Posts Tagged ‘Revelations 3:20’

Is There Room in Your Heart?

{ December 30, 2018 @ 9:35 pm } · { My Faith Journey }
{ Tags: , , , , , } · { Leave a Comment }

I was very touched and challenged today by a song that was sung as a prelude to worship, “Is There Room in Your Heart” written by Matt Maher and recorded by Casting Crowns.

[Verse 1]
Family hiding from the storm
Found no place at the keeper’s door
It was for this a Child was born
To save a world so cold and hollow

[Verse 2]
The sleeping town did not know
That lying in a manger low
A Savior King who had no home
Has come to heal our sorrows

[Chorus 1]
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart
For God to write His story?

[Verse 3]
Shepherds counting sheep in the night
Do not fear the glory light
You are precious in His sight
God has come to raise the lowly

[Chorus 2]
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart
For God to write His story?
You can come as you are
But it may set you apart
When you make room in your heart
And trade your dreams for His glory

 

It’s the Christmas season and we have been reading and reflecting on the story of Jesus birth in Luke 2.  It’s amazing how the well-known story can be so fresh, relevant and inspiring.

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Mary and Joseph were a young couple weary from traveling, in a city one hundred miles from home, desperately needing the privacy of a room. You see, Mary was not only tired but the tightening of muscles across her belly indicated that her baby would be born very soon. They urgently needed a room and there was none.

The sympathetic innkeeper gave what he thought he could, a resting place in the stable. He did not know that he would be hosting the Son of God or he may have made room in his already crowded home.  He could have boosted to his friends his part in the marvelous story that unfolded that night. Instead, the animals shared their space and gave silent witness of God’s miracle, their manger filled with their evening meal of hay became his bed.

Every person on planet earth is faced with the question, is there room in your heart for Jesus?  Revelations 3:20 says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Will you allow the Son of God to live in your heart? You have to answer that question.  The Son of God wants to dwell in your heart. Jesus does not push his way in, He only comes when invited and you have to open the latch. Living in your heart means that Jesus dwells there. He is a part of everything you do. He will feed your hungry soul with the bread of life and satisfy your thirst with living water.

The Bible is the Word of God and tells us how to know and receive God.  The Bible is divided into two sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the story of creation and God revealing himself to sinful man. It foretells the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God. The New Testament is the fulfillment of God coming to earth. The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tell the story of Jesus birth, life, death and resurrection.  The rest of the books explain the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth and growth of the early church. It gives divine guidance for Christians today and points to the time when Jesus will come again in the grand finale of history, redeeming the church. The words are true, living and offer eternal life. Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life and the source of Living Water. Come to me and I will satisfy your deepest longings and thirst for eternal life.

Is there room in your heart for God to write his story?

 

Anybody Home?

{ May 7, 2012 @ 4:33 pm } · { Life on the Farm, My Faith Journey }
{ Tags: , , , , , , , , , } · { Comments (2) }

I am starting to feel a little sad. My hummingbirds have not come to the feeder yet this year. It is out, filled with sweet sugar-water, waiting on their expected arrival.

Usually these hyperactive little guests come knocking, buzzing my patio door letting me know they have arrived.  It is as if they are saying, ” I am here.  Anybody home? You’re expecting me, aren’t you? I made it back and I am want a drink!”

I don’t usually get a lot of hummingbirds but I do have several pairs that have come faithfully over the years.   Now I am wondering, has misfortune struck them? They were always very punctual and I could count on them to  come calling around April 20. I also know when my feisty little friends  will leave-September 10.  So now I am a concerned hostess.  Are they still coming? Are they still alive?  Did they come early and not find food and leave? By chance did they find a place they liked better?  Did they find better accommodations down the street?

Once a friend told me about the time he was at the Gulf of Mexico around the middle of September.  There were thousands and thousands of dead hummingbirds washed up on the beach.  A hurricane had just gone through the Gulf and apparently the little birds  got caught in the storm as they were migrating south for the winter. He said it was one of the saddest sights he had ever seen.

Hummingbirds are not the only things that come knocking.  Our welcome mat is out and it is fun to have guests and family come to visit.  We anticipate our time of fellowship-eating and talking together.  Sometimes we see them arrive  and can greet them at the door with open arms.  Other times  they knock to let us know they have arrived or yell “anybody home”!   It makes me anxious when people don’t arrive when I expect them to.  I begin to wonder if they are having trouble, forgot the invitation, or had an accident.

Revelations 3:20 says Jesus also comes to visit.  “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”   Jesus will visit each person’s heart.  He is polite and will not enter without invitation nor will he ever break down the door to enter.  Jesus wants an open arm invitation to come into our lives and fellowship with us.

When I was twelve, I flung open the door of my heart to Jesus.  I felt Him knocking. My heart pounded as I debated whether to open the door. I knew He was there, calling “anybody home”?  Was I going to pretend I wasn’t home or would I open the door to Him?   I will never forget the sweet peace that came over my life when I invited Him in.

Listen, and you too will hear the inviting voice of Jesus, “Anybody home”?

May 9 footnote:  This morning I was looking out the patio doors as I drank my coffee and there they were flirting around the feeder looking for food.   It made me wonder,  where has their journey taken them? If the weather is early down south also did they leave late?  Did they take a wrong turn getting here? I will never know their story but at least I can now enjoy my guests for the summer!

I also found a new word in the Readers Digest (April 2012 issue) this morning.  Iktsuarpok (Inuit language).  I can’t begin to pronounce it, don’t even know what language Inuit is but I love the meaning. “That feeling of anticipation when you’re waiting for someone to show up at your house and you keep going outside to see if he’s there yet.”  I have been iktsuarpoking, standing at window each morning and evening, watching with anticipation for Mr. and Mrs. Hums arrival!!

I also had to think of a  neat spiritual application to the word “Iktsuarpok”.  Jesus is coming back to earth and it may be soon. We do not know the day or hour but scripture tells us to watch, look up, anticipate his arrival (Mark 13:32, 35, Matthew 24:42, 25:13).  He will announce his arrival with a trumpet sound (I Thessalonians 4:16-18).  Jesus told us to keep looking up with anticipation. Watch and be ready.  When He comes, He will take all those who have accepted Him as their personal Savior  home to heaven (Revelations 16:15). What a glorious day that will be! (II Timothy 4:8)