Part 8 of 8.

If you made it back here after part 7, I commend you. It takes courage, some soul-searching, and a willingness to truly discover God's will for your life. It's a giant step towards making Jesus Lord of your life forever. Today will conclude this series. I hope it's helped the people it was meant for.

Part 8: After a while has passed, you realize that although you really do want to keep this house clean for Jesus (your heart, your mind), it's actually very hard work. As soon as you get one room really spotless, you find out another room has suffered and is now dirty all over again. (Although maybe now it just needs some straightening up instead of a complete overhaul, right?)
The maintaining and keeping such an obedient life is hard and you know what? Many of us just aren't quite up to it. You have an idea! You ask Jesus, "Is there any possibility that you'd be willing to manage the whole house, operate it for me like you did the hall closet? Is it possible for me to give you the responsibility of keeping my house, heart and mind what it should be, so that I can continue doing what I ought to be doing?"

Imagine His whole face lighting up as He replies enthusiastically, "I'd love to! That's exactly the reason I came to you in the first place! You can't live out this Christian life in your own strength, I've known that all along. Let me do this for you and through you. It's the only way it would work anyway. Just remember one thing. I am NOT the OWNER of the house. I am your guest. I have no authority to take charge since this property isn't mine."

You feel such a feeling of freedom and release! All this time Jesus has been your guest and you've been trying to play the host/hostess. Now you'll take on the role you were meant to play. You tell Jesus, "From now on YOU will be the owner and I will be the servant!"

You run to the strong box, excitedly open it up and take out the title deed to your home, describing it's assets and liabilities, it's condition, location and situation. You rush back over to Jesus and eagerly sign it over giving the title to Him alone for all time and eternity. You drop to your knees and present it to Him, "Here it is, all I am, all I have, it's your now, just please let me stay here with you as your servant and friend."

When you do this, Jesus takes your life from that day forward for all eternity. There's no better way to live out your Christian journey. He knows best of all how to use and keep your life. A peace will come and settle deep inside that will remain. You in Him and He in you. May Christ settle down and be at home as Lord of your heart.

Thank you for this time I could share with you at such an intimate level. May the peace of Christ be yours forever.

PS: Join me in the near future as we go through the Spiritual Gifts and learn how to apply them.

Part 7 of 8

Hang on, bear with me, today may be a bit rough, but well worth it in the end...

You've really come a long way on this journey and I'm proud of you for sticking with this. If you've implemented changes in your life already to grow closer to Jesus, I just know He's happy and smiling and so pleased to be closer with you. Things are going better, perhaps, but what if...

One day, you get home after a typical day and Jesus is waiting for you right by the front door. He's got a strange look in His eye, one you don't remember seeing before. He seems to be looking at you in an odd way that makes you a bit uneasy. He gets right to the point, he's so good at that, "There's a strange odor in the house. I think something must be dead around here. It's upstairs and I think it's coming from the hall closet."

As soon as Jesus says this, a little red flag pops up in your mind. You know where He's talking about. In that closet, you have one or two things hidden away you don't want anyone to know about. You keep the tiny little closet locked at all times. They are dead and rotting things of the past, part of the old life. They aren't evil or wicked, just things that aren't right or good to have in a new Christian life. Not only have you tried very hard to keep other people from knowing about those things of your past, but you certainly don't want Jesus to see and know about them! What would he think?! You know you should've gotten rid of them long ago, but there's an attachment to them you find hard to break. You want to hang on to them so badly, yet didn't want to admit they were still here in your house.

Reluctantly, you ascend the stairs with Jesus. You know He won't let this go. As you get closer, you too notice the stench is getting so much stronger, almost overwhelming. He points at the door and says, "It's in there! Some dead thing!"

Okay, now you're a bit angry. You've given your house guest free access to the entire house, made all kinds of changes to suit His way of living, given up quite a bit, but now he's asking, or rather, demanding, do know about this tiny little 2 foot by 2 foot closet? That's where you draw the line. You are NOT handing over the key!

Reading your thoughts, Jesus tells you there's no way He's staying in the bedroom you've given Him on the second floor with that stench permeating everything around! "I'd rather sleep on the back porch!" He tells you. I'm not staying anywhere near that...that...thing, and He starts to head downstairs.

