Heading Home

Sing a song of celebration, lift up a shout of praise

For the Bridegroom will come the glorious one...

We will dance on the streets that are golden,

The glorious bride and the great Son of man;

From ev’ry tongue and tribe and nation

We’ll join in the song of the Lamb.

I had a dream.

Walking along a city street, I pass by houses of all types of contrasting architectures. Beautiful mansions. Humble shacks. Sweet cottages. Different shapes. Different sizes. Different appeals.

I decide to peek in some of the windows to see how the people live there. Some sit quietly by their hearths, their peaceful faces lit by the fire’s glow. The sound of fighting prevails in other residences; some families reconcile before bed and kneel together in prayer.

Joy and thankfulness fill some homes, while sadness or grief fills others. Love permeates many households, yet hate and unforgiveness abound in some.

As I move on, I see habitats in different stages of completion. Some sit abandoned. Basement foundations protrude out of the ground. Yards have building supplies of lumber, nails, and bricks laying in piles.

As I peek in more windows, I see that some dwellings stand vacant, yet occupied with all sorts of critters. Some homes are exceptionally clean while others are littered with trash. Some are clean but empty. Others appear weather-beaten and neglected.

In some homes, family members lie on sick beds, frightened. Others stand around the death bed of a loved one, in tears, yet rejoicing as that one is about to depart for heaven.

So puzzled, I ask the Lord, “What does all this mean?”

“My child,” He whispers in that gentle yet powerful inner voice, “these homes represent the hearts of My children, no matter whether they are elegant mansions or humble shacks. My children’s hearts come in all shapes, all sizes, all appeals.

“Many hearts are filled with bitterness and quarreling; some obey My Word to not let the sun go down while they are still angry.

“Many heart-homes contain sadness or grief, longing to be comforted. Some receive My comfort because they seek it; others struggle along without Me.

“Each heart lingers in some stage of completion. Some merely lay a foundation of salvation, forgetting to build on it. While others, distracted through difficult trials or busy schedules, have never built on that foundation and lack all I offer to help them get through their day. Still others abandon their foundation altogether.

“Some hearts build haphazardly on their foundation, resulting in a faulty edifice. The winds of heartache or misfortune blow upon it and the walls collapse.

“Some have allowed Me to sweep their heart-homes clean; some remain clean but empty and cold, refusing My love. While others refuse My cleansing and remain unkempt, allowing trash and irritants to move in.

“There are frightened hearts, and bodies that lie on sick beds. Death stares them in the face, but heaven would be their eternal destination if they only asked Me.

“Love, hate, unforgiveness, joy, thankfulness...so many things can fill a heart-home.

“I offer so many supplies with which a child of Mine may use to build on that foundation. I love it when My commands and My Word are laid in place with the cement of obedience, but it breaks My heart when they are left lying on the ground.

“The most precious to My heart are the heart-homes that sit in peace by the hearth, aglow with the warmth of My love, despite the storms raging outside.

“I want to continually add to each foundation, to enlarge each heart-home, as Jabez prayed, ‘Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and You would keep me from evil so it might not hurt me!’ (1 Chron. 4:10 Amp)

“I would enlarge those precious hearts that seek Me and desire My presence, as Ezekiel said, ‘and the rooms became broader as they encompassed the temple higher and higher, for the encircling of the house went higher and higher round about the temple.’” (Ezek. 41:7a Amp)

Oh, that I would use the cement of obedience to build a heart-home for my Lord that would be most precious to Him, that is aglow with His love and expands as it encompasses Him more and more.

What kind of heart-home are you building for your Lord?

Lord, I hear You knocking. I’m coming.

Come on in. It’s cold out there. Make Yourself at home. Please come in and help me renovate my home for You.

Help me 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 has piled up. Dig into those deep crevices of my soul where stubbornness plants its roots. Shine Your light into the dark recesses of my emotions so nothing can remain hidden from Your forgiveness.

Remove from the shelves of my mind all the negative thoughts that I cling to and replace them all with Your promises that they may be readily available whenever I need them.

Scrub down the walls that have been littered with the graffiti of my words that are dirty blemishes on Your Spirit and Your Word. Repair the cracks in the walls so that the enemy cannot ooze in with his unwanted ideas.

When spiritual unrest jams up my usefulness as a channel, rout out all the garbage of self that Your living waters may run freely, cleansing…

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. Let Your joy clean the windows and give them the sparkle that the world needs to see.

Clean out the soot of wrong burning desires that have blackened my chimney. Cleanse it that it may allow the vapors of praise to rise heavenward. Rekindle the embers of my heart’s passion that have grown cold. Ignite a blazing desire to know You more, to serve You more, and to love You more.

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.

Dismantle the fences that I have unwittingly built which have kept me from reaching out to help someone or kept some hurt soul from reaching in.

Help me build on that one sure Foundation that is unshakable and can withstand all storms and disasters. Help me erect that exterior that holds all else together, using my obedience as the cement to hold Your bricks of truth in place. Make sure I pick up and use each brick so that the edifice does not become faulty, because each truth left lying on the ground is useless.

There is but one chair within these walls, and it is the throne upon which I give You the honor of sitting. When I try to sit upon it myself, shove me off! Make me land with a jolt hard enough to bring me to my senses, because it is Your throne, meant only for You.

Lord, this is Your home. Let us build it together and keep it clean together. May it always be a temple in which You may reside and can always feel proud enough to bring others to visit. May it be a monument to Your grace, Your forgiveness, and Your love.

“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it...”