love as You would. To be empathetic and  open to Your words for us.  Oh, Lord?  Is is possible for us to love as You do?  That seems so far fetched for us to do.   

The small irritations that bug us as humans....the things that build up because we do nothing.....and then, we snap.  Perhaps we have been recipients of a deep held secret.....and one day, it slips out.  A lie......white or black.....they are all the same.  A snarky comment about another......a failure to hold our tongue when You nudge us......and yes, I believe, You have "nudged" me more than once, and I ignored it.  All of these things are not what, by themselves, would be considered huge sins.  But, then, Lord......what is sin?  In Your eyes......I would venture to say that any one thing that has the ability to come between You and me......is sin.

There is a tendency, I guess, to think, we (I), can handle the small stuff.  I will never believe that again, Lord.  You need to run the show, dear One.  I concede the reasoning that I can handle the stuff of life....to You.  I will not try to assess "how big" a sin is.

You, dear One.....are holy.  We have the ability to ask for Your forgiveness and have freedom in that power.  Sin has mired millions for years and years.  Little ones.  Big ones.  They're all the same.....because they do the same damage. To hold to the belief I can save you a little time......I will fail.  You, Lord, are the strength of my life.  My heart is full of love for You.  Give me Your strength.  All I ask.....and speak of to You......I ask in the name of Jesus.

Amen.