After having been so close to Jesus now, the sudden withdrawal of Him from you hurts. You don't want to lose that closeness, the fellowship, those intimate times together you've enjoyed. You remember the compassion, mercy and love He's shown you already - so unconditional - without shame, guilt and condemnation. Just a true desire to help free you from the world's bondage. A freedom, peace and joy like none you've ever known. You have to make this right between the two of you.

You stop Him on the stairs and tell Jesus, "Here. I'll give you the key. But you'll have to look inside the closet and clean it out because I just don't have the strength to do it." Jesus looks at you with those warm, loving eyes of His and says, "I know you don't. Hand me the key. Just give me permission and authority to clean this mess up and I gladly will." You hand over the key, a bit embarrassed, but relieved. You know it's the right thing to do.

Jesus slowly opens the door. He enters the closet and takes out the putrefying stuff that was rotting in there and threw all of it away. Jesus cleansed the entire closet, removing every last trace of everything that was in there before. Suddenly, there's a wonderful new fragrant breeze that sweeps throughout the entire house! The entire atmosphere of the house changed. You feel a new freedom and sense of victory in your life that brings you to your knees, brings you to tears. Years of struggle, gone, never to have a stronghold in your life like that again!

No matter what sin or pain you may have hidden away in your own hall closet, know that Jesus is ready to cleanse you, remove it, restore you, forgive you, heal you, and make you whole like never before.

Part 6 of 8

If you're just joining us today, I would suggest that you begin at Part 1 and work your way up to Part 6. It will be more meaningful to take these in order.

One day, you're in your bedroom and Jesus is beside you, talking with you, and He asks, "Who's that in the photo beside your bed?" You proudly answer, "That's my boyfriend (or girlfriend, if you're a guy reading this). Although Jesus has proven himself that love comes first over and over, and He's here to help, and your relationship really is a good one, you still feel funny talking about some issues you two are struggling with lately. You try to change the subject when Jesus interjects, "You're not sure if you agree with my teachings on sex, are you? That's it's created, designed and reserved for two people in a covenant marriage? Some days it seems pretty unnatural and impossible to follow those teachings? You think My will may take away or at least limit your full enjoyment of love and life? Is that what's bothering you?"


How does He always know? Silly question. "Yes", you reply.

"Listen carefully to me" Jesus says. "I forbid adultery and premarital sex not because it's a bad thing, but because it's such a good thing! It deepens love and creates a bonding of two lives. It's powerful! So powerful it can bring forth human life into existence! Used properly, sex has the tremendous power for good. The flip side is that used improperly, it destroys all that's good. It becomes manipulation, a power struggle, a weapon, opens wounds, betrays trust in a relationship, can drive a person into self-hatred and guilt, causing them to want to try to hide from God. The list of negatives when abused is almost endless. That's why God intends for it to only be used within the commitment of a loving life-partnership. There's so much more to love than sex."

Jesus continues, "Let me help you in your relationship with the opposite sex. If you fail, or feel guilt and shame, remember that I still love you and will remain with you. Talk to me about it when you're struggling or confused. Acknowledge you've made mistakes in the past and take new steps to stop it from happening again. Rely on MY strength to keep you from stumbling and falling. I promise I'll always be here to help you back up. I can lead you both into a relationship of love and marriage where two individuals really will become one - in me."

I know today's message may seem like it's not helpful to married couples (most of my readers), but maybe it's for you to share with a teenager? A single friend? A divorced or widowed family member who's getting started in the dating process all over again and may be struggling? Someone you know caught in the wrong type of relationship? Adultery? I'm not here to judge anyone else. I'm only here to heal hurts and share the love of Jesus with those who need it, and hopefully the right words will get to the right people through those of us who allow Jesus to work freely through us to bring light into a darkened world. Who can use this encouragement and help today?

Part 5 of 8

If you're still with us on this 8 part journey, my prayer is that Jesus is at work in you, showing you something new - or at least, something you've forgotten but will be able to apply to your situation now. I hope your understanding of His mercy, compassion and love for you is coming through this writing for you. This day may be difficult, so you MUST keep in mind Jesus loves you and didn't come to condemn you. With that said, let's continue the tour..

There comes a time in the tour when Jesus asks you about the Rec Room, you know, where you go and what you do for fun and fellowship with others. Part of you wishes He hadn't asked. We all have certain friends or activities we have or do for fun that we want to keep for ourselves. You don't want to have to give up your fun for the rest of your life to follow Jesus, do you? You know what things or people in your world He wouldn't approve of, so you evade His question.

