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**                  My Heart - Christ's Home                   **
**                      By Robert Munger                       **
**            (C) Copyright 1954 Inter-Varsity C.F.            **
**          Typed by Servant, Used Without Permission          **
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[This file  may be  of some use to many of you who are attempting or
considering the  Christian way  of life,  especially new Christians.
It applies  to all  who's goal  as a  Christian is to please Christ.
Please do not alter or add to this file!  -Servant-]

In Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, we find these words: "That [God]
would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of  his glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  that Christ
may dwell  in your  hearts by faith" (Eph 3:16).  Or, as another has
translated, "that Christ may settle down  and  be  at  home  in your
hearts by faith."

Without question,  one of the most remarkable Christian doctrines is
that Jesus Christ himself  through the  presence of  the Holy Spirit
will  actually  enter  a  heart,  settle  down and be at home there.
Christ will make the human heart his abode.

Our Lord said to his disciples, "If a man love  me, he  will keep my
words: and  my Father  will love him, and we will come unto him, and
make our abode with him" (John 14:23).  It was difficult for them to
understand what  he was saying.  How was it possible for him to make
his abode with them in this sense?

It is interesting that our Lord used the same word here that he gave
them in  the first  of the  14th chapter of John: "I go to prepare a
place for you...that where I am,  you may  be also."   Our  Lord was
promising  his  disciples  that,  just  as he was going to heaven to
prepare a  place for  them and  would welcome  them one  day, now it
would  be  possible  for  them  to  prepare a place for him in their
hearts and he would come and make his abode with them.

They could not understand this.  How could it be?

Then came Pentecost.  The Spirit of the  living Christ  was given to
the church and they understood.  God did not dwell in Herod's temple
in Jerusalem!  God did not dwell in  a temple  made with  hands; but
now, through the miracle of the outpoured Spirit, God would dwell in
human hearts.  The body of the believer would be  the temple  of the
living God  and the  human heart  would be the home of Jesus Christ.
It is difficult for me to think of a higher  privilege than  to make
for Christ  a home  in my heart, to welcome, to serve. to please, to
fellowship with him there.  One evening that I shall never forget, I
invited him  into my heart.  What an entrance he made!  It was not a
spectacular emotional thing, but very real.    It  was  at  the very
center of my life.  He came into the darkness of my heart and turned
on the light.  He built a fire in the  cold hearth  and banished the
chill.    He  started  music  where  there had been stillness and he
filled the emptiness with  his own  wonderful loving  fellowship.  I
have never  regretted opening  the door to Christ and I never will--
not into eternity!

This, of course, is the first  step  in  making  the  heart Christ's
home.   He has  said, "Behold  I stand at the door and knock: if any
man hear my voice, and open  the door,  I will  come in  to him, and
will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me"  (Rev.  3:20).  If you are
interested in making your life an  abode of  the living  God, let me
encourage you  to invite  Christ into  your heart and he will surely
come.

After Christ entered my heart  and  in  the  joy  of  that new-found
relationship, I  said to him, "Lord, I want this heart of mine to be
yours.  I want  to have  you settle  down here  and be  perfectly at
home.  Everything I have belongs to you.  Let me show you around and
introduce you to the various features  of the  home that  you may be
more comfortable  and that  we may have fuller fellowship together."
He was very glad to come, of course, and happier still to be given a
place in the heart.

THE LIBRARY

The first  room was  the study  -- the  library.  Let us call it the
study of the mind.  Now in my home this room of  the mind  is a very
small room  with very thick walls.  But it is an important room.  In
a sense, it is the control room of  the house.   He  entered with me
and looked  around at  the books in the bookcase, the magazines upon
the table, the pictures on the wall.    As  I  followed  his  gaze I
became uncomfortable.   Strangely enough, I had not felt badly about
this before, but now that he was there looking at these things I was
embarrassed.   There were  some books  there that  his eyes were too
pure to behold.   There was  a lot  of trash  and literature  on the
table  that  a  Christian  had  no  business  reading and as for the
pictures on the wall -- the imaginations and thoughts of  the mind--
 these were shameful.

I turned  to him  and said,  "Master, I  know that this room needs a
radical alteration.  Will you help me make it what it ought  to be--
 to bring every thought into captivity to you?"

