For This Cause

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he 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; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” ‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:14-19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

We are in the process of rearranging rooms here at home! The kids are gone and use of bedrooms for other purposes desired. Now the arduous task of removal of abandoned possessions, long ago outgrown, is upon us. Each article meaningless to them; hold many fond memories to us, and are hard to part with, but let go we must, to make room for the rooms new purpose. 

Clear out the old to make room for the new! 

There's no way I could bring in the things I want in my Lady Cave (office/craft/music room) with the stuff that has been there for 16 years! It all has to go; no matter how painful!

Reading the above verse this morning, the thought crossed my mind: "do we make room for Christ when He moves into our hearts or do we just shove everything in a corner and expect Him to work around all our "stuff"?"

When God brought the children of Israel into the promise land, He told them to clear out the previous inhabitants, and they didn't obey.  Disobedience to His Commandment caused countless problems for them.  

I see parallels! The stuff we allow to stay in our heart, after our choice to follow Christ, will determine if our walk is successful! If we clean out the unforgiveness, the bitterness, fear, anger; then Christ's love has room to reside; peace and joy can grow and take the place of those previous inhabitants! 

Holding onto painful memories, old wounds, disappointments, etc, is choosing to disobey God's Word! He says forgive! He says confess your sins; in other words humble yourself! He says make room for Him!

He wants us to be filled with Him; His love! If we have unforgiveness, anger, bitterness (and the like)dwelling in our hearts, is Christ there? Does an spring give sweet and bitter water? 

We've all heard that the Holy Spirit is a gentleman! That He won't force Himself on you! 

Another analogy would be a houseguest; invited to permanent residence, but respectful of your ownership; allowing you to remove your own things! Your doing so, shows your intention to make good your offer of His inhabitance; removing the possibility of you changing your mind. 

When something Holy moves into something evil, there is a war! God demands obedience but does not force compliance It is your choice Who stays and Who goes!

Spirits of lust, anger, rejection have a right to stay as long as the sins remain unrepented of; torment (lack of sleep, lack of peace, depression, worry and fear, etc.) continues, until those spirits are evicted. 

Examine your heart!

The trash you find; get rid of it! 

Humble yourself! 

Repent of the stuff you have hidden in your heart, that is not pleasing to God! Tell those spirits that you belong to Him and that they are no longer welcome in your home! 

“let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” Hebrews‬ ‭12:1‬b KJV‬‬

Make room for Him!

Even so - MARANATHA! 

From 5/15/14