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Thank You for Making Your Home in Me
Andrea Lende • July 27, 2021
John 14:23
Thank You for Making Your Home in Me
You can also listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/Thank-You-for-Making-Your-Home-in-Me-e153dqi
John 14:23
“Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.”
Jesus was giving His disciples some of His last words of wisdom.
He told them He was going to prepare a place for them in heaven.
He told them to ask anything in His name and He would grant it.
He said He wouldn’t leave them as orphans, so He was sending them the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby.
He told them He would reveal Himself to those who loved Him.
The Amplified Bible further defines this to mean, “I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to Him.”
There are so many promises here in this chapter, but this last one is probably the most precious to me.
I know there are those who don’t experience Jesus as I do.
We all experience the Lord differently.
And this is good.
We are built differently by our Maker to serve Him in different roles.
All are necessary.
As I read our verse, I thought about how long it’s taken for God to wrangle the spirit He put inside me.
It’s truly taken a lifetime.
I am headstrong, strong willed, and highly imaginative mixed with a bunch of motivation.
This simply means I’ve chased and chased many dreams over the years.
But today I chase God.
I chase His wisdom, knowledge, mercy, love, and grace.
I am thirsty to know more.
And as I continue to seek Him, I find beautiful nuggets that touch my heart like the one today.
His last promise in our verse is that He will come and make His home with us.
He will dwell within us.
We can cherish this promise.
I mean, what King would die for His people so He could forever abide in them?
Today I am thankful for God’s promises and thankful He shows Himself in such real ways to me even two thousand years after He left this world.
May you find the Lord lives within you and is leading and guiding you and holding you up through the difficulties of this life.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God thank You for Your promises in Your Word. Thank You for sending Your Son here to teach us about You and the love You have for us. Thank You for sending Your Son as the final Sacrifice to make it possible for You to live within our hearts. Thank You for continually being with us through this lifetime, Father. Thank You for never leaving us alone. Help us hear Your voice in our hearts and allow You to comfort us through the difficulties we face. Help us hear Your words of encouragement and feel your everlasting love. May You lift us from the confines of this world into Your presence, Lord. Keep us in Your care. Help us bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing our prayer.
Answer: I AM with you and reside in you because I love you, My child.
Response: Thank You, most gracious heavenly Father. Help me not miss You, Lord.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.