"Surely!" he  said.   "Gladly will I help you.  That is one reason I
am here.  First of all, take all the things that you are reading and
seeing which  are not  helpful, pure,  good and true, and throw them
out!  Now put on the empty shelves the books of the Bible.  Fill the
library with  scriptures and meditate on them day and night.  As for
the pictures on the wall, you will have difficulty controlling these
images, but  here is  an aid."   He  gave me a full sized picture of
himself.  "Hang this centrally,"   he  said,  "on  the  wall  of the
mind."   I did  and I have discovered through the years that when my
thoughts are centered upon  Christ  himself,  his  purity  and power
cause impure  imaginations to retreat.  So he has helped me to bring
my thoughts into captivity.

May I suggest to you if you have difficulty in  this little  room of
the mind,  that you  bring Christ  in there.   Pack it full with the
Word of God, meditate upon it and keep before it  ever the immediate
presence of the Lord Jesus.

THE DINING ROOM

From the study we went to the dining room, the room of appetites and
desires.  Now this was a very large room.   I spent  a good  deal of
time in the dining room and much effort in satisfying my wants.

I said  to him,  "This is a very commodious room and I am quite sure
you will be pleased with what we serve here."

He seated himself at the table with me  and asked,  "What is  on the
menu for dinner?"

"Well," I  said, "my  favorite dishes:   old bones, corn husks, sour
cabbage, leeks, onions and garlic right out of  Egypt."   There were
the things  I liked  -- worldly  fare.   I suppose there was nothing
radically wrong in any particular item, but it was not the food that
should satisfy  the life  of a  real Christian.   When  the food was
placed before him, he said nothing  about it.   However,  I observed
that  he  did  not  eat  it,  and I said to him, somewhat disturbed,
"Savior, you don't care for the  food  that  is  placed  before you?
What is the trouble?"

He answered,  "I have  meat to eat that you know not of.  My meat is
to do the will of him  that sent  me."   He looked  at me  again and
said, "if  you want food that really satisfies you, seek the will of
the Father, not your own pleasures, not your  own desires,  not your
own satisfaction.   Seek  to please  me, and  that food will satisfy
you."  And there about the table he gave me  a taste  of doing God's
will.   What a  flavor!   There is no food like it in all the world.
It alone satisfies.  Everything else is dissatisfying in the end.

Now if Christ is in your heart, and I trust he is, what kind of food
are you  serving him  and what kind of food are you eating yourself?
Are you living for the lust  of the  flesh and  the pride  of life--
selfishly?  Or are you choosing God's will for your meat and drink?

THE DRAWING ROOM

We walked next into the drawing room.  This room was rather intimate
and comfortable.  I liked  it.    It  had  a  fireplace, overstuffed
chairs, a bookcase, sofa and a quiet atmosphere.

He  also  seemed  pleased  with  it.    He  said,  "This is indeed a
delightful room.  Let us come here often.  It is secluded  and quiet
and we can have fellowship together."

Well, naturally,  as a  young Christian I was thrilled.  I could not
think of anything I would rather  do than  have a  few minutes apart
with Christ in intimate comradeship.

He promised, "I will be here every morning early.  Meet with me here
and we will start the day together."   So, morning  after morning, I
would come  downstairs to  the drawing room and he would take a book
of the Bible from the bookcase.  He would open it and  then we would
read together.   He would tell me of its riches and unfold to me its
truth.  He would  make my  heart warm  as he  revealed his  love and
grace towards  me.  They were wonderful hours together.  In fact, we
called the dining room the "withdrawing room."  It was a period when
we had our quiet time together.

But little  by little,  under the pressure of many responsibilities,
this time began to be shortened.  Why, I don't know, but I thought I
was  just  too  busy  to  spend  time  with  Christ.    This was not
intentional, you understand; it  just happened  that way.   Finally,
not only  was the  time shortened, but I began to miss a day now and
then.  It was examination time at the university.  Then it  was some
other urgent emergency.  I would miss it two days in a row and often
more.

I remember one morning when I  was  in  a  hurry,  rushing  down the
steps, eager to be on my way.

