Make Your Home In Us

Sunday morning retuning: As we continue our journey through Advent, this season where we anticipate God’s appearing, we were challenged to consider if we have entered the narrow way.  Many have lately. Let’s keep asking for more. You can find some resources for this powerful journey here, including sermon-based questions to dig deeper.

"You choose to make Your home in us.”  We have been singing this line lately from the new Paul Baloche song This Is Love.  I really like the way that summarizes the true meaning of Christmas, the coming of the Glorious Impossible.  I also like the fact that it helps us to focus on the fact that God chose us.  He comes to us.  He initiates.

“Praise, O praise Him, praise the the glory of this lavished grace so full.  Lift your souls now to receive the Glorious Impossible.”  That was the key line to the message the choir and orchestra shared last Sunday.  To our knowledge there were at least 11 souls who decided to receive that lavish grace by lifting their souls to Christ for forgiveness and acceptance.  

But what about you?  Is the presence of Christ in your life making a difference in you? I had a situation occur recently that had me asking that very question.  I treated someone close to me in a manner unbecoming of a Christ follower.  I have had to ask their forgiveness.  Then I had to figure out how to make certain that does not happen again.

What will make the difference?  Christ in me, but not just in me, making Himself at home.  

BUt what does that mean exactly?  As I reflected on that I thought about a game my boys like to play.  It’s called Minecraft.  Ask anyone under 25 and they will know what you are talking about.  The premise is pretty simple, but came become complex, like the Christian life.  You mine or simply collect raw materials and then craft them into more complicated things.  An example would be chopping down trees to form the materials for a home, much like this one. 

My boys have shown me some amazingly complex things that others have built in the game.  They have even built some pretty cool underground structures themselves.  So I got to thinking, I wonder if anyone has tried to build a nativity, or represent Jesus.  Yep, they sure have.

So what’s the point in all this.  Simply this.  Jesus wants to come and make His home in us.  Which I think implies that He wants to take the raw material of our lives, and making something ever better of them.  I think He wants to show HIs glory in us.  We hold this treasure in jars of clay, showing God’s power in us.  2 Corinthians 4:7

Jesus wants to make His home in us.  Not leave us as we were when He moved in, but showing His presence in us.  Let Him have HIs way in you, and you might not find your furniture moved around, but He will likely encourage you to make some other changes which will be more difficult, but certainly well worth the effort they require, as you welcome Jesus to show Himself as not only your Savior, but also your Lord.

Jesus help me to welcome You everyday to make Your home in me.  Make the changes You need to make to build me into the person You want me to become for Your glory to be most wonderfully revealed.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Timothy