A little while down the road, you grab your coat and you're ready to head out the door with some of your friends for a "well-deserved, long-overdue, night on the town". Jesus is standing by the front door and asks, "Oh, are you going out tonight?" You tell Him that you are, meeting some buddies at your favorite place to hang out. You're surprised when Jesus says, "Oh good, I would like to go with you!"

Uh-oh. You can't have Jesus with you when you meet your friends. What would they say? What would Jesus say about the place you all hang out? You reply awkwardly,"You know, I really don't think you would enjoy where we're going. And you probably wouldn't be comfortable around these people, they run in different circles. Maybe you and I could go out somewhere together some other time soon. How about tomorrow night? We could attend a Bible class? or a church social event? but tonight, I have other plans. You understand, right?"

Deep down, you know your own feelings would have been hurt by that, you feel that guilt returning, but Jesus doesn't give you a hard time. He very simply says, "As you wish. I must have misunderstood. When you asked me to come into your home, I was hoping we would do everything together and be like best friends. But you're free to make your own choices, freedom of choice is part of our relationship, just know that I'm always willing to go with you."

You reassure Jesus that tomorrow night you'll go somewhere together and head out the door.

A few hours pass and you realize you just aren't having a good time like you thought you would. In fact, you're miserable. You feel awful for leaving Jesus home, after all, what kind of friend are you? You deliberately chose to leave Him out of part of your life. You chose to go places with people knowing He'd never enjoy. That was a choice you made on purpose.

You end up calling it a night earlier than usual and head home. Pulling into the driveway you realize there's a light still on in Jesus' room, so you decide to talk things over with Him. You knock and He opens the door and invites you to come into His room. You explain that you've learned your lesson. You now know that if you leave Him out of your fun too, you won't be able to really have any fun yourself anymore. You recommit to Jesus that from now on, you will be doing everything together. Waiting for the "I told you so" speech, Jesus just walks over to you, gives you a warm hug, looks you in your eyes and tells you with all sincerity, "That would make me very happy, I love when we're together."

Then you both go down to the rec room. Jesus had transformed it for you while you were out. While you left Him behind for personal and selfish reasons, He stayed behind to do something nice for you. He really does practice unconditional love, doesn't He?

In the rec room, Jesus had brought in new friendships, new excitement, new joys you never anticipated. Ever since that night, there's been music and laughter and fun throughout the house. He politely teases, "I bet you never thought you'd have any fun ever again with me around, didn't you? Just remember, I came that my joy would be in you, and that your joy may be full!" (Jn 15:11)

So as you go through your journey, starting today, don't be afraid to let go of things you know are causing separation between you and Jesus. Trust Him to replace those friends, locations, TV shows, music, events, and other distractions. He will replace them with so much joy and happiness and laughter that you never imagined! He loves you and wants to be your best friend, and experience this life with you. Take that first baby step and invite Him into all you do, including your fun. May you be blessed today.

Part 4 of 8, You're half-way there...

Good morning! Hopefully after reading part 3 you've taken at least a moment to sit and talk, or pray, or read with Jesus. Not only does it benefit you, but He misses you when you aren't together. He loves you. If you haven't had time to do that yet, take a minute now...I'll wait...

Moving along on this tour of Jesus' new home, he asks if you have a workshop. Out in the garage, there's a workbench, a few tools, some equipment, but being so busy, you really haven't had time to do much out there. You play around out there once in a while, maybe create a gadget or two, but nothing substantial.

Jesus follows you out to your workshop. He takes a look at the "tools", the skills and talents you have laid out on your workbench. He tells you you've got a fairly good amount of things to start with. Then he asks what you hoped he wouldn't, "What are you producing with your life for God's kingdom?" He picks up a few of the small trinkets and toys you've made in the past and asks, "Is this the sort of thing you've been doing for others with your Christian life?"

You know, you felt pretty good when you managed to make those things. You didn't think you could even do that - but you steadied on and produced something of value. But now, you start to feel a bit guilty. You know if you'd been out here more often, tried a bit harder, you probably could have made so much more with what you have available. You start to explain that you know it doesn't look like much, but my abilities are limited. You tell Him how you feel awkward in circumstances outside your normal comfort zone. You doubt you could do as well as others you've seen. You try comparing your faults to others' strengths and feel just awful.

