Open House

Reading 12 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16

The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:“Go, tell my servant David,‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,

I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,

and I will make his kingdom firm.It is he who shall build a house for my name.

And I will make his royal throne firm forever.

I will be a father to him,and he shall be a son to me.

Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.’”

Was your house built for the name of the Lord? Most likely you really don’t know. You have no idea if the builders built it with praise and glory to God or not.

But you can build your home to the Lord, no matter where you live. A home is much different then a house, the house is just the building, but the home is your heart! You have heard that saying before, the home is where the heart is, well it’s true!

It is our hearts the define us, it is our heart that makes our homes and it is in our hearts that God resides.

So, have you built your home for the Lord?How do you build your heat for the Lord? Scriptures tells us, we can read the blueprints in the sermon on the mount, and see the diagrams in the story of Mosses. And we can learn how to use and read the tools given to us by attending Church and bible studies.

Treat your heart as the resting place of the Lord, open it up for all who need rest for the weary are in the Lord.

Feed your heart with love and understanding, and your fellow man the same, for the unloved and misunderstood are in the Lord.

Give your heart over to the Lord, free offering it for all who need it, for the needy are in the Lord.

God has made us a loving and giveing people, has created for us a heart of Love. The gift of love was given freely from God, and must be given freely to others.

Open the doors of your heart,and let all who wish to enter, trust in the Lord that they will respect and care for your home. Treating it as if it was their own, treating it as if it where the home of God. 

Like anytime you let people enter your home, you need to clean it up, pick up the mess a little, the some is true for the heart, before you can let others in, before you invite God in, clean your house, remove the clutter of jealousy and contempt. Toss out anger and hatred and replace them with love and understanding. Make a resting place that is safe and secure for all who need it.

There is a tradition of placing a candle in your window, to let weary travelers know that your home is open to them. Be that candle to all you see, let it shine in your windows to the world.

Let your eyes as that window, and let the light of Christ glow brightly.

Let your voice be that window, and every word shed light on the world.

Let your work be that window, and every task you preform be a spark and flicker to call all to your home.

Christ in you is the candle, and you are the window in all you do.

Let it shine, and let your home be the dwelling place for the lord.

Paul