Footnote from Andrew regarding last week cell group
My Heart- Christ’s Home
Study Three - The Living Room
We moved next into the living room. This was a quiet, comfortable room with a warm atmosphere. I liked it. He also seemed pleased with it. He said,
Study Three - The Living Room
We moved next into the living room. This was a quiet, comfortable room with a warm atmosphere. I liked it. He also seemed pleased with it. He said,
“Let’s come here often. It’s seclude and quiet, and we can have good talks and fellowship together.”
So, morning after morning, I would go downstairs to the living room. He would take a book of the Bible from the bookcase and open it, and we would read it together. Through the Bible and his Holy Spirit, he would talk to me. In prayer I would respond. Those times were wonderful.
However, under the pressure of many responsibilities, little by little this time began to be shortened. Somehow I assumed I was just too busy to give special, regular time to be with Christ. This was not a deliberate decision, you understand; it just seemed to happen that way.
One morning, I recall rushing down the steps in a hurry to be on my way to an important appointment. As I passed the living room, the door was open. Glancing in, I saw a fire in the fireplace and Jesus sitting there. Suddenly, in dismay, it came to me.
“He is my guest. I invited him into my heart! He has come as my Saviour and Friend to live with me. Yet here I am neglecting him.”
I stopped, turned and hesitantly went in. With downcast glance I said,
“Master, I’m sorry! Have your been here every morning?”
“Yes,” he said. “The trouble is that you have been thinking of the quiet time, of Bible study and prayer, as a means for your own spiritual growth. This is true, but you have forgotten that his time means something to me also. As a great cost I have redeemed you. I value your fellowship. Whether or not you want to be with me, remember I want to be with you.”
Our Daily Bread (14 March 2008)
A professional athlete built a palatial eight-bedroom home where he lives by himself. His secluded house includes a movie theater, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, and a five-car garage.
The athlete told The New York Times that he doesn’t view the $8 million estate as a monument to success. Instead, he considers it to be a sanctuary from his painful childhood memories of poverty and abuse. The young man is seeking something much deeper than luxury and entertainment.
“Got to get my peace,” he said.
All of us know the feeling of being overwhelmed. When the present is daunting and the past is haunting, where can we turn for release?
To whom do we go for comfort and peace?
The psalmist wrote:
“Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; incline Your ear to me, and save me. Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually” (Ps. 71:2-3).
God was his hope, his trust, and his hiding place in the storms of life (vv.5-8).
E. May Grimes’ poem captures that biblical theme.
A little sanctuary art Thou to me;O Jesus Christ, beloved, I live with Thee;My heart has found its everlasting home,Its sure abiding place where’er I roam.
Few people can afford a mansion, but everyone who knows the Lord can find refuge and peace in His abiding presence. — David C. McCasland
A little sanctuary art Thou to me;O Jesus Christ, beloved, I live with Thee;My heart has found its everlasting home,Its sure abiding place where’er I roam.
When we put our problems in God’s hands, He puts His peace in our hearts.
Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Psalm 71:3
Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Psalm 71:3
Nice Performance from the choir
Betty and the zoologist