Then Jesus stops you. He looks at you with more compassion than you expected. He doesn't tell you to stop making excuses. He realizes your inner struggles, puts an arm around your shoulder, quiets your soul, and says, "Would you like to learn how to do better?"

Astounded by this unconditional love, you reply that of course you want to do better! Jesus reminds you, "Remember what I taught you, apart from me, you can do nothing. Come over here to the workbench and just relax - allow my Spirit to work through you. You may be yet unskilled, clumsy and awkward, but through my Spirit, you'll be amazed what you can really accomplish."

You surrender all your feelings and emotions and agree to let Jesus' Spirit work through your heart, your head, and your hands. Jesus puts His hands under yours, you feel confidence in His arms around you. He picks up the tools and begins to work. "Relax, you're still too tense," he jokes, "let me do the work!"

You experience wonder and amazement as you see all your own hands are creating and producing when you allow Him to control the way they work. There's still much to learn, but realize how much better you can do for God's kingdom with the help of the Master Builder.

So don't be discouraged at what you haven't done before, our own abilities aren't important, it's what we can do when we allow Christ to do what He wants with us and our skills we've been given. You'll be surprised at all the two of you can do together!

Part 3 of 8

So far, we've toured the study/library and the dining room. Let's continue our tour...

...Next we move into the living room. It's such a peaceful place. It's quiet, comfortable, has a fireplace, big fluffy chairs, and bookcases. Jesus is also pleased with this room. He suggests that we meet here often so we can fellowship, and have good, long talks together. Can you think of anything else you'd rather do? To have a few minutes alone with Jesus every day?! He makes a promise, "I will be here every morning early to meet with you so we can start the day together."

Every morning I head downstairs for my private, alone time with Jesus. He takes down a book of the bible from the bookcase and together we read, discuss it, apply it. God's truths unfold and my heart sings with the wonder of all Jesus did and does for me. Our friendship deepens to a whole new level I never imagined!

Unfortunately, I have a lot of responsibilities. Little by little I start shortening our time, I guess I'm too busy to take so much time away from what needs to be done. I don't mean to do that, it just sort of happens that way. I sometimes end up missing a day or two in a row.

One morning, I rush out the door, but on the way, I happen to glance into the living room. As I look over, I notice there's a fire in the fireplace and Jesus patiently waiting in His favorite chair for me, across from my empty seat. Suddenly, a sadness sets into my heart. Here is my guest, I invited Him, yet here I am neglecting Him!

I enter the room and apologize. "Have you been here every single morning waiting for me like this?" I ask. He answers, "Of course. I told you I'd be here every morning to meet with you, and so I have." The guilt and shame was overwhelming. Jesus gently assured me I was forgiven. With more love than I've ever experienced from anyone before he continues, "You see, you've been thinking of our time together as your own time of spiritual growth. But you need to know this: I love you, I redeemed you at a great cost, I value our friendship, just the sight of you warms my heart, please stop neglecting this time for MY sake. This is MY time that I enjoy you too."

So today, and every day, please don't leave Jesus waiting along in your living room. Take a few moments to be with Him, to strengthen your relationship. To pray together, and enjoy your long talks with Him. He loves you and He absolutely misses you when you don't make it to your appointed time together.

The meaning of Christ "dwelling" in us. - Part 2 of 8

Last time we left off in the study. We were showing Jesus around His new home with us. We wanted Him to feel comfortable in His surroundings, so He would want to move in and stay with us. The tour continues...

From the study, we walk into the Dining Room, the room of appetites and desires. It's a large room, after all, it has to hold all our wants. We're proud of this room, we've worked so hard to get all the things in it. We "earned" all this stuff and want more.

We tell Jesus how proud we are of this room. We just know He'll like what we serve in here. Being a good guest, Jesus sits down at our table and asks, "What's on the menu tonight?" Not thinking, we want to appear to have such an abundance (we've played this game with the world for a long time, we're good at it). We rattle off, "All our favorites! Money, Education & Degrees, Stocks, Nice Cars, and on the side, newspaper articles of Fortune and Fame!"

