Matters of the Heart
This year, God has really impressed upon me that I need to spend more time in His word understanding where I am spending time and energy and how that effects the state of my heart. It's so convicting to read what matters to the Lord's heart and realize that I have some work to do to align mine with that. In order to help with the process, a new FREE downloadable devotional titled "Matters of the Heart," is available on our homepage in the top left corner. In October, I shared another 7-day devotional called, "A Blueprint for the Next 7 Days," that focused on what the Lord showed me through the process of building our house. In case you missed that devotional, I wanted to share the 7th day of that piece below. Day 7: Welcome Home On December 3, 2003, our family of six moved into our brand new home. Three years after beginning our journey, the Lord provided us the house we had prayed for and believed in. No matter how firm the foundation, strong the framing, complete the wiring, how abundant the landscaping, the house was just a building until my little tribe moved in and made it a home. Similarly, God created our bodies to be a temple for His Holy Spirit. We’re merely bone, flesh and muscles without His Spirit dwelling inside us. As we were inside unpacking boxes and trying to organize our new abode, our selfless landscaper was quietly working outside in our yard setting up a floodlight to shine a light on one of our Holy Spirit trees... the one bearing the miraculous cross. What a joy to walk outside and find a jolly, lit tree beaming on our property. In fact, we had local light-seekers driving by our home nightly to see it in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I love knowing that while I’m busy unpacking, cleaning and organizing my daily tasks in life, Jesus is quietly at work lighting my heart and dwelling in the temple. The adornments on the outer walls mean little without the light of the world shining from the interior. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. Jesus, thank you for dwelling in my heart. Thank you for being the light shining within me. I pray that I would not be burdened by the outer trappings of the world, but instead I pray I would focus on creating the best temple for Your Spirit. Thank you for welcoming me home into your presence daily.