Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

We have been out of town for the last few days, and I just realized that I did not take the trash can out to the street for pick up. My wife usually has to remind me to take out the trash when it gets full in the kitchen can. It’s not one of my favorite jobs, but I muster up the willpower to get it done and then just do it. Afterward it’s a nice feeling to have it out of the house, and I forget about it for a few days.

I have lived enough life now to realize that just like we need a trash service to pick up the garbage that accumulates in our homes, we also need to let Jesus remove the “trash” that often accumulates in our hearts. When we forget to take out the trash, it’s not a pretty picture. We manage to get ourselves in to a mess from time to time, and we have to walk through this world and all of its junk has a way of clinging to us. Jesus desires for us to drop it off regularly at the foot of the cross. In fact, He has promised to remove it and He chooses to forget it.

But wait a minute! Could we be guilty of digging through the bins, trying to find that thing we weren’t quite ready to part with? A bad habit we don’t want to give up, a fantasy we want to hang on to, a revenge that we still want to fulfill? Why do we want to hang on to the garbage?

Taking out the trash begins with confessing the wrong, and then relying on Jesus to get rid of it. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Today is garbage day. Take out the trash and leave it at the foot of His cross!