Although there is nothing wrong with any of these things, it's just not very good food to feed the soul, nor satisfy true spiritual hunger. When all the plates are brought in, we look over and notice Jesus isn't eating. Wondering what's wrong, we ask, "Don't you like what we have?" His answer isn't one of judgement, or disappointment, or guilt. Jesus simply offers us something more, something better. He offers, "I have food you don't yet know of. Food that can really satisfy you! If you want that type of food, then do the will of the Father who sent me. Stop striving for your own indulgences and satisfactions. They aren't lasting anyway. Just try a bite and see that what I say is true."

Suddenly everything on the table changes! Now before you there is new menu items. You try a bite - what amazing flavor! and depth! and texture! It's like nothing you've ever had before! There's nothing else like it in the world! It's totally satisfying and leaves you full. In that moment, you realize that every other thing you had leaves you hungry.

So what's on the menu in your dining room of desires? What types of foods are we offering to our Lord? to ourselves? 1 John 2:16 speaks of the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and pride of life. These are empty and unsatisfying. Instead, try a bite of doing God's will instead of following your own agenda. I know it may be new and strange at times, but if you let it, it will become your soul-satisfying meat and drink.

The meaning of Christ "dwelling" in us. - Part 1 of 8

Let me take you on a short, 8 part journey to understand the true meaning of how to have Christ dwelling in you - if you do, it'll change your life.

After understanding and accepting the gift that Jesus took on our sins so that we would be able to live in heaven for all eternity, you begin your journey as a Christian. Then you start to read the Word and maybe some of it's what you remember hearing before, but most of it becomes brand new information. Your perspective and understanding changes, your motivations and character begins to change and improve. You may get involved in a local church, maybe even a bible study. Your bible becomes your Owner's Manual or Survival Guide (depending on where you're at, I guess). But then along the way you hear about Jesus wanting to "dwell" in you. That's not a word you hear anymore. What exactly does that mean? to dwell?

One dictionary defines dwell this way: to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside. 2.to live or continue in a given condition or state: to dwell in happiness. That's a pretty good definition. It's not about temporary conditions, it's not a feeling, it's not dependent on circumstances that happen that moment, it's got nothing to do with how you're treated by others, it's a permanent, on-going state of being. So let's see how that relates to Jesus dwelling in us.

I know we all have good days and bad days. Some days we do well, make good choices, spend quality time with loved ones, and feel very blessed. Those days, it's easy to "feel" that Jesus is dwelling in you. You want to do good things, serve others, give people the benefit of the doubt, etc. But what about on those bad days?

Do you find yourself feeling more selfish? Do you end up in an end of the day pity party? Feel like a martyr doing everything for everyone else with no thank you's or acknowledgement for all you do? Do you feel like God's mad at you because you didn't get what you wanted? Or worse, because you ended up with something bad you didn't deserve because of someone else's choices? What about days like this? Still feel Jesus dwells in you? Hard, isn't it?

Here's what changed everything for me...in our adult Sunday school class, we were given little booklets called, "My Heart - Christ's Home" by Robert Boyd Munger. It's less than 30 pages and fits in your back pocket, but it changed everything for me. Here's the gist of it:

Rev 3:20 is where Jesus says he knocks on the door, and if we choose, we open the door and let Him in. I want you to begin to visualize this with me. You've invited Christ to make His home in you, so picture an actual house. Christ knocks on the literal door, you open it, and invite Him to move in. Step 1.

Because Jesus is your new guest, you want Him to be comfortable in your new home together. You start a tour to show Him around. The first place you go is the study or library. As He's standing there with you, you suddenly become aware of the books and magazines lying around and realize they make you embarrassed and Jesus seems a bit uncomfortable around them. The pictures on the walls are your thoughts, and now He's seeing them - the good AND the bad ones. You turn and ask Jesus if He would help you clean up this mess and make it how it ought to be. There's NO condemnation, no guilt trip, just a loving friend who says, "Of course I'll help you! I've come to make things better for you, to help you put things right." The major change after tossing out the bad or wrong things you'd been hanging onto is to hang a new picture on the wall, one of Jesus, hung centrally on the wall of your mind. You'll still struggle with controlling the other images, but it will get easier if you focus on Him first. When you focus on Jesus' presence, purity and power, the other images begin to back away. This is NOT about focusing on your mistakes of the past - just the changes needed to have a more successful future.

If you struggle in this room (of your mind), fill the study with His Word, bring Jesus here with you to study together. Learn from what the Scriptures have to say.