“Come on in. Make Yourself at home”

When Bev and I were still raising our children we worked at making our home a place of wholeness and holiness. Does that sound overly pious to you? Before you conclude that ours was a joyless, gloomy house, let me tell you that we laughed a lot. We were not a monastery by a long shot. But, we our aim was to welcome the Spirit in our home. We didn’t invite profanity to fill the air. We didn’t leave conflict unresolved. We practiced forgiveness. The music that filled our home was not about sex, booze, or brokenness. Instead, the songs that created the background were about loving God. It was our conscious desire to invite the Spirit. 

Often we heard people, even those who had no faith, remark about how peaceful they felt when they spent time in our home. Why? They sensed His Presence!

Are you welcoming to the Holy Spirit of God or is your ‘worship’ just something you talk about?
Does God find that you have a real interest in knowing Him or that you are just looking for some favor when you kneel in prayer?
Is your heart a place where His Presence is ‘at home’ or is there a gap between the words you say about loving Him and your actions that communicate a different message?

Jesus tells us “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) It not just our words that welcome Him, it is our attitude of obedience. In another passage, Jesus spoke of those who knew the right things to say but whose hearts were far from God!  Does that describe how He sees me, you?  Our actions can ‘grieve the Spirit of God.’ (Eph. 4:30) The choices we make each day – about the way we speak, the things we value, the entertainment we consume, the places we go – either extend hospitality to the Spirit or that makes Him feel unwelcome.  Could the Word be more clear than this? "Do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. … Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:30-32, NLT)  

Again, I want to ask you does the way you live your life invite the Spirit of the Lord to ‘at home?’  Are you filled with the Spirit?

Jesus taught that it is not just the first encounter with Him, when we repent and are cleansed from our guilt and shame that matters to God. We need to become disciples who match our profession of faith with lives of devotion. Take a look at His words. They are sobering in their implications for those who try to live at a distance from the Lord.

“When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil.
When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’

On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in, whooping it up.

That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place.
“That’s what this generation is like: You may think you have cleaned out the junk from your lives and gotten ready for God, but you weren’t hospitable to my kingdom message, and now all the devils are moving back in.” (Matthew 12:43-45, The Message)

Is it time to do some serious house cleaning, to change up some things so that the Spirit is welcomed? Make your heart hospitable to the Presence of God.

Here is a word from the Word. Will you hear it?

"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.

But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.

Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do." (Psalm 1:1-3, NLT)

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Holy Spirit

There's nothing worth more
that will ever come close

No thing can compare
You're our living hope

Your Presence

I've tasted and seen of
the sweetest of loves

Where my heart becomes free
and my shame is undone

In Your Presence Lord

Holy Spirit
You are welcome here

Come flood this place and
fill the atmosphere

Your glory God is what
our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your Presence
Lord

Let us become more aware
of Your Presence

Let us experience the glory
of Your goodness

CCLI Song # 6087919

Bryan Torwalt | Katie Torwalt

© 2011 Capitol CMG Genesis (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Jesus Culture Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

“Happiness is a warm puppy!”

The creator of the cartoon, “Peanuts,” featuring the hapless Charlie Brown, observed that “happiness is a warm puppy.” Who can’t feel a certain kind of pleasure when they hold a wiggly pup? But it is a passing kind of happy, isn’t it?  Years ago, our family brought home a little bundle of white fur. The kids’ overflowed with delight as they played with Seth. Two days later, Bev was ready to return him to the store from which he came after finding the wallpaper in the bathroom ripped from the walls from the floor as high as the pup could reach!  We had one of our most memorable ‘disagreements’ that day, more than 30 years ago, when I took the side of our kids and kept Seth in the family. By the way, he was with us for 15 years and she learned to love him.

St. Paul reminds us that the evidence of God’s Spirit in us includes a deep and overflowing joy.  In Galatian, we read that the ‘fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY …”  Have you confused genuine joy with the happiness of a warm puppy? The spiritual fruit of joy is not to be confused with the sentimental pleasure, though many of us do that. We chase after things that make us forget the sadness, that put a smile on our face, and wonder why our ‘joy’ is so temporary.  For some it is a trip to the store to buy yet another thing. For others it is another vacation. Yes, I like to get another tech toy.  But, what happens to our happiness?  The puppy rips off the wallpaper. The thing we bought gets used. It rains during our vacation. The toy gets boring.

