Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

7 Days! In 7 days, just one week, my family and I will celebrate Christmas together. Gifts will be torn open, and the Christmas magic will explode. That's why today, just now even, I am deep-cleaning my home. Nobody's actually coming to my house besides the people that live here, but there's just something about a clean house on Christmas morning. I mean clean. Closets, baseboards, cabinets, the floor behind the big appliances...clean.

I don't know what exactly it is about cleanliness and holidays. But it seems to me that I can't really relax and enjoy the environment of excitement when there's a mess everywhere. I want to look back on photos of this Christmas and soak in the sweetness of my children's faces and not be distracted by the mess in the background.

I also have this crazy itch to help my kids (and me too) purge whatever isn't being used in their rooms and closets before Christmas. We donate any good-repair items to charity and the rest gets pitched. There's no need to keep things just for the sake of hoarding. And it makes finding a home in their room for new gifts a lot easier.

I know, I know...you'll read tons of blogs and articles on the web about just being "present in the moment." And you should. Absolutely, I am a firm believer that people come before process. People always come first...especially my own family. But for me, it's about preparing my home so that I have eliminated all distractions. The temptation is gone for me to be anything but present in the moment. I think my household cleanliness issue can mirror closely what should be happening in our hearts too.

I think of the Christmas carol, "Joy to the Word," and specifically, "Let ev'ry heart, prepare Him room..." This time of year, and all year, really, we are constantly bombarded with things to accomplish, stress, pressure, and temptations of all kinds. I think many times our hearts get so cluttered with all of the tactics of the enemy:  anxiety, jealousy, grief, resentment, stress, and many others I'm sure you could name.

If we don't take time at some point to take inventory of heart and purge all of the things that are unnecessary and allow the Holy Spirit to do some holiday cleaning, how will we ever be able to hear Him when He speaks and make room for His gifts? His gifts are simple, but oh so sweet: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, kindness and self-control.

When David prayed his prayer in Psalm 51:10, he was repenting of sin and asking God to renew his soul. I think we all could benefit from repeating David's prayer as well. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." This year, my home won't be the only vessel ready for Christmas. Baseboards are on my list today. But when I'm on my knees scrubbing, I'll be praying David's prayer.

Christmas Memories

Fruitcake always gets a bad rap this time of year. Apparently, it's known as a pity gift to people or a gift for someone you don't particularly like. My son Trevor is in a play on Sunday, and he was practicing his lines today. His very first line mentions "fruitcake." He went on practicing, but I couldn't get the fruitcake out of my mind.

Dewayne has always been special. I'm not really sure of the medical abnormalities that he may suffer with, but he is indeed special in other ways too. Always eager to help, and always willing to lend a hand or a strong back, Dewayne loves his church and community. Affectionately known as "Chick," to most people, the story is told that when he was a child, he didn't think there would be enough to eat for a particular meal. He went to the yard and wrung a chicken's neck, and carried it to his mother to cook. In his heart of hearts, Dewayne always just wants to help. He loves Jesus, and He loves people.

When I was a child, he loved the kids in our church. Even though his legal age was that of an adult, he played with the kids in the church in the yard during choir practice. He was literally our tree that swung us around by our hands, ankles, and was always picked first for a team when we were going to play Red Rover. He was an umpire during softball games in the cemetery (don't ask), and he was the resident referee during times of squabbles and disagreements. Every summer, he would come and get my sister and me and take us fishing. He patiently baited our hook only to watch us cast the line straight into the tree.

And Every Christmas, without fail, he would bring a fruitcake to our home. His sister apparently made fruitcakes for friends/family each year, and Dewayne always made sure that our family received one. He didn't have much to give, but he made sure that we knew we were loved. And we did. When I was a really small child, I didn't see the big deal about fruitcake. But as I grew, I realized the sentiment behind the fruitcake. No, he didn't make it with his own hands, and no, he probably didn't pay for it either, but he made sure that we got one. Because he loves us.

Today he still loves us, and I know it. When I'm in town, he always wants to see me to see how I'm doing. He always tells me that he's proud of me, even though I'm 35 years old now. And he loves my children, even though he doesn't know them that well.

I wish everyone loved like that. I wish everyone knew the joy that Dewayne carries in his heart. I've never seen a heart so pure.

This time of year, we get hurried, frazzled, stressed, and downright angry at the way people act. And sadly, sometimes the holidays bring out the worst in us. This year, I'd give anything to have a piece of that fruitcake...just to remember the depth of love that we as Christians can display if we just spend time and share with others. We don't have to give extravagant gifts or decorate elaborate cookies. Sometimes the most-often joked-about gift can be the best...as long as the recipient knows we care.

Physically Obese and Spiritually Malnourished

Matthew 4:4 “But Jesus told him, ‘No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ‘“ NLT

June 25, 2012 found me at the end of my rope. We had given everything we had to our ministry, but despite our best efforts, it just didn’t pay off in the tangible way we had hoped. The stress of the last few years had taken its toll on our family, our marriage, our finances, and our bodies. That day, it came to an end. I was physically obese and spiritually malnourished. We were drained, tired, burnt out, and I was obese.