As I passed the drawing room, the door was ajar.  Looking in I saw a
fire in the fireplace and  the  Lord  sitting  there.    Suddenly in
dismay, I  thought to  myself, "He  was my guest.  I had invited him
into my heart!  He had come as Lord of my home.  And  yet here  I am
neglecting him."   I  turned and  went in.   With  downcast glance I
said, "Blessed Master, forgive  me.   Have you  been here  all these
mornings?"

"Yes," he  said, "I  told you  I would be here every morning to meet
with you."  Then I was even more ashamed.   He had  been faithful in
spite of  my faithlessness.   I asked his forgiveness and he readily
forgave me as he does when we are truly penitent.

He said, "The trouble with you is this:  You  have been  thinking of
the quiet  time, of  the Bible study and prayer time, as a factor in
your own spiritual progress, but you  have forgotten  that this hour
means something  to me also.  Remember, I love you.  I have redeemed
you at a great cost.  I desire your fellowship.  Now,"  he said, "do
not neglect  this hour  if only  for my  sake.  Whatever else may be
your desire, remember I want your fellowship!"

You know, the truth that Christ wants my  fellowship, that  he loves
me, wants  me to  be with him, wants to be with me and waits for me,
has done more to  transform my  quiet time  with God  than any other
single fact.   Don't  let Christ  wait alone  in the drawing room of
your heart, but every day find some time when, with the Word  of God
and in prayer, you may fellowship with him.

THE WORKSHOP

Before long  he asked,  "Do you have a workshop in your home?"  Down
in the basement of the home of my heart I  had a  workbench and some
equipment, but  I was  not doing  much with  it.   Once in a while I
would go down and fuss around  with  a  few  little  gadgets,  but I
wasn't producing anything worthwhile.

I led him down there.

He looked  over the  workbench and  what little talents and skills I
had.  He  said,  "This  is  quite  well  furnished.    What  are you
producing with  your life for the Kingdom of God?"  He looked at one
or two of the little toys that I  had thrown  together on  the bench
and he  held one  up to me.  "Are these little toys all that you are
producing in your Christian life?"

"Well," I said, "Lord, that is the best I can do.   I know  it isn't
much and I really want to do more, but after all, I have no skill or
strength."

"Would you like to do better?" he asked.

"Certainly," I replied.

"All right.  Let me have your hands.   Now  relax in  me and  let my
Spirit work  through you.   I  know you are unskilled and clumsy and
awkward, but the Spirit is the Master-worker and if he controls your
hands and  your heart  he will  work through you."  And so, stepping
around behind me and putting  his  great,  strong  hands  over mine,
controlling the  tools with  his skillful  fingers, he began to work
through me.

There's much more that I must  still learn  and I  am very  far from
satisfied with  the product  that is being turned out, but I do know
that whatever has been produced for God has been through  his strong
hand and through the power of his Spirit in me.

Do not  become discouraged because you cannot do much for God.  Your
ability  is  not  the  fundamental  condition.    It  is  he  who is
controlling your  fingers and  upon whom you are relying.  Give your
talents and gifts to God and he will do things  with them  that will
surprise you.

THE RUMPUS

I remember the time he inquired about the playroom.  I was hoping he
would not ask me about that.   There  were certain  associations and
friendships,  activities  and  amusements  that I wanted to keep for
myself.  I did not think Christ would enjoy them or approve  of them
so I evaded the question.

But there came an evening when I was leaving to join some companions
-- I was in college at the time -- and as I was  about to  cross the
threshold, he stopped me with a glance.  "Are you going out?"

I answered, "Yes."

"Good," he said, "I would like to go with you."

"Oh," I  replied rather  awkwardly.   "I don't think, Lord, that you
would really want to go with  us.    Let's  go  out  tomorrow night.
Tomorrow  night  we  will  go  to prayer meeting, but tonight I have
another appointment."

He said, "that's all right.  Only I  thought when  I came  into your
home we  were going  to do everything together.  We were going to be
partners.  I want you to know that I am willing to go with you."

"Well," I said, "we will go some place together tomorrow night."

But that evening I  spent some  miserable hours.   I  felt wretched.
What kind of friend was I to Christ, When I was deliberately leaving
him out of my  associations, doing  things and  going places  that I
knew very  well he  would not  enjoy?  When I returned that evening,
there was a light in his room and  I went  up to  talk it  over with
him.  I said, "Lord, I have learned my lesson.  I cannot have a good
time without you.  We will do everything together from now on."

