Hi Todd,
Yes, it is beautiful, and the fact that he thought of such a
beautiful thing and the way he expressed his thoughts was totally loving.
I'm also keeping it.
Love and Blessings,
Pat Ferguson
At 10:48 AM 10/12/2006, you wrote:
>Pat, thank you for posting that. That was wonderful.
>I'm going to hang onto this.
>Todd
>
>--- Pat Ferguson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > My Heart Christ's Home
> > by Robert Boyd Munger
> >
> > In Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, we find these
> > words:
> > "That (God) 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" (Ephesians 3:16). Or, as another has
> > translated, "That Christ
> > may settle down
> > and be at home in your hearts by faith."
> > Without question one of the most remarkable
> > Christian doctrines is
> > that Jesus Christ
> > Himself through the presence of the Holy Spirit will
> > actually enter a
> > heart, settle
> > down and be at home there. Christ will make the
> > human heart His abode.
> > Our Lord said to His disciples, "If a man love me,
> > he will keep my
> > words: and my
> > Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and
> > make our abode
> > with him" (John
> > 14:23). It was difficult for them to understand what
> > He was saying.
> > How was it possible
> > for Him to make his abode with them in this sense?
> > It is interesting that our Lord used the same word
> > here that He gave
> > them in the
> > first of the fourteenth chapter of John: "I go to
> > prepare a place for
> > you .. that
> > where I am, ye may be also." Our Lord was promising
> > his disciples
> > that, just as
> > He was going to heaven to prepare a place for them
> > and would welcome
> > them one day,
> > now it would be possible for them to prepare a place
> > for Him in their
> > hearts and
> > He would come and make His abode with them.
> > They could not understand this. How could it be?
> > Then came Pentecost. The Spirit of the living Christ
> > was given to the
> > church and
> > they understood. God did not dwell in Herod's temple
> > in Jerusalem!
> > God did not dwell
> > in a temple made with hands; but now, through the
> > miracle of the
> > outpoured Spirit,
> > God would dwell in human hearts. The body of the
> > believer would be
> > the temple of
> > the living God and the human heart would be the home
> > of Jesus Christ.
> > It is difficult
> > for me to think of a higher privilege than to make
> > Christ a home in
> > my heart, to
> > welcome, to serve, to please, to fellowship with him
> > there.
> > One evening I invited Jesus Christ into my heart.
> > What an entrance He
> > made! It was
> > not a spectacular, emotional thing, but very real.
> > It was at the very
> > center of my
> > life. He came into the darkness of my heart and
> > turned on the light.
> > He built a fire
> > in the cold hearth and banished the chill. He
> > started music where
> > there had been
> > stillness, and He filled the emptiness with His own
> > loving, wonderful
> > fellowship.
> > I have never regretted opening the door to Christ
> > and I never will -
> > not into eternity!
> > This, of course, is the first step in making the
> > heart Christ's home.
> > He has said,
> > "Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man
> > hear my voice and
> > open the door,
> > I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
> > with me."
> > (Revelation 3:20).
> > If you are interested in making your life an abode
> > of the living God,
> > let me encourage
> > you to invite Christ into your heart and He will
> > surely come
> > After Christ entered my heart and in the joy of this
> > new relationship
> > I said to Him,
> > "Lord, I want this heart of mine to be Yours. I want
> > to have You
> > settle down here
> > and be perfectly at home. Everything I have belongs
> > to You. Let me
> > show You around
> > and introduce you to the various features of the
> > home that you may be
> > more comfortable
> > and that we may have fuller fellowship together."
> > He was very glad to come, of course, and happier
> > still to be given a
> > place in the
> > heart
> > The Library
> > The first room was the study - the library. Let us
> > call it the study
> > of the mind.
> > Now in my home this room of the mind is a very small
> > room with very
> > thick walls.
> > But it is an important room. In a sense, it is the
> > control room of
> > the house. He
> > entered with me and looked around at the books in
> > the bookcase, the
> > magazines upon
> > the table, the pictures on the walls. As I followed
> > His gaze I became
> > uncomfortable.
> > Strangely enough, I had not felt badly about this
> > before, but now
> > that He was there
> > looking at these things I was embarrassed. There
> > were some books were
> > there that
> > His eyes were too pure to behold. There was a lot of
> > trash and
> > literature on the
> > table that a Christian had no business reading, and
> > as for the
> > pictures on the walls
> > - the imaginations and thoughts of the mind - these
> > were shameful.
> > I turned to Him and said, "Master, I know that this
> > room needs a
> > radical alteration.
> > Will You help me make it what it ought to be? - to
> > bring every
> > thought into captivity
> > to you?"
> > "Surely!" He said. "Gladly will I help you. First of
> > all, take all
> > the things that
> > you are reading and looking at which are not
> > helpful, pure, good and
> > true, and throw
> > them out! Now put on the empty shelves the books of
> > the Bible. Fill
> > the library with
> > Scriptures and meditate on then day and night. As
> > for the pictures on
> > the walls,
> > you will have difficulty controlling these images,
> > but here is an
> > aid" He gave me
> > a full-size portrait of Himself. "Hang this
> > centrally," He said, "on
> > the wall of
> > the mind."
> > I did, and I have discovered through the years that
> > when my thoughts
> > are centered
> > upon Christ Himself, His purity and power cause
> > impure thoughts to
> > back away. So
> > He has helped me to bring my thoughts into
> > captivity.
> > May I suggest to you if you have difficulty with
> > this little room of
> > the mind, that
> > you bring Christ in there. Pack it full with the
> > Word of God,
> > meditate upon it and
> > keep before it the immediate presence of the Lord
> > Jesus.
> > The Dining Room
> > From the study we went into the dining room, the
> > room of appetites
> > and desires. Now
> > this was a very large room. I spent a good deal of
> > time in the dining
> > room and much
> > effort in satisfying my wants.
> > I said to Him, "This is a favorite room. I am quite
> > sure You will be
> >
>=== message truncated ===
>
>
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