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Sunday, August 28
There once was a man who bought a lush piece of property with an old shack on it. He decided to renovate it and worked hard to fix it up, spending a lot of money in the process.
When he was almost finished, a windstorm came and blew most of it down. When the man thought he would rebuild it one more time, he sent for the inspector to check out the remains of the house.
The inspector said, “You should have called me to look at this before you wasted your time, effort, and money fixing up this old shack. I would have told you that it wasn’t worth the effort. You should have torn it down and started a new structure on a sure foundation. I wouldn’t try rebuilding this again.”
How well built is the dwelling place we give our Beloved Bridegroom? Is it built on Him, as our sure Rock-foundation? Does it come crashing down in a storm of affliction?
Paul said, “When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!” (2 Cor. 5:17 TLB) So, if the old dwelling place of our hearts is cleansed and created anew, do we keep it that way, or do we allow the winds of worry or the storms of strife to revert it back to the same ol’ rickety shack?
Here’s what I asked the Lord...
~Lord, my heart is Your home. Let’s build it together and keep it clean together.
* Clean out the closet of my hidden thoughts and throw away the trash of wrong attitudes.
* Dust behind the doors where preconceived ideas accumulate like cobwebs.
* Sweep out the corners of my heart where the soil of unwillingness piles up.
* Dig into those deep crevices of my soul where stubbornness plants its roots.
* Take down from the shelves of my mind all the negative thoughts I cling to and replace them with all Your promises that they may be readily available whenever I need them.
* Scrub down the walls littered with the graffiti of my words that have blemished Your Spirit and Your Word.
* Repair the cracks in the walls so that the enemy cannot ooze in with his unwanted ideas.
* Fix the holes in the roof where the rains of difficulties leak in and threaten to dampen my soul-rest.
* Seal up the broken windows where the winds of discontent blow in so easily.
* Clean out the soot of wrong burning desires that have blackened my chimney and allow the vapors of praise to rise heavenward.
* Rekindle the embers of my heart’s passion that have grown cold.
* Use my tears to mop the floor of my soul where it has been trampled upon with the muddy feet of those who would rather walk over me than to see the hurt and pain within me.
* Shine Your light into the dark cellar of my emotions so nothing can remain hidden from Your forgiveness.
* Help me erect that exterior that holds all else in place, as I use my obedience to cement Your bricks of truth in place. May I not leave them lying useless on the ground.
* Help me build on the one sure Foundation that is unshakable and can withstand all storms and disasters.
Lord, may my heart always be a temple in which You may reside and always feel proud to bring others to visit. May it be a monument to Your grace, Your forgiveness, and Your love.~~
What kind of home are you building for your precious Lord? Do you schedule regular maintenance projects? Do you allow the Master Craftsman to construct according to His divine plan?
“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.” (Ps. 127:1 NLT)
Oh! How I love to read your posts, always so encouraging and beautifully written. I can tell you pour your heart and soul into your writing! I love the part about a person becoming a Christian, as I'm a Born Again Christian myself and how it does change us!!!
Have a blessed week and see you on Facebook!
Jackie
Oh, my! Thank you so much, Jackie! I'm humbled and honored. Bless you!
Great post Lynn, regular maintenance for our 'house' is needed, all the time. Thanks for the reminder.
I love this, Lynn! The visuals of the leaky roof to the cobwebs - oh, how you have made those weaknesses tangible to see! It is all about self-discipline and like Marja said, maintenance. This would make an awesome post to hang in the laundry room/kitchen - and for wedding presents for newlyweds - even though I need it in mine to remind me:) I think this is one of my very favorites!!!
Okay Lynn,
I absolutely LOVE this post! I love all your posts, but if you don't mind, I'm going to copy this and put it in my appointment book and keep it with me so that I can pull it out frequently. In fact, I think I'll put a copy in my Bible too.
LOVE IT! LOVE YOU!
Oh, gosh! You know it, Marja! With scrubbing bubbles! LOL Thanks, sweetie! Bless you!
Oh, sweet Maryleigh, thank you so much! I so appreciate it. Bless you!
Oh...my...gosh! Stephanie, I'm humbled! Thank you, sweetie, so much. So always bless me! Blessings to you!
This is so good. I wrote about making a house a real home, the other day... but I like your post even better, Lynn. You always have the best way of getting to the heart of the matter. Thanks for always writing truth in such a powerful way. I'm going to put this one on Facebook!
Yikes! I missed your post! Thank you so much, Dawn! You truly bless me! Off to read your post! Bless you!
Dawn Marie Wilson posted this tonight so I checked it out. I'm glad I did. It was a great article and I think I need to post it somewhere I'll see it regularly. We all know we need to clean house but your imagery just brings it to life. Thanks.
Lisa, thank you so much for visiting and commenting. I'm honored you stopped by. Blessings to you!
I love this post, Lynn. I'm asking Jesus to bring his enormous flashlight for my cellar!
LOL Too funny, Carol! You're right...we need a Big Light, don't we? Thank you, sweetie! Always love your comments! Bless you!
I so love this! And especially all the particular problem solving section- its really great! I'd love to use this to work with some young people I know as they would really get the building analogy.
Heckety, thank you so much for visiting and commenting. I'm honored. If you think this would be of help to your group of young people, by all means, use it! All for God's glory! Bless you!
There is no short cut around a good foundation. That includes family, education, a business, a building, and faith. Once built, they all need regular maintenance, faith needs it daily. Great post, Lynn.
Amen, Ceci! Amen! Thanks so much, sweetie! Blessings to you!
Great post as usual Lynn! Everyone loves a "fixer upper" - but when I came to Christ - I wanted a new foundation, walls, roof and all! No repairs for me - I'd much rather have heavenly building materials with a "lifetime warranty" than what this world has to offer, Amen?
Thanks for the wonderful glimpse of what really stinks in our old house...
So glad you got through, Deborah! I so appreciate your persistence! And you are so right! A re-do is essential! And then the clean-up comes after we dirty it up again! LOL Thanks, sweetie, for commenting! Blessings to you!
I love, love, love this analogy Lynn! I'm going to print this out and hang it next to my computer and read it daily. Thank you!
Beautiful, Lynn. It gave me much to dwell on. Thanks for listening to God as you wrote this. Your words are always such a challenge and a blessing.
Awesome! Thank you so much, Alisa! I'm so glad you liked it. You make my heart so happy! Bless you!
Lynn,
What a great checklist to make sure we're up to "code"! These will all lead to a firm foundation that can't be moved. I really loved this!
Blessings,
~Erin
Thanks so much, Erin, for your comment! I always love hearing from you. Bless you!
Lynn I love your style
Lynn, I enjoy your flair for writing for purpose
Hey, Ol' Tom! I'm honored to have you visit. Thank you so much for your kind comment. I appreciate it. Blessings to you!
I loved reading this post, Lynn. Your words always share with me a truth that I need to hear.
Aw, thank you so much, Sherry! What a sweet comment. Bless you!
Great analogy! :D
Thanks so much, Jenny! So happy to have you visit! Blessings to you!
I loved this! I would like to print this too and carry it around with me. Too good not to share! :)
Aw, thanks so much, dear Kristin! Print away! Bless you!