The Secret Place

The Lord has been reminding me of the "little things" as of late, convicting me on the areas of my heart which are not in alignment with the pattern of the Kingdom. Things that I consider to be small in my habits and day to day use of time. However, these small things are HUGE. Whatever junk in our heart that remains takes up room where the Holy Spirit should be residing. Our hearts are to be the dwelling place, the temple, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. We need to clean out the junk and garbage of sin to make a fragrant shekinah glory dwelling place for the Holy Spirit to reside. The more holy and sanctified we are, the more Holy Spirit we will have dwelling in us, and the more transformation and empowerment we will receive from the Holy Spirit. When we are holy as He is holy, our intimacy with the Father increases. We hear His voice more clearly. Our prayers are more in alignment with His heart and He moves upon our intercession. It's in the secret place of prayer, and resting in the presence of Jesus, in sweet surrender, that we are made more into His likeness. We need to allow the Spirit to transform our minds and our hearts. We need to study the character of Jesus and search for the knowledge of the Holy One. What we give up is nothing. What we gain in exchange is everything. The condition of our heart matters. The attitude we hold in the midst of the trials of life matter. Jesus sees all the movements of our heart toward Him and rewards us openly for how we carry our hearts in secret. The little decisions we make add up. Did we choose to act in obedience? Did we walk in the way of the Lord? Did we stand in integrity even when no one saw us? When we stand before the Judge at the end of the age, He will ask us, "Did you learn to love? Did you love Me with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind? Did you love others as yourself?" The Lord sees the movements of our heart. It moves Him when we trust Him even during the times we can't feel His presence. Saying "yes" to Jesus everyday, to the small daily decisions and everyday tasks matters. Instead of focusing on eliminating the patterns that need to go, we must focus on Jesus and becoming one with Him. Focusing on the problem only produces striving, but focusing on the One who holds all victory in His hands and the power to overcome will change us from the inside out. He promises to give us everything we need for life and godliness. Beloved, we must abide in Him every moment, not just when we have a major life decision to find guidance for. Jesus is not our servant to be called on only at our times of great need. He is to be our all in all at every moment of every day. As we gaze upon Him, we feel His love, we respond in love, we are filled with more love to pour out to those around us, and we are moved to obedience in every area of our heart and life.