{"id":13741,"date":"2025-12-25T17:37:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T17:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=13741"},"modified":"2025-12-25T17:37:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T17:37:09","slug":"making-room-in-the-inn-of-our-hearts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=13741","title":{"rendered":"Making Room in the Inn of Our Hearts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Reading Time:<\/span> 6<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Beloved intercessor, what are the defining patterns of your life?\n<\/p>\n

Do you have a pattern of working hard, or perhaps even of overwork? Do you have a pattern of healthy choices and attention to fitness?<\/p>\n

Perhaps you have a pattern of spending quality time with your family every weekend outdoors. Or maybe you even have a habit of eating and playing games together every week, on Taco Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n

Pray for your fellow intercessor.<\/h4>\n

\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Our habits define our lives and relationships. And as we enter Christmas Day, the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, I feel led to ask you:\n<\/p>\n

Do you have a habit of making Jesus first in your life?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

When Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem before Christ was born, they found that there was no room for them in the inn. It didn\u2019t matter to the innkeeper that Mary was in great need. It didn\u2019t matter that the comfort of a clean, soft bed would greatly assist her in her very imminent childbirth. The innkeeper simply had no room for them \u2014 no room for the Christ-child, really \u2014 so Mary and Joseph and the soon-to-arrive baby Jesus were turned out into the stable.\n<\/p>\n

Today, you and I are innkeepers also: We each keep the \u201cinn\u201d of our heart.<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

And if there\u2019s one thing that I\u2019ve been surprised at lately, it is the sheer number of Christians who have admitted to me that they do not spend time with God, seeking Him in prayer and Bible study, every single day \u2014 let alone seeking Him first<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n

It seems that, too often, we Christians simply have no room for Jesus in the inn of our hearts.<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Despite the fact that each of us has a great personal need, and that our needs can only be met by Jesus; despite the fact that we each need comfort and rest, and that God Himself is the only source of both; despite the fact that we all need a daily cleansing and washing in the pure water of the word, so that the filth of this sinful world may be removed and we may be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we have not made room for Jesus.\n<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Jesus taught us that we must seek God first:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cBut seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 6:33).\n<\/p>\n

And anything we put before God is, to us, an idol, which is strictly forbidden:\n<\/p>\n

And God spoke all these words, saying: \u201cI am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me\u201d<\/em> (Exodus 20:1\u20133 NKJV).\n<\/p>\n

Despite these things, we have in many cases filled the rooms of our hearts and lives with many things that occupy our time, while leaving the best Thing \u2014 the best One \u2014 out in the cold:\n<\/p>\n

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn<\/em> (Luke 2:7 NKJV).\n<\/p>\n

Oh, friend, if there is anything I would implore you to do for this Christmas season AND for this new year coming up \u2014 and indeed, for the rest of your life \u2014 it is this:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Put God first.\n<\/p>\n

Wake up every morning and go to Him first.\n<\/p>\n

Spend time alone with God in prayer, Bible study, and worship before you do anything else.\n<\/p>\n