My Heart Christ's Home

Part 5)

My heart, Christ's home, by Robert Boyd Munger

The Workroom
Before long, He asked, "Do you have a workroom in your home?" Down in the basement of the home of my heart I had a workbench and some equipment, but I was not doing much with it. Once in a while I would play around with a few little gadgets, but I wasn't producing anything substantial or worthwhile. I led Him down there.
     He looked over the workbench and what little talents and skills I had. He said, "This is quite well furnished. What are you producing with your life for the Kingdom of God?" He looked at one or two little toys that I had thrown together on the bench and held one up to me. "Are these little toys all that you are doing for others in your Christian life?" "Well," I said, "Lord, that is the best I can do. I know it isn't much, and I really want to do more, but after all, I have no skill or strength to do more." "Would you like to do better?" He asked. "Certainly," I replied. "All right, let me have your hands. Now relax in me and let my Spirit work through you. I know that you are unskilled, clumsy and awkward, but the Holy Spirit is the Master-Worker, and if He controls your hands and your heart, He will work through you." And so, stepping around behind me and putting His great, strong hands over mine, controlling the tools with His skilled fingers He began to work through me.
     There's much more that I must still learn and I am very far from satisfied with the product that is being turned out, but I do know that whatever has been produced for God has been through His strong hand and through the power of His Spirit in me. Do not become discouraged because you cannot do much for God. Your ability is not the fundamental condition. It is He who is controlling your fingers and upon whom you are relying. Give your talents and gifts to God and He will do things with them that will surprise you..
The Rec Room
I remember the time He asked me about the playroom. I was hoping He would not ask about that. There were certain associations and friendships, activities and amusements that I wanted to keep for myself. I did not think Christ would enjoy them or approve of them, so I evaded the question.
     But there came an evening when I was on my way out with some of my friends, and as I was about to cross the threshold, He stopped me with a glance and asked, "Are you going out?" I replied, "Yes." "Good," He said, "I would like to go with you." "Oh," I answered rather awkwardly. "I don't think, Lord Jesus, that You would really want to go with us. Let's go out tomorrow night. Tomorrow night we will go to prayer meeting, but tonight I have another appointment." He said. "That's alright. Only I thought that when I came into your home, we were going to do everything together, to be close companions. I just want you to know that I am willing to go with you." "Well," I said, "we will go someplace together tomorrow night."
     That evening I spent some miserable hours. I felt wretched. What kind of a friend was I to Jesus when I was deliberately leaving Him out of my associations, doing things and going places that I knew very well He would not enjoy? When I returned that evening, there was a light in His room, and I went up to talk it over with Him. I said, "Lord, I have learned my lesson. I can't have a good time without You. From now on we will do everything together." Then we went down into the playroom of the house and He transformed it. He brought into life real joy, real happiness, real satisfaciton, new friends, new excitement, new joys. Laughter and music have been ringing through the house ever since.

My Heart Christ's Home

(Part 4)

My heart, Christ's home, by Robert Boyd Munger

The Living Room
     We walked next into the living room. This room was rather intimate and comfortable. I liked it. It had a fireplace, overstuffed chairs, a sofa, and a quiet atmosphere. He also seemed pleased with it. He said, "This is indeed a delightful room. Let us come here often. It is secluded and quiet, and we can fellowship together." Well, naturally 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 intimate 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 and He would take a book of the Bible from the bookcase. He would open it and then we would read together. He would tell me of its riches and unfold to me its truths. He would make my heart warm as He revealed His love and His grace He had toward me. These were wonderful hours together. In fact, we called the living room the "withdrawing room." It was a period when we had our quiet time together. But, little by little, under the pressure of many responsibilities, this time began to be shortened. Why, I'm don't know, but I thought I was just too busy to spend time with Christ. This was not intentional, you understand; it just happened that way. Finally, not only was the time shortened, but I began to miss a day now and then. It was examination time at the university. Then it was some other urgent emergency. I would miss it two days in a row and often more. I remember one morning when I was in a hurry, rushing downstairs, eager to be on my way.
   As I passed the living room, the door was open. Looking in, I saw a fire in the fireplace and Jesus was sitting there. Suddenly in dismay I thought to myself, "He was my guest. I invited Him into my heart! He has come as Lord of my home. And yet here I am neglecting Him." I turned and went in. With downcast glance, I said, "Blessed 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." Then I was even more ashamed. He had been faithful in spite of my faithfulness. I asked His forgiveness and He readily forgave me as He does when we are truly repentant. "The trouble with you is this: you have been thinking of the quiet time, of the Bible study and prayer time, as a factor in your own spiritual progress, but you have forgotten that this hour means something to me also. Remember, I love you. I have redeemed you at great cost. I value your fellowship. Now," He said, "Do not neglect this hour if only for my sake. Whatever else may be your desire, remember I want your fellowship!" You know, the truth that Christ desires my companionship, that He loves me, wants me to be with Him, wants to be with me 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 some time when, with your Bible and in prayer, you may be together with Him.