For the first time in my entire life, I found myself outside of ministry, and it was an odd feeling. I had always had an identity in serving God, busy doing His work, whether as a pastor’s kid, a Bible college student, or a pastor. Now, I was none of those. What was my identity, I asked myself every day. I didn’t even have a job to contribute financially to my family, and my self-esteem was at an all-time low. All I was, was a fat woman, I thought. I believed it too. That’s all I was, and no one could take me seriously like this. What’s more, my spiritual life had been drained emotionally too. I was always giving out, serving, but never taking in enough spiritual nourishment to restore what I had given. I was so dry spiritually, and everything I read or heard, I just soaked up like a sponge. I was certain that my sponge would never be saturated again.

In our Scripture today, we find Jesus of all people, at low point. He has fasted for 40 days, is drained physically, and Satan is trying his best tactics to tempt Jesus and bring Him down. Jesus has an answer, though. Here Jesus refuses to use his God-given power to get something that He trusted God to give Him. It was God’s place to provide the strength Jesus needed. Originally, this verse is found in Deuteronomy chapter 8, when the children of Israel are complaining and struggling with unbelief in God to provide food and nourishment. Unlike Israel, Jesus here looks to God the Father, unswerving in His faith. Because the very thing that Jesus needed was a word from God. 

Sometimes we think we just need energy and strength, sometimes it’s a pat on the back in encouragement of our work for God. Other times, we pray for God to give us a sign that our labor for Him is “paying off,” but we must remember that our work for Him isn’t always visible in the here and now. We need only trust in the God who has always provided richly to His people and who gives us balance. There is no need to worry whether the manna will fall, but simply trust in the Word He has already spoken to us.

Sometimes we think we just need to lose weight, and things will be better. We fool ourselves to thinking that our problem is a physical one when often times, it’s a spiritual one. I’m totally of the opinion that our physical life affects our spiritual life in a big way, yet which is more important? I’ve heard it said that it would be a shame to be physically fit for this world yet unfit to meet the King of Kings. 

There will be seasons in life, seasons of both plenty and want. But in those times, we have to rely on the Word of God to sustain us. He has already provided!

Are you out of balance in the fitness of your physical and spiritual life? He can bring balance and order! Read through Deuteronomy 8 and Matthew 4:1-11 and contrast the Israelites’ response to Jesus’ response to times of testing.

Encouragement for Today

1 Timothy 4:8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” NLT

Philippians 3:19 “They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.” NLT

Stress

Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” NLT

About the time I was winding down my weight-loss journey with only 10 pounds to go, my husband was transferred with his job out of state. We were moving 400 miles away, and we had to find a house, buy it, wrap up our jobs, say goodbye to strong friendships, and move, all within 4 weeks. It was stressful to say the least, especially considering our mortgage lender and our realtor’s staff seemed not too concerned with our tight deadline. What was quickly promised as “totally doable” when we communicated our moving date, suddenly was “highly unlikely,” the closer our date came. Every day, and sometimes multiple times a day, during that four weeks, I had to call the lender and the realtor to find out where we were in the process. And sure enough, when the day came to load the moving truck, we still weren’t sure of the exact closing date. We were driving our entire lives across that 400 miles with what was actually, nowhere to go. We were homeless. The closing date came and passed without signed papers, and I was stressed to the max. We ended up closing two days late, and I was livid. Everything we owned sat in a truck in my parents driveway for days until we signed those papers.

During that time, I gained 5 pounds. What was supposed to be a very delicate time of losing the last 10, ended up stress-filled. Even though I closely monitored my activity and nutrition, it was to no avail. The stress hormone had won, and I was its culprit. Stress keeps us from losing weight can actually cause us to gain it.

As a very high-strung person, stress is my weakness. I always feel like I have broad shoulders, and I can handle most problems myself. That personality trait tends though to harm me and actually, hinder my relationship with Jesus. He desires to handle our stress for us, but when we refuse to let it go, it does nothing but hurt us.

In this section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he addresses a small conflict that has arisen in the church. He encourages them to work through their disagreement and to allow God to free them from their worry. We must rejoice, he says and to be full of the joy of the Lord. Further, he says not to worry, pray, and be thankful. There it is. It’s the formula for less-stress living. 

Troubles arise, and there are seasons of life that natural stress bringers. Any change in life whatsoever can bring about stress, even in small amounts. But God doesn’t want us to live this way, and He can alleviate it, if we give it to Him. God loves us, His children, and doesn’t want us to worry about anything. He cares about our needs and invites us to talk to Him about everything.

What’s troubling you today? What causes stress in your life? Take some time to read through this chapter and pray about those things. He can handle them!

Encouragement for Today

John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” NLT

Psalm 55:22 “Give your burdens to the Lord and he will take care of you. he will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” NLT

Some days I wonder if I can keep going. Some days it seems like I'm just going to cave in from emotional exhaustion. I was raised a pastor's kid and saw first hand the stresses that pastors face. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into--until I became one myself. I was, to say the last, unprepared for the extreme pressure of leading a spiritual body of people. I face the realization every day that I stand responsible for the spiritual well being of 75 people! I stand responsible and will answer to God for the things I preach, teach, say, and do to influence them. I realize quite often that my decisions, actions, and words will reach into eternity. This is not some ordinary corporate leadership role. My decisions will not altar the economic crisis nor will I ever find the answer to health care reform. My decisions reach further.

The very thought of this makes my head spin and my heart skip a beat. My stomach is in my throat and I feel as though I'm going to be sick. I need to sit down a moment. But wait. God is with me. He speaks through me, and He has the power to infiltrate my thought process so that I can have the mind of Christ. I need to get to know Him more intimately. So that when I act, it is God acting through me.