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by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

Luke 10:27
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind.

For several years as a young man I compartmentalized my life, allowing God access to only small portions of it. Then I came across a simple booklet by Robert Boyd Munger called My Heart, Christ's Home that had a profound impact on me. I was challenged to give Jesus Christ full access and authority over every "room" in my heart. Let me challenge you to reflect on His presence in the rooms of your own heart and home.

Allow Christ to rule the room where you keep your ego. This room has a small door, but we all know how large an ego can lurk inside. When Jesus isn't allowed into this room, husbands and wives bicker, we may become too proud to bury the hatchet with offending parents, children are too competitive and selfish, and everyone is too proud to confess sins. Let Jesus replace your ego and be Lord of this room of your life.

Open to Christ the room of expectations. In this room, we keep our expectations of others' behavior. With Christ excluded, this room can become filled with longings and unmet hopes-some of which are unrealistic and perfectionistic, some of which we've never even expressed to our loved ones.

Let Christ into the room of relationships with your parents. Too many adult children have closed off this room from Christ's presence. They have not fully obeyed the Scripture when they married to "leave and cleave"; they're still too dependent. Or they have ignored their parents and been too distant from them. The Scriptures command those who get married to leave their parents (see Gen. 2:24,25), but to love and honor them as well. Closing off this room from Christ results in inappropriate relationships between adult children and their parents.

Is Christ welcome in every room of your heart and home? Is there one of these three rooms that is off limits to Him?

Prayer:

For the kind of openness, vulnerability and commitment it takes to truly invite Jesus to be Lord over every aspect of your daily life.

Discuss: Have you ever given Jesus Christ access to every room in your heart? Does He still have that unhindered access today? Focus on one of the "rooms" above and suggest practical ways Christ can be invited in, and clean it up.

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