My Heart Christ's Home

(Part 3)

My heart, Christ's home, by Robert Boyd Munger

The Dining Room
From the study we went into the dining room, the room of appetites and desires. Now this was a very large room. I spent a good deal of time in the dining room and much effort in satisfying my wants. I said to Him, "This is a favorite room. I am quite sure You will be pleased with what we serve." He seated Himself at the table with me and asked, "What is on the menu for dinner?" "Well," I said, "my favorite dishes: money, academic degrees and stocks, with newspaper articles of fame and fortune as side dishes." These were the things I liked - worldly fare. I suppose there was nothing radically wrong in any particular item, but it was not the food that should satisfy the life of a real Christian. When the food was placed before Him, He said nothing about it. However, I observed that He did not eat it, and I said to Him, somewhat disturbed, "Master, don't You care for this food? What is the trouble?" He answered, "I have meat to eat that you do not know of. My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me." He looked at me again and said, "If you want food that really satisfies you, seek the will of the Father, not your own pleasures, not your own desires, and not your own satisfaction. Seek to please Me and that food will satisfy you." And there at the table He gave me a taste of doing God's will. What a flavor! There is no food like it in all the world. It alone satisfies. Everything else is dissatisfying in the end. Now if Christ is in your heart, and I trust He is, what kind of food are you serving Him and what kind of food are you eating yourself? Are you living for the lust of the flesh and the pride of life - selfishly? Or are you choosing God's will for your meat and drink?

My Heart Christ's Home

(Part 2)

My heart, Christ's home, by Robert Boyd Munger

The Library
       The first room was the study - the library. Let us call it the study of the mind. Now in my home this room of the mind is a very small room with very thick walls. But it is an important room. In a sense, it is the control room of the house. He entered with me and looked around at the books in the bookcase, the magazines upon the table, the pictures on the walls. As I followed His gaze I became uncomfortable. Strangely enough, I had not felt badly about this before, but now that He was there looking at these things I was embarrassed. There were some books were there that His eyes were too pure to behold. There was a lot of trash and literature on the table that a Christian had no business reading, and as for the pictures on the walls - the imaginations and thoughts of the mind - these were shameful.
        I turned to Him and said, "Master, I know that this room needs a radical alteration. Will you help me make it what it ought to be? - to bring every thought into captivity to you?" "Surely!" He said. "Gladly will I help you. First of all, take all the things that you are reading and looking at which are not helpful, pure, good and true, and throw them out! Now put on the empty shelves the books of the Bible. Fill the library with Scriptures and meditate on then day and night. As for the pictures on the walls, you will have difficulty controlling these images, but here is an aid" He gave me a full-size portrait of Himself. "Hang this centrally," He said, "on the wall of the mind." I did, and I have discovered through the years that when my thoughts are centered upon Christ Himself, His purity and power cause impure thoughts to back away. So He has helped me to bring my thoughts into captivity. May I suggest to you if you have difficulty with this little room of the mind, that you bring Christ in there. Pack it full with the Word of God, meditate upon it and keep before it the immediate presence of the Lord Jesus.

Why Can't I?

   May 2007,  I flopped on the bed and hid my face in the quilt. Why? Why could I not have the amazing relationship with God that I had read of so many Christians having? Why did other people I knew have this relationship and I didn't? Why?

As I sat there thinking, a dear friend of mine walked into the room and gave me some advice.

          1.) The thought that you CAN'T have that relationship with Christ is a big fat lie from Satan.

          2.) God loves you and wants to spend time with you. That is what He made you for, to worship and glorify Him of your own free choice, and with all of your being. That is the kind of 'all out' relationship you're designed to have with God. God is ready.

          3.) The problem is, are you? Have you been diligent to look for God? To seek Him as if for buried treasure... every day?..... Every minute of every day? Are you fulfilling your end? Friends don't ignore each other and never talk to each other!

     I wiped my tears off and thought about it. I knew for a fact that I was not being diligent in that area. My friend gave me a little pamphlet. I have read and re-read it over and over. Finally, I began to understand.

