Showing posts with label inviting Jesus into your heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inviting Jesus into your heart. Show all posts
Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, and you will receive. Search, and
you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. Everyone who
asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will
be opened for everyone who knocks. Would any of you give your hungry
child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? Would you give your
child a snake if the child asked for a fish? As bad as you are, you
still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly
Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.
But here’s the thing…we have to ask!
We have to knock – and expect Jesus to answer! As I have mentioned in
recent days, sometimes our thoughts and feelings are so jumbled that we
don’t even know what to ask…and a simple plea of “LORD, You know what I
need…will you help me?” is sufficient. I would caution you not to
reduce your daily prayers to this on a regular basis. God wants us to
lay bare our hearts and define our needs to Him. I believe this helps us
to recognize when and how He does answer each one of them.
But there will
be times when we simply need to “ask” or “knock”…to invite Jesus to
come and sit with us…and handle things. And He will do exactly that!
Stop for a minute today and examine your life and the issues that are on your heart…the joys and
the burdens. Whisper the name of Jesus, and invite Him to come and
“sit a spell.” Give Him your anxieties…revel in your blessings…talk to
Him about “things” and ask Him to give you exactly what you need for
this day.
Philippians 4:13 tells us that “Christ gives me the strength to face anything.” Have you asked Him for strength today?
Revelation 3:20-21 “Look at me. I stand at the door. I
knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and
sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the
head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the
side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!
When I was a little girl, my
neighborhood was a lot like one big family. We visited the houses of
each other, and while we might knock lightly, we mostly threw open the
door and asked, “Anybody home?” before we stepped inside. It was no big
deal to drag up an extra chair at the lunch table for my Mam-ma Polly
when she popped by…or my “Aunt” Martha who lived next door and came in
and out for frequent visits. Lots of mornings when I was little, we
would wake up to find my grandfather Truman sitting in a living room
chair! We visited our neighbors in our bath robes and pajamas…and
didn’t give it a second thought. When someone knocked on the door, we
answered…and generally, they were invited inside.
Today, if
someone knocks on my door, I hurry to a nearby window to check out who
is there. I rarely drop in on anyone – even family members – and I feel
a little uncomfortable when I do so. There are certain folks (mostly
family members and a couple of close friends) who can drop in on me and
not ruffle my feathers. But generally, a little “heads up” phone call
or notice would be greatly appreciated…and I promise to extend the same
courtesy to you!
Recently, a man tried to “drop in” at the White
House. His “knock” was not very well-received. There are certain doors
that you can stand at and knock all day…and no one is going to throw
them open and say, “Come on in! Sit down…have a meal with me… and stay
awhile!” Thankfully, Jesus’ “door” is not one of them. The
Be-All-End-All, most important Being ever, welcomes any and all
visitors, 24/7! And you do realize that when I talk about “knocking at
the door,” I am not literally talking about a DOOR…right?
This
passage refers to you and me…sinners…”knocking” at the “door” of Jesus’
heart…saying “I need Your salvation in my life! I need to dwell in You –
and You in me. I need Your nurture…Your sustenance…Your continual
forgiveness, grace and mercy. May I come in?” Jesus says in reply,
“Not only may you come in, but sit with Me…here…at this place of honor
next to MY Heavenly Father (and yours!). You are one of Us…and you are
most welcome!” Isn’t that amazing? Not only did Jesus suffer and die
for our sins…He wants to give us a place of honor at His table…right
next to God Almighty!
This is almost more than I can
comprehend. Everyone wants to feel welcomed…but to be treated so
royally by the LORD Himself is just astounding! And yet, all it takes
is one “knock”. All we have to do is “tap on the door” and sincerely
say, “LORD…I’m here…I need You and I want to be Yours forever.” Jesus
stands on the other side, ready and willing to open the door of His
heart – and welcome you inside. He is the neighbor you want to visit…the
One who needs no advance warning that you are on your way. You don’t
have to dress up – or dress at all – to dine with Jesus. All you have
to do is show up on His “doorstep”…and knock.
