Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he came out and told his mother that he had thought it over and said a prayer. His mother said, “Good, if you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you.” Johnny replied, “Oh, I didn’t ask Him to help me not misbehave. I asked Him to help you put up with me.” Johnny did not want to let Christ be in control of his life. He is like another little boy who was overheard praying, “Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a really good time like I am.” Our sinful nature will tell us not to let Jesus be the Lord and Master, not to let Him have control. The devil will work on you to convince you that you can take care of things all by yourself. That is when we need to focus on the cross. Remember the love of God that led Him to send Jesus to that awful death in your place, so that your sins would not be held against you. Your faith in Jesus means He is your Savior. He has saved you from death and everlasting condemnation. The follow-up in your living is to let Him be your Lord, too.

I remember a time long before everyone bought everything online. I was looking for a particular book and had gone to several Christian Bookstores in our area. As I was looking, I came across this title: “Great Heroes of the Bible.” We’ve all used that terminology at some time, speaking of the heroes of the faith. As I thought about that title, “Great Heroes of the Bible,” I realized that was inappropriate. The Bible is not a book about heroes, but about one Hero, the one who became flesh in Jesus the Messiah. The message of the Bible is about God’s grace, not human goodness. The stories in the Bible tell us about sinners, people to whom God reached out in grace to offer undeserved love and forgiveness. This is the message of the Bible that should be shared in your homes.

Home improvement is needed in all homes, whether you a family with children, a single young adult, and older couple, or a widowed person living alone. We all need to work on letting Christ be the Lord of our lives and our homes.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19)

If you want home improvement, don’t pretend to be without sin. Admit your faults. Confess your sins to each other and to God. Extend God’s forgiveness to the ones in your home. Home Improvement will be the result of setting apart Christ as Lord, letting Him be the one in control.