Christian devotions for February

A Home for Your Heart

by Max Lucado

I only ask one thing form the LORD. This is what I want: let me live in the LORD’s house all my life. — Psalm 27:4

I’d like to talk with you about your house. Let’s step through the front door and walk around a bit. Every so often it’s wise to do a home inspection, you know—check the roof for leaks and examine the walls for bows and the foundation for cracks. We’ll see if your kitchen cupboards are full and glance at the books on the shelves in your study.

What’s that? You think it odd that I want to look at your house? You thought this was a book on spiritual matters? It is. Forgive me, I should have been clearer. I’m not talking about your visible house of stone or sticks, wood or straw, but your invisible one of thoughts and truths and convictions and hopes. I’m talking about your spiritual house.

You have one, you know. And it’s no typical house. Conjure up your fondest notions and this house exceeds them all. A grand castle has been built for your heart. Just as a physical house exists to care for the body, so the spiritual house exists to care for your soul.

You’ve never seen a house more solid: the roof never leaks, the walls never crack, and the foundation never trembles. You’ve never seen a castle more splendid: the observatory will stretch you, the chapel will humble you, the study will direct you, and the kitchen will nourish you.

Ever lived in a house like this? Chances are you haven’t. Chances are you’ve given little thought to housing your soul. We create elaborate houses for our bodies, but our souls are relegated to a hillside shanty where the night winds chill us and the rain soaks us. Is it any wonder the world is so full of cold hearts?

Doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to live outside. It’s not God’s plan for your heart to roam as a Bedouin. God wants you to move in out of the cold and live … with him. Under his roof there is space available. At his table a plate is set. In his living room a wingback chair is reserved just for you. And he’d like you to take up residence in his house. Why would he want you to share his home?

Simple, he’s your Father.

You were intended to live in your Father’s house. Any place less than his is insufficient. Any place far from his is dangerous. Only the home built for your heart can protect your heart. And your Father wants you to dwell in him.

No, you didn’t misread the sentence and I didn’t miswrite it. Your Father doesn’t just ask you to live with him, he asks you to live in him. As Paul wrote, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 NIV).

Don’t think you are separated from God, he at the top end of a great ladder, you at the other. Dismiss any thought that God is on Venus while you are on earth. Since God is Spirit (John 4:23), he is next to you: God himself is our roof. God himself is our wall. And God himself is our foundation.

Moses knew this. “LORD,” he prayed, “you have been our home since the beginning” (Ps. 90:1). What a powerful thought: God as your home.

You shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.

You shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.

You shall not carry grudges, for they are the heaviest of all life's burdens.

You shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway.

You shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.

You shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for them than you.

You shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!

You shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own.

You shall not become "bogged down" by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.

You shall count your blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. (NIV)

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day,
I thank You for my being able to see
and to hear this morning.

I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and
an understanding God.

You have done so much for me
and You keep on blessing me.

Forgive me this day for everything
I have done, said or thought
that was not pleasing to you.

I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm.
Help me to start this day
with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.

Let me make the best of each and every day
to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Please broaden my mind
that I can accept all things.

Let me not whine and whimper
over things I have no control over.

And give me the best response
when I'm pushed beyond my limits.

I know that when I can't pray,
You listen to my heart.

Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be
a blessing to others..

Keep me strong that I may help the weak...
Keep me uplifted that I may have
words of encouragement for others.

I pray for those that are lost
and can't find their way.

I pray for those that are misjudged
and misunderstood.

I pray for those who
don't know You intimately.

I pray for those that will delete this
without sharing it with others

I pray for those that don't believe.

But I thank You that I believe
that God changes people and
God changes things.

I pray for all my sisters and brothers.
For each and every family member
in their households.

I pray for peace, love and joy
in their homes; that they are out of debt
and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this
knows there is no problem, circumstance,
or situation greater than God.

Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.

I pray that these words be received
into the hearts of every eye that sees it
in Jesus' name. Amen!

Just repeat this phrase and see how God moves!!
God I love you and I need you,
Come into my heart, please!