Do you “dine with
Jesus”? Don’t you want to? Will this be the day that you “drop in”
and are welcomed to His table – and into His Kingdom forever? What are
you waiting for…go ahead and “knock!” This will be the best “visit”
ever!
John 3:1-7 After dark one night a Jewish
religious leader named Nicodemus, a member of the sect of the Pharisees,
came for an interview with Jesus. “Sir,” he said, “we all know that God
has sent you to teach us. Your miracles are proof enough of this.”
Jesus
replied, “With all the earnestness I possess I tell you this: Unless
you are born again, you can never get into the Kingdom of God.”
“Born again!” exclaimed Nicodemus. “What do you mean? How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
“Clean enough.” That’s
become my motto in recent years. I’ve said before that I used to be
something of a “clean freak”. Everything had to be scrubbed every
week…from the kitchen to the bathrooms to dusting the furniture and
vacuuming the floors. I even had a little entryway floor in one home that I
stripped and re-waxed on a regular basis…polishing it to a high sheen!
When
Timothy first came along, I thought I had to really clean before he
visited. Then as his visits grew more frequent – and for a longer time
span – I realized that I could not keep up with this schedule…and that
it was more important to spend time playing with him than making sure
every crumb was off our floors! Certainly by the time Zola and Nathan
arrived, I had “lowered my standards” tremendously!
I know a
woman who was so obsessed with cleaning that she almost cried when
someone made “tracks” across the carpet after she had vacuumed. She
loved those “carpet marks” that the vacuum makes! She also mopped her
floors every night before bedtime…and she scrubbed the fixtures in her
bathroom so much that the cleaner she used literally ate through the
chrome and began to disintegrate them!
Now I know you are
wondering what this has to do with being born again! See, we can be
super clean…but that doesn’t make us better people – better mothers,
fathers, wives, husbands, aunts, Sure, it doesn’t hurt to be “good”…and
we are called to be moral and upright, kind and loving, and all of those
other things that fit this description.
But what truly marks
us…what really matters…is that we are “born again” with the spirit of
God in our heart. How do we do this? We stop and ask Jesus to forgive
our sins…we recognize that HE ALONE has the power to do this…and we
admit that we cannot accomplish this of our own accord. We invite the
Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts…to live and breathe in and through
us…to guide us and walk with us each step of every day. We take on a
“New Life in Christ Jesus”…and we surrender to His will and ways.
This
is easy AND complicated, all at once! But this step is what is missing
in the lives of so many “good” people who just cannot seem to get it
together – and don’t know why. I am asking you today to surrender
completely to the love and power of Almighty God through the blood of
Jesus Christ. Let Him fill your heart, mind and soul…be “born again” in
Him and truly become a child of the Most High God. Your house won’t
instantly be spotless…but your heart and soul will be!
Spotless
houses are highly overrated…but pure hearts that belong to Christ are
to die for…and that’s exactly what Jesus did for you and me. Won’t you
give Him your heart today…and secure your place in God’s Kingdom for all
Eternity?
I have no doubt
that this little guy will be eager to return to the house of God. He
will be anxious to learn more about Paul and his friends. This dad and
the Sunday school teacher made the Bible come alive for these
children…and this makes MY heart leap for joy!
It seems like we
often forget just how interesting and exciting God’s word can be. We
fail to fully grasp the inspiration of the stories of faith and courage
as demonstrated by people like Moses, Ruth and Naomi, Daniel, and Paul.
We overlook the “human” examples of how others struggled – and sinned –
and experienced the grace, mercy, forgiveness and blessings of
God…people like David, Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Peter. We fail to
recognize the lessons in patience and hope that were demonstrated by
people like Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth, Abraham, and John the Baptist.
