Prepare Him Room

 "Let every heart prepare Him room"

We may sing that song but do we really think about those words? As we are in the final days of Advent, as we prepare so many others things for Christmas, have we taken the time to pause, and prepare our hearts?

We have just a few more days until Christmas. But all that prep in the meantime is for naught if we are planning to celebrate the arrival of our King, but have not taken the time for our hearts to receive Him. 

There's still time.

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Time. Oh boy. Touchy subject. We all have the same amount of time yet we so often think ours is the most important or think we are the one entitled to more of it. #guilty

But as we are in this countdown to Christmas, time may feel even more packed than usual. We are in this season of Advent, and only One really is worthy of our time.  We may be celebrating Christmas and the birth of a Savior, but have we taken time to spend with Him?

Before the hustle of the preparations that still need to get done, have we sat down to breathe, thank God for the ability to run around and get things done, and really marvel in the miracle of this Holiday?  If you are getting caught up in the preparing for Christmas, I encourage you to check to make sure you have prepared room, in your daily time, for Him.

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How we spend our money.  Ooo. There is another touchy subject.

But, as I was thinking through the ways we can prepare Him room, this one could not be overlooked.

God has designed us to get joy from giving.

But let's not just give for giving's sake.  If we are true Christ followers then we need to seek to truly make room for him in every aspect of life. Even our money.

No doubt a lot of cash has flowed out in these last few weeks and some of you are thinking NO MORE.  But with all the spending, has any of it been for giving?  If it has, then you already know what I'm talking about, and what that book except below is talking about. Has any of it been given away, with no expectation of anything in return?

Just something to ponder as we prepare Him room.

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Relationships. Ouch. We just keep hitting on the touchy subjects don’t we? But, let’s pause and ask, have we made room for Jesus…? In our relationships. With family. With friends. 

 When we are building these relationships, have we left room for Jesus? 

Have we put Him at the center of these interactions?  Even with friends and family who don’t follow our Jesus, have we allowed Him into our half of the conversations?   

Do we allow Him to work in our hearts, to soften, to convict, to help us see our friends and family through His eyes?  I know there are a lot of awful, ugly, hard things out there that take a lot of time, forgiveness, mercy, and sometimes counseling.  But for those that don’t involve all of that, and well, even those as well, have we invited Jesus into the middle of these messy relationships, to allow Him to help heal and rebuild?  

 I know there are all ends of the spectrum out there with where we are in relationships, so I do not assume I know it all, or that I am throwing a blanket over it all. But when Jesus says He wants to be a part of all of your life. He means these parts, too.

 Sometimes relationships can leave us feeling a bit like my friend here....

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Our Homes.  Have we made room in our home for Him?  The Israelites in the Old Testament were instructed to write The Word on their doorposts and walls. 

A constant reminder every time they walked into their Home: the Lord lives here.  We all have different styles on how we decorate, but this goes beyond that. 

This involves asking the Spirit into our homes. To set the tone of love and welcoming to anyone who may come in. 

As we are just days from Christmas, no doubt I am not the only one preparing my home for the Holiday. But I would be remiss if all my prep was just visual.  

 Come Holy Spirit. Work among us in this place.

A flashback to a couple Christmases ago. In the midst of preparations, these two dear ones thought it best to decorate with some "snow"

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And finally, our Thoughts.  Have we left room in our thoughts for Him? Or are we more prone to fill it with lies we tend to think are truth, thoughts about ourselves, or thoughts that look down on others?  

 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things and the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:8). 

 

We began with the heart, and we end with the thoughts, book-ending a range of things of where we need to ask ourselves “Have we prepared Him room?”   

Aligning our hearts and our thoughts with Jesus at the center, we can better address those areas, and ensuring we have room for Jesus in the middle of it all.

My encouragement to you as we take these last few days to prepare for Christmas, and then the days following as we work to recover from it all, may we remember that without Jesus, it’s all pointless.   

But Jesus wants to be a part of it all, our messes, our successes, our everyday lives. He wants invited in.

Let’s make room.