The joy of the Lord, however, endures time and trial. "As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us." (Colossians 1:10-12, The Message)  God’s Word shows us how that joy develops and is sustained – it comes from a complete God-focus! It sees beyond the moment, to take hold of God’s promise of working out His purposes in us. It roots in the fertile soil of His plans not our agendas. It is fed by an attitude of thankfulness.

I am no fatalist. Terrible things happen to people, godly and ungodly alike. Some may disagree, but I do not think that God authors each and every one of those experiences. It is a mystery that two things that seem completely at odds are taught us by the Holy Word. We are told that we are free, able to choose good and evil.  When we choose to sin, the effects ripple out with consequences seen and unseen, that reach far beyond our immediate circle of acquaintances.  And, right alongside of freedom, we are taught that God rules, that His purposes will always prevail, His promise secure and beyond failure.  Joy grows when we understand our responsibility to pursue Him and rest in His power that makes us "sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. " (Romans 8:28, The Message)

Today, would you pray for the fruit of Joy to be brought to maturity in you?  Let go of your demand to be ‘happy.’ Stop chasing the high of temporary happiness. Oh, yes, when happiness finds you, laugh. When you are overwhelmed with the beauty of the dawn, hold a squirming puppy, get the great job – enjoy it,  but do not make it your source of real joy. Instead, “rejoice in the Lord!”  Make Him your hope and home.

Here are words from the Word. My prayer is that these truths will help us to live in overflowing Joy today and always.

"Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires."
(Psalm 37:3-4, NLT)

"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:4-7, NLT)
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10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning;

It's time to sing Your song again.

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me,

Let me be singing when the evening comes!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

O my soul-

Worship His holy name!

Sing like never before,

O my soul,

I'll worship Your holy name!

You're rich in love and You're slow to anger,

Your name is great and Your heart is kind.

For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing,

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.

Jonas Myrin | Matt Redman

© 2011 Atlas Mountain Songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Laughing with God, or at Him?

Few things equal the pleasure of just laughing out loud. When I get together with old friends and the stories start, so does the laughter. Our dumb choices, our silly kid tricks, our shared bumps and bruises are fertile soil for humor.  We all love being in on the joke, laughing with each other.  Ever been laughed at, feeling the stab of being made a fool, the joke way too close to reality for you to find any reason to laugh? Me, too! Sometimes those are moments of cruelty; sometimes they result from another’s insensitivity.

Our Lord loves to hear us laugh; delighted by the wonders of His work and the depth of His love! One of the great myths of spirituality is that it demands a long face. Yes, in our discipleship there are times of deep sorrow, moments when we feel the weight of sin – in ourselves or in the world in which we live – and we weep, broken and mourning.  Let us not forget that part of our heritage in the Lord is JOY. "You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 63:5-7, NLT)  On this Monday morning, I urge you to look around for joy. Let it find you in a song, touch you from the depths as you recall a moment of God’s faithfulness, surprise you from an unexpected place. Laugh with God!

Don’t become a cynic who laughs at Him!  Sarah was an old, old woman so far beyond child-bearing years that she had given up all hope of having the child God promised to Abraham and to her.  In fact, she had (in the custom of the time) had her maid become her surrogate with Abraham, resulting in the birth of Ishmael. But, he was not the ‘promised son.’  One day visitors came by their tent. Unaware that they were supernatural beings, she listened in.  How did she respond to what she heard?  “Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18:10-14, NLT)  Her laughter was an expression of disbelief, something too good to even hope for anymore.

But, God was faithful to His word in spite of her.  Later, she had opportunity to laugh with God!  "She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. And Abraham named their son Isaac. Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!” (Genesis 21:1-7, NLT)

Do feel the stirring of the Spirit, the outlines of a promise taking shape in you? How will you respond?  Will you laugh at God, dismissing His inspiration as something other than what it is? Or, will you laugh with Him, celebrating His work in your, even in apparently impossible situations?

Here is a word from the Word. I hope it is your declaration for this day. "Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one." (Psalm 28:6-8, NIV)

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JOY – (listen on YouTube)

There is beauty in my brokenness,

I've got true love instead of pain.

There is freedom though you've captured me,

I've got joy instead of mourning.

You give me joy
down deep in my soul,

Down deep in my soul,

Down deep in my soul!

In your presence there is freedom

In your presence there is fullness

In your presence there is joy

There is joy forevermore

Never been so free

Caught in your love for me

Never been more secure

Knowing your heart, Lord

For me.

-          Copyright, HouseFires

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