My wife usually has to remind me to take out the garbage on trash pick-up days. It’s not one of my favorite jobs, but I muster up the determination 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 till the following week.

Just as we need trucks to pick up the garbage that accumulates in our homes, we need to let Jesus remove the “trash” that inevitably accumulates in our hearts. When we forget to take out the trash, it’s not a pretty picture. Jesus wants us to dump it regularly at the foot of the cross. In fact, He has promised to remove it and forget it.

But wait a minute! Could we be rummaging through the cans, trying to find that thing we weren’t quite ready to part with? A sinful habit we don’t want to give up, a fantasy we want to cling to, a revenge that we still want to ignite? Why are we wanting to hang on to the garbage?

Taking out the trash begins with confession, and then counting on Jesus to get rid of it. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Today is garbage day. Take it out and then leave it there!  — Joe Stowell