(Part 1)

My heart, Christ's home, by Robert Boyd Munger

             In Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, we find these words:
"That (God) would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (Ephesians 3:16). Or, as another has translated, "That Christ may settle down and be at home in your hearts by faith." Without question one of the most remarkable Christian doctrines is that Jesus Christ Himself through the presence of the Holy Spirit will actually enter a heart, settle down and be at home there. Christ will make the human heart His abode.
       Our Lord said to His disciples, "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23). It was difficult for them to understand what He was saying. How was it possible for Him to make his abode with them in this sense?
       It is interesting that our Lord used the same word here that He gave them in the first of the fourteenth chapter of John: "I go to prepare a place for you .. that where I am, ye may be also." Our Lord was promising his disciples that, just as He was going to heaven to prepare a place for them and would welcome them one day, now it would be possible for them to prepare a place for Him in their hearts and He would come and make His abode with them. They could not understand this. How could it be? Then came Pentecost. The Spirit of the living Christ was given to the church and they understood. God did not dwell in Herod's temple in Jerusalem! God did not dwell in a temple made with hands; but now, through the miracle of the out-poured Spirit, God would dwell in human hearts. The body of the believer would be the temple of the living God and the human heart would be the home of Jesus Christ. It is difficult for me to think of a higher privilege than to make Christ a home in my heart, to welcome, to serve, to please, to fellowship with him there. 

My heart, Christ's home

One evening I invited Jesus Christ into my heart. What an entrance He made! It was not a spectacular, emotional thing, but very real. It was at the very center of my life. He came into the darkness of my heart and turned on the light. He built a fire in the cold hearth and banished the chill. He started music where there had been stillness, and He filled the emptiness with His own loving, wonderful fellowship. I have never regretted opening the door to Christ and I never will - not into eternity! This, of course, is the first step in making the heart Christ's home. He has said, "Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20). If you are interested in making your life an abode of the living God, let me encourage you to invite Christ into your heart and He will surely come After Christ entered my heart and in the joy of this new relationship I said to Him, "Lord, I want this heart of mine to be Yours. I want to have You settle down here and be perfectly at home. Everything I have belongs to You. Let me show You around and introduce you to the various features of the home that you may be more comfortable and that we may have fuller fellowship together." He was very glad to come, of course, and happier still to be given a place in my heart.

Casting Down Strongholds

Strongholds of Satan

Within my heart

By renewing my mind

Must now depart

No longer there

May Satan reign

My heart God can transform

And Satan chain

Lord, guard my heart

And mind from deceit

Discipline self

Satan RETREAT!

Replace my thoughts 

With things that pleaseYou

And put on the 'New Man'

My mind renew.

Am I a Soldier of Surrender?

        In ancient times, when a knight surrendered, he would drop on one knee and offer his sword to the victor. In that position, the conqueror could do anything with the knight. Anything. He could even turn and kill the knight with his own sword if he chose. That sword was a symbol of who had the control over his life.
     We as Christians have a choice every day. Am I going to surrender to God, give Him my sword, and let Him do whatever He wishes with me today?
          When my little brothers and sisters evade their chores, or don't obey when I ask them to do something, I feel like grabbing that sword back, pointing the blade, and yelling, "I have the sword, YOU surrender!" But...Is that surrendering to God, and doing what He wants, when He wants, and how He wants it done? No. That is my 'old man'. My 'new man' is patient, kind, and just.
          When my Mother calls, and I am in the middle of something, what do I choose to do? Who do I choose to listen to? My old man takes the sword and says "You can have about 30 more seconds to your self, don't worry, you can go in a minute." My 'new man' gives the sword back to God, my Conqueror, and says "Yes Mommy, I'm coming." Without asking why or waiting. Just going.
           When I don't feel good, or tired,  My old man ignores the command "Whatever thy hand finds to do, do it with thy might." but takes the sword and says, "Your not feeling good, you can get by with being grumpy!" My 'new man' gives the sword back and says, "Everyone already knows you're tired, show them that with God, you can be kind anyway."
          God is calling you and I every day to yield our swords, sacrifice self, and live in the 'new man', to be a soldier of surrender.
Will you join me?

Thoughts-A-Muck

   The plane is on fire! Whoosh! They fell out of the plane. Yank! He jerked the release on the unconscious pilot's parachute. Oops, it didn't open. He held on to the pilot with all his might. Crash! They hit the ground. Yes! the pilot is still alive! 

     I sat watching my little brother do a victory dance over the top of his marble-rolling block set... ahem, I mean airplane. "Hooray! I saved the pilot!" 

     Now where did he come up with all of that? And why do I get caught up in his enthusiastic make-belief? I don't know about you all, but my brain runs like my little brother's... it never stops! the problem is, what is it running on, and where is it running to? With mine... that could be anywhere and everywhere. Especially places I do not want it to go. Why? Because I am a born again sinner. The problem is... what can you do with a brain? There is no 'stop' button. How do you control it? And if you can... do you really want to control it?

