My Heart, God’s Home, Part two

The Living Room……

Livinig RoomFrom the front door, we walked into the living room. This room was cosy and comfortable. I liked it. It had a fireplace, comfortable chairs, a sofa, and a quiet atmosphere.

He said, “This is indeed a delightful room. Let us come here often. It is secluded and quiet, and we can fellowship together”

Well, as a young Christian I was thrilled. I couldn’t think of anything I would rather do than have a few minutes with Christ in close companionship.

He promised, “I will be here early every morning. Meet me here, and we will start the day together.”

So morning after morning, I would come downstairs to the living room. He would take a book of the Bible from the case, We would open it and read together. He would unfold to me the wonder of God’s saving truths. My heart sang as He shared the love and the grace He had toward me. These were wonderful times.

However, little by little, this time began to be shortened. I had too much to do. Urgent matters would crowd out the quiet times of conversation with Jesus.

I remember one morning rushing downstairs, eager to be on my way. I passed the living room and noticed that the door was open.

Looking in, I saw a fire in the fireplace and Jesus was sifting there. Suddenly in dismay I thought to myself,  “He is my guest. I invited Him into my heart! He has come as my Saviour and Friend, and yet I am neglecting Him.”

I stopped, turned and hesitantly went in, With downcast glance, I said, “Master, forgive me. Have You been here all these mornings?”

“Yes,” He said, “I told you I would be here every morning to meet with you. Remember, I love you. I have redeemed you at great cost, I value your fellowship. Even if you cannot keep the quiet time for your own sake, do it for mine,”

The truth that Christ desires my companionship, that He wants me to be with Him and waits for me, has done more to transform my quiet time with God than any other single fact. Don’t let Christ wait alone in the living room of your heart, but every day find time when, with your Bible and in prayer, you may be together with Him.

 

My Heart, God’s Home ….Part One

     The original text was by Robert Boyd Munger, but it has been added   to and is hopefully helpful and thought provoking…. we will be going through room by room in the next few weeks and see what we can learn from this parable!

Foreword

“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  (John 14:23, NIV)

    HeartOne evening I opened the door of my heart to Jesus Christ. What an entrance He made! It was a very real experience, and the weight of my sin rolled off my shoulders as He came in. Something had happened at the very centre of my life.   He had been knocking on the door of my heart for some time, and I had been deliberately resisting His knock. How thankful I am that He persisted and kept knocking!

    He kept saying, “Look I’m knocking on your door! if any  one hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3:20)

   He took my load from me, and as He came into the darkness of my heart, He turned on the light; He built a fire on the hearth and banished the chill. He started music where there had been stillness, and He filled the emptiness with His own loving, wonderful fellowship. In the joy of this new relationship I said to Jesus Christ, “Lord, I want this heart of mine, this house of mine,  to be Yours. I  want to have You settle down here and be perfectly at home. Everything I  have belongs to You”.

     I was never more sure of anything else in my young life and I have never doubted that He came in  then to stay. I have never regretted that decision and I never will.

  It proved to be many years before I was willing to let Him be truly Master and Lord of everything in my house! But at the beginning I couldn’t wait to show Him around!

Truth in a Nutshell.

    BIBLE2             There seem to be so many people these days  contracting that dread “C” disease….cancer. A young friend had a brain tumour towards the end of last year and it was only a matter of weeks before he went to be with the Lord. His funeral service was a triumphant testimony to the fact that he knew where he was going, and that all his family knew where he was at that very time…he was rejoicing with his Lord who he had endeavoured to serve in his short time on earth.

Another friend visited a neighbour of his recently who only had a very short time to live. Our friend tried to talk to him about the Lord, but only met with a blank refusal to listen. “I don’t believe that rubbish”, the man said, “when we die we just disappear into the cosmos”.

“Would you like me to get my pastor to come and talk to you?” our friend persisted.

“No, I wouldn’t”, the man said, “I’d be very angry if you did that!” he said definitely and the conversation finished abruptly.

What a sad state of affairs to go into eternity with! It reminded me of this parable that  came through my mail box not so long ago, and is worth passing on again…

Parable of the Unborn Twins.

Wonder if there’s life after birth?              Of course not! Whoever heard of such a thing!

But what if there is? What would it be like?  No one’s ever come back to tell us!

I wonder what it would be like to be free?   At least we know what it’s like here.

Would there be light and food we could eat?  Rubbish! We are adequately fed by the umbilical cord!

Don’t you want to meet Mother?      Mother?       Whoever heard of a mother?

But we can sometimes hear her voice as she talks and sings from up there….

Rubbish! It’s all imagination!

Well, I’d like to meet her and have her hold me in her arms! It would be all light and freedom then!

You do talk a lot of nonsense! I’m going to turn over….ooh, it’s getting awfully tight in here!

Well, I don’t care what you say. If you are right and I’m wrong, we’ve got nothing to lose. But if I’m right and you’re wrong, then there is everything to lose, and I’m positive I’m right!

Can’t we just hear the truth in this parable! People say there is no life after death, no-one has ever come back to tell us, that there is nothing to be set free from and there is no such thing as “God”. As for His Word, the Bible, it is all just imagination, a collection of fairy tales! We think our ideas are the truth of the matter, but what if we WERE wrong? What then? There is everything to lose then, so it pays to search these things out and see what the truth is. God says, “My Word is Truth”; Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Let’s look into these things for ourselves, and then make our decision!