I
promise you…there is nothing new under the sun. If you will only open
your Bible and start looking, you will discover this for yourself. And
you will also see how God has cared for His people all along…how He
cares about YOU and me…and how we can tap into His strength and power to
overcome anything and everything.
We get so bogged down in
things that really don’t matter. We wallow in self-pity and fumble
through life wondering about “the answers”. And all the while, they are
right in front of us. We don’t know about Paul and Jeremiah and Queen
Esther, because we are not focused on God’s word and seeking His truth.
We lack the eagerness of an almost-six-year-old to find out more about
God and what He offers. And the end result is that we simply “lack” in
general – in every area of our lives.
It’s time for a “spiritual
makeover”. God has equipped us with everything we need to serve Him, to
serve others, and to do this thing we call “life”. He beckons us to
“come home”…to seek Him and discover the joy of dwelling “in His
house”…to invite Jesus into our hearts and minds and make a place for
Him there. We can experience the eagerness of kindergartners and
first-graders as we build our faith.
A “special guest” may not
appear in our office, classroom – or even the living room! But if we
genuinely seek God, He will show up and make our hearts leap. Let us go
into the house of the LORD…are you coming with me?
Philippians 3:15-19 So let’s keep focused on that
goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have
something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will
clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right
track, let’s stay on it.
Stick with me, friends. Keep track of
those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There
are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying
to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times;
sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They
hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who
live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all
they can think of is their appetites.
It
started simply enough…I opened a drawer in the kitchen one morning,
rummaged for what I was needing, and ended up taking everything out of
the drawer and reorganizing it. Soon, I had moved on to the next
drawer…and the next…and a couple of hours later, every drawer in the
kitchen had been cleaned and organized. I felt like a new woman! That
was early January. I was so inspired and motivated by my newly
organized kitchen drawers that I moved on to other drawers and closets.
I am not finished, but I am just a closet and a couple of
drawers away from having reorganized my entire house. It’s not
perfect…by a long stretch. And I bet I could go back through and weed
out even more unnecessary “stuff” and make things look a whole lot
better. But I am very much a “work in progress” – even in the areas of
closets and drawers!
I’ll admit…more than once, I got sidetracked
– and discouraged. After all, what difference does it make if there is
a mess behind the cabinet doors? Who cares what’s in the drawers...
and is it really worth my time and energy to finish this project? I
only had to think of the time I’ve wasted looking for a particular
fastener or thread spool in my sewing cabinet to realize that the days I
spent organizing, cleaning and alphabetizing these items will make my
future sewing projects – and other activities - go so much smoother.
And I will be able to accomplish a lot more with less stress!
The old adage that anything worth doing is worth doing rightis
true…and nowhere more than in our Spiritual life. If we are going to
do this “Disciple of Christ thing”…if we are going to walk with Jesus,
follow His teachings, share His Good News, and bask in His
blessings…doesn’t it make sense to stay on course and do the hard work?
Jesus does not offer us short-cuts to full-blown
discipleship…and with good reason – He doesn’t take them, either! Read
the New Testament and study His 30+ years on this earth. Read Paul’s
letters and see how Jesus left a legacy of ministry with His
disciples…to be carried on through the generations – even to us and
beyond. There is very little that is easy and simple, once you open
your heart and invite Jesus to dwell there and guide your every breath.
But oh, it’s so worth the effort. The joy and blessings you feel in
opening your Spiritual “closet and drawers” and finding peace and
organization… purpose and overflow…are so worth any struggle and
challenge.
Will everything stay neat and orderly? Probably not?
Will you have to reorganize a “drawer or closet” from time to time –
both spiritually and physically? Most likely. Will it be worth the
effort? Most definitely!
Won’t you make this the day that you
start to get organized…in your Spiritual fellowship with Jesus AND maybe
your physical life? Will this be the day that you open your heart and
see Christ in charge instead of chaos? Are you ready to get busy
“cleaning” and get back on the right path? Don’t you think you should
be?
