Trash in Our Lives

My husband preached a sermon today about taking out the garbage. Now, I know that that is not a job most of us love to do. I know I don't. I hate taking out the trash. I hate the smell, I hate the weight of the bag, I hate the mess it makes...but still it is a job that has to be done. We continuously make trash.....but that was not exactly what his sermon was on. His sermon started with with a story told by Max Lucado about a tired, weary woman who was carrying around a bag of trash....and meeting other people carrying around trash as well....finally she meets a man....who tells her what is in the trash....regrets, shame, anger, ....all kinds of nasties. He then tells her to meet him at the dump on Friday to get rid of her trash.....she does....and there are many other people there....with trash to get rid of....each person dumps their trash on the man...and he cries out in agony....til they can see him no more.....no one leaves...they wait....finally....on Sunday....he appears again....clean, neat, and whole. Well, I don't know about you but I have never heard the crucifixion story told like that....and it bothered me....a lot. I wiped away a couple of renegade tears as I sat there and listened to the rest of the sermon...on the edge of my pew. If we don't unload our trash....it just gets heavier, smellier, nastier...and harder to handle....So Frank asked the congregation...."What is in your trash bag?" Well....if someone were to look inside mine...what would they find? I can assure you it is trash that I have been carrying around for years....and buried deep down in the bottom of my trash bag....is a box of special trash....it is the trash I have hidden away so no one can ever find it...and look at it. If they did...they would be ashamed of me....you see...it makes me ashamed of myself. In my life there have been many things I have said, felt, done....that I am not proud of....and over the years they have kept me from being the Christian I should be. Jeremiah 3:25 tells us that "We lie down in our shame-and our reproach covers us for we have sinned against the Lord our God."....yet I know I am not alone in this fact...Romans 3:23 tells me that "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God!" It does not say some, or a few, or Karen only....it says A-L-L!...so with that being said....I should, can, will, must....dump the trash I carry around on a daily basis. Philippians 4:6-7 tells me to "be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." ...Hello...that is a simple command to get rid of it!!!! Jesus died for my sins....all that trash I have carried around for so long....so why should he pay for nothing. I personally am going to get rid of my trash today! I am tired of carrying that stinking mess around. I hope you will choose to do the same thing. I will be praying that you let it go right now and follow me away from the landfill called Mt. Calvary. God Bless You This Week!