     This morning in Bible time, my brain phased out to think about it. Thoughts are important. Whatever I let my thoughts do, my mouth and my feet start doing too. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7 More exasperating than that is that God expects me to keep my thoughts pure! "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8. 

     I came back to Bible time just in time to hear Daddy read Ephesians 5:19-20; "be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Breath of fresh air! Can we control our thoughts? No. But... If we are filled with the Spirit, then He will help us evaluate and reject those thoughts that we like to dwell on that are not pure! So... we are to walk around all day totally out of it? Actually, if "it" equals thinking those nasty thoughts about someone or doing something we shouldn't, the answer is YES!
     Pure thoughts start with the beginning of our day, taking time to read God's Word and to think His thoughts after Him before I start His day. As I go about making breakfast, I think about what I read, and what that means about God and who He is, and how I can be like Him in that area today. As absurd as this may sound, I ask God questions about what He meant by this or that verse. It is startling how many times He will bring to mind a verse to answer my question. Sometimes, they are verses I don't remember memorizing.
     You can go throughout your day 'thinking to God' about whatever you are doing. Guaranteed, it is 90% easier to be willing to do whatever you are asked when you are singing 'Make Me a Servant' to yourself. With God's help, you can walk in the spirit and spread the joy of the Lord in your home. Does Satan want you to 'walk in the Spirit' ? No with a capital N-O! He will tempt you with everything he can throw at you! It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted. It is a sin to give in to the temptation and 'enjoy' that bad thought. Am I filled with the Spirit every day? Or even all day? No. Could we? Is it possible? Yes! That is what I'm striving for today. Are you?


By the way, where do you think daydreaming comes in to all of this?



 

Godly Femininity

This poem I am going to post tonight was written by Beth Marie, on femininity and what it is-

Godly Femininity

What can it be?

What can it mean?

How do you describe it?

How can it be seen?

In a heart that belongs to God alone,

In whom His sustaining presence is felt,

And through whom the Love of God is known,

And is solely Holy Spirit indwelt.

Fem’ninity is a servant at heart,

Willingly submissive to authority,

Always seeking to shoulder her part,

With her spirit singing joyfully

Fem’ninity is seen in her modesty,

Of manner and tongue as well as dress,

In her sensitiveness to propriety,

Not overly proud, or with looks obsessed

Describe it as an inward attitude,

A deep well bub’ling with gentleness,

A soul at peace with God will exude,

Internal quiet and sweet restfulness

She works with her hands, is industrious,

She gives to all her hospitality,

Just looking for ways to be generous,

Not forced or with rigid formality

Fem’ninity asks for wisdom each day,

To know how to always please the Lord,

Pondering God’s Word, not ceasing pray,

One of character, virtue, and her word

Can this a girl upon herself take?

In her flesh and by herself labor?

And she a model of fem’ninty make

Success for herself to praise and savor?

No! I cry it aloud, and again No!

Without the Savior to support, sustain,

She is too weak, incapable to do so,

Only the Power of Christ can Satan chain

The undergirding harmony of her life

Can only be Christ, and Christ alone

He is the focal point of her strife

Against her ‘old man’, who is vilely prone

This is Godly fem’ninity.

This is how it must be.

This is what it must mean.

This is how you describe it.

This is how it is seen.

Crazy Dayz

Hello Everyone, 

I just felt like sharing with you all a poem that my sister BethMarie wrote, several years ago, after trying to conduct an old fashioned spelling bee with my younger sibling and I. (We had fun :) But I'm not so sure she did! 

Well, any way, I though you all might enjoy it. It makes me laugh every time I read it-

Class it is time for a spelling bee!

Who shall be first oh let me see…

The one on the left? The one on the right?

The scholar who is exceptionally bright?

I say let’s start with the one in the center

That way we won’t be right here all winter!

Hush now Suzie! Dan has the floor,

Unless you would like to stand by the door?

Sarah please sit up straight in your chair,

I don’t like the frown that you wear!

Joey! Stop crying! Your turns coming soon!

There now, can you tell me how to spell “moon”

Dan don’t lay on the bench, sit up straight,

And PLEASE be quiet while you wait!

She’s trying to think you little “dears”,

Can’t you see Suzie is almost in tears?

I guess we might…just as well as may;

Leave off the spelling bee for today!

Maybe we’ll try it the week after next?

Or maybe, for this month we’ll just have it x’ed,

Schools over children, go on your way,

Whew! This has been one long crazy day!