Rebuilt

Most Christians have heard the modern parable "Your heart is a house, and Jesus wants access to every room." This devotion was written in a 1986 booklet, "My Heart - Christ's Home," by Robert Munger. The parable uses familiar language to paint a picture of access and submission ; to aid the saints in cooperating with the process of Sanctification. In summaries I've read of this devotion, Jesus is invited into each room in the house of our heart. We are not to deny Him entry into any room. The study is the area of the heart where our media intake resides. The dining room is related to appetites and desires. The living room is about fellowship. The workroom is related to producing fruit and good works for The Kingdom. Ultimately in this parable, we are called to stop viewing Jesus as a guest in our home, and instead turn the title of the house over to Him.

I personally have not read the booklet. I have heard the verbal telling of the basic parable concept. I have read a few excerpts. It seems a lovely framework. Here are a few Scriptures pertaining to the framing of Jesus taking up residence:

John 14:23 (ESV) Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Ephesians 3:17 ...so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love...

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

The Lord once Brought this parable to my mind. He then authoritatively Said:

"I want to tear down the house. And I decide if there's any lumber from that old house that is fit to use in the new house."

The Lord was Emphasizing complete dismantling. The Lord does not only want you to let Him into every area of your heart ("room in your house"). He not only wants the deed to the house. He wants to completely dismantle the structures that built that current framework of a house.

This is not a transfer. This is not a reorganization. This is not a remodel.

This is a REBUILD.

• Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh...

• Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

• Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

• Romans 6:4-6 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

It is a difference of behavior management versus rebirth. With behavior management, we learn what we ought to do and we do it. With rebirth, our whole system is rewired, made new. Don't get me wrong: behavior management is often our starting place. But it should not be our resting place nor our ending place. Here is a practical example: a saint reads Scripture, is Convicted (not Condemned, but Convicted; made aware) of sin, and stops the sin. This is behavior modification. A rebirth goes on to examine with The Holy Spirit: Why was I engaging in that sin to begin with? Why did I permit myself to develop that particular sin stronghold? This is a much deeper work of The Spirit.

Confession is the act of acknowledging. In order to confess something, we must realize it is occurring. The Lord is Calling His saints to recognize the extent of our internal structures that are build by the world we exist in. These often subconscious frameworks affect how we receive and process all input. In all of us (even those raised in Christian homes) we have internal structures built, or at least shaped, by the zeitgeist spirit of the age.

Merriam-Webster defines zeitgeist as: zeitgeist (noun - zeit·​geist ˈtsīt-ˌgīst ' - German words Zeit, meaning "time," and Geist, meaning "spirit" or "ghost.") : the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

The zeitgeist spirit is not only going to be the:

• intellectual

• social

• cultural

• philosophical

• academic

• ethical

• political climate of your generation. But it is going to be influenced by the generations preceding yours, as you are downstream from those lingering effects and influence. This influences both personal and group thinking and reasoning.

  • Thinking is the broad, non-linear mental process of generating ideas, contemplating information, and solving problems, which can be either conscious or unconscious and is often influenced by emotions and biases.

  • Reasoning is a specific, structured subset of thinking that uses logic, evidence, and systematic analysis to draw conclusions or make inferences, aiming for [apparent] objectivity and a specific goal. (AI definitions)

We are incapable of doing proper assessment of ourselves in this. We can and should actively participate with willing, engaged spirits. But this is a Work of The Holy Spirit. We must pray for God to Reveal these internal structures to us. And we must be willing to allow God to Tear them down.

I will warn you. Being on The Potter's Wheel - collapsed to formless wet clay then Reformed by God's Hands - can be painful. This is probably going to hurt. You will die. Frankly, you must die. Many times over. Many people stop the process because the flesh instinctively fights back against death. Push through this.

• Jeremiah 18:2-6 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

• Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

• Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?

But we will be Molded more and more into the Image of Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Ready to pray that prayer, saint?

"Lord, Reveal in me any internal structures that are not from You. Reveal all the hidden frameworks of the zeitgeist spirit that are affecting my thinking and reasoning in ways I'm not even aware of. Only Your Spirit Knows, Lord. I'm ready to give it up, Lord. I want only You. I cannot do this apart from Your Spirit. I confess my dependency on You. I confess my willingness to be Pruned by You Alone. Tear down my house and rebuild it in the Image of Your Son Jesus. When it hurts, give me Your Power to endure through it."

In Jesus's name!

Christy Hale