Then we  went  down  into  the  rumpus  room  of  the  house  and he
transformed it.  He brought into life real joy, real happiness, real
satisfaction, real friendship.  Laughter and music have been ringing
in the house ever since.  

THE HALL CLOSET

There is  just one more matter that I might share with you.  One day
I found him waiting for me at the door.  There was an arresting look
in his  eye.   He said to me as I entered, "There is a peculiar odor
in the house.  There is something dead around here.   It's upstairs.
I think  it is in the hall closet."  As soon as he said the words, I
knew what he was talking about.  Yes, there was a small  hall closet
behind lock  and key  I had one or two little personal things that I
did not  want anybody  to know  about and  certainly I  did not want
Christ to see.  I knew they were dead and rotting things.  And yet I
loved them, and I wanted them  so for  myself that  I was  afraid to
admit they  were there.   I  went up  the stairs  with him and as we
mounted, the odor became stronger and stronger.   He pointed  at the
door and said, "It's in there!  Some dead thing!"

I was  angry.   That's the  only way  I can put it.  I had given him
access to the  library,  the  dining  room,  the  drawing  room, the
workshop, the  rumpus room,  and now he was asking me about a little
two-by-four closet.  I said inwardly, "This is too much.   I  am not
going to give him the key."

"Well," he  said, reading  my thoughts,  "if you think I am going to
stay up here on the second floor with  this odor,  you are mistaken.
I will  take my  bed out on the back porch.  I'm certainly not going
to put up with that."  And I saw him start down the stairs.

When you have come to know and love Christ, the worst thing that can
happen to you is to sense his fellowship retreating from you.  I had
to surrender.  "I'll give you  the key,"  I said  sadly, "but you'll
have to  open the  closet.   You'll have to clean it out.  I haven't
the strength to do it."

"I know," he said.   "I  know you  haven't.   Just give  me the key.
Just authorize me to take care of that closet and I will."  So, with
trembling fingers I passed the key over to him.  He took  it from my
hand, walked  over to  the door, opened it, entered it, took out all
the putrefying stuff that was rotting there and threw it away.  Then
he cleansed  the closet,  painted it, fixed it up, doing it all in a
moment's time.  Oh, what victory and release to have that dead thing
out of my life!

TRANSFERRING THE TITLE

Then a thought came to me.  I said to myself, "I have been trying to
keep this heart of mine clear for Christ.  I  start on  one room and
no sooner  have I  cleaned that then another room is dirty.  I begin
on the second room and the first room becomes dusty again.   I am so
tired and  weary trying  to maintain  a clean  heart and an obedient
life.  I just am not up to it!"  So I ventured a question: "Lord, is
there any  chance that you would take over the responsibility of the
whole house and operate it for me and with me  just as  you did that
closet?   Would you take the responsibility to keep my heart what it
ought to be and my life where it ought to be?"

I could see his face lighten up as  he replied,  "Certainly, that is
what I  came to  do.   You can not be a victorious Christian in your
own strength.  That is impossible.  Let me do it through you and for
you.   That is  the way.   But," he added slowly, "I am not owner of
this house.  I  am just  a guest.   I  have no  authority to proceed
since the property is not mine."

I saw  it in  a minute  and dropping to my knees, I said, "Lord, you
have been a guest, and I have been the host.  From now on I am going
to be  the servant.  You are going to be the Lord."  Running as fast
as I could to the strong box, I took out the title deed to the house
describing its  assets and liabilities, its situation and condition.
Then returning to him,  I eagerly  signed it  over to  belong to him
alone for  time and eternity.  "Here," I said, "here it is, all that
I am and have forever.   Now you  run the  house.   I'll just remain
with you as houseboy and friend."

He took  my life  that day  and I  can give you my word, there is no
better way to live the Christian life.  He knows  how to  keep it in
shape and  deep peace  settles down  on the soul.  May Christ settle
down and be at home in your heart as Lord of all.

[This  file  was  both  blessing  and  challenge  for  me  as  a new
Christian.  I hope it is for you, too.  -Servant-]