Isaiah 55:6-7 Turn to the Lord! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near. Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the Lord our God. He will be merciful and forgive your sins.
This reminded me of my grandmother’s “companion”, whom
she met after my grandfather died in 1984. My grandparents were married
almost 52 years. When my grandfather left us, Mam-ma Polly was
incredibly lonely. She “kissed a few toads” before she began “keeping
company” with Delbert, who everyone called “Deb”. Mam-ma Polly and Deb
were inseparable for about seven years. They never married and
maintained their own homes...but they did everything together. She
cooked breakfast for him at one of their houses, and then they would
“garden” or visit others, shop together, and more for much of each day.
They both returned to their respective houses many afternoons for a nap
before sharing dinner and “Wheel of Fortune” or “Lawrence Welk”
together...and three nights a week, they danced at a local social hall.
On Sundays they attended church services together.
Deb became
like a second grandfather to us. He endeared himself to all of us, and
we grew to love him. He was tremendously supportive to Mam-ma Polly
when my brother Tim died...and again 13 months later when my dad – her
only son – left us for heaven. And then Deb got sick. He was diagnosed
with bladder cancer. Over the course of several weeks, he took some
radiation treatments that left him weak and tired, and Mam-ma “nursed”
him as best she could.
Here’s the kicker...this sweet, generous,
kind and loving man had never given his heart to Jesus. He attended
church services with Mam-ma on Sundays, but he really didn’t know much
about the Bible...or how much God loved him. He did not have any
understanding of spending eternity in heaven at the feet of Jesus. I’m
pretty sure Deb knew he had sins in his life...but he did not realize
that Jesus could – and would – forgive him of them. Mam-ma Polly set in
to change this!
My grandmother began talking to Deb about
Jesus...and heaven. She told me that one night as she and Deb sat on
the couch, she fell to her knees and - through her tears - she told him,
“I don’t think I can bear it if I get to heaven and you’re not there.”
She shared with Deb once more how easy it was to ask Jesus to forgive
his sins and invite Him to live in his heart...and Deb did exactly that.
This
87-year-old man had served in the Army in Germany during WWII, where he
found himself behind enemy lines for several days at one point - and
once related to Greg how he felt the “whoosh” of a German bullet as it
passed by his ear. Deb had lived all these years without the peace of
Jesus in his heart. He had married, reared three children, faced the
death of his wife and countless loved ones, and endured a myriad of life
experiences...all without the confidence that Jesus was guiding his
steps. I am convinced that Jesus poured out His grace and mercy over
Deb...that He had His hand on this situation all along...that He placed
my grandmother in this man’s path to lead him into a relationship with
Jesus – and assured that we will all see him again someday in heaven.
Even
though he was sick, Deb was like a “new man”...because he truly was. I
bought him a Bible, and as his body betrayed him, he read the
scriptures and was renewed. As I sat with him on his last earthly day
and held his hand, I knew that Jesus was there...holding him tenderly
and ushering him fully into His presence. And as I read my friend’s
post about the 90-something couple in her congregation, I was once again
reminded...as long as we draw breath, it.is.never.too.late. God can still be found. He will be merciful and forgive our sins, through the blood of Jesus.
My
prayer today is two-fold...1) that we would not spend decades without
Jesus...that we would turn to Him sooner, rather than later, and walk in
His amazing grace and mercy; and 2) that we would take a page from my
Mam-ma Polly’s book...that we would “fall to our knees” and make every
effort to bring those in our midst into their own personal relationship
with Jesus. I pray that we would make sure that heaven is FILLED to
overflowing with God’s children...that we would never waste an
opportunity to extend the grace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and
kindness of Jesus Christ to others.
Take some time today to look
around you and see who needs to feel the grace and mercy of Jesus...and
where He needs you to be the vehicle to convey this. Turn to the
LORD...seek His wisdom...share His love with others. It is never too late!
