JESUS ENCOUNTER

Are you aware of the power of your choice to invite the transformation of God’s word into your home? Whether you own a home, travel constantly, or rent with loud neighbors all around, the spaces you dwell in are meant to host God’s presence. As a believer in Jesus, He actually lives inside of you! How incredible is that? With this knowledge, you get to bring heaven into every area of your life–including our home! Filling your home with God’s word invites Jesus, the Word of God, to show up and make Himself known. Today’s article discusses the importance of this, check it out below.

Life and death in the power of your tongue

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
    and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Proverbs 18:21)

God has given us an incredible gift–free will. And what we choose to do with it sets the scene for every other area of our life. One of these facets is what we choose to speak–to ourselves, to others, and even our environments. Have you ever entered a grocery store or even a friend or family member’s home and just felt…uneasy? Maybe anxious, angry, or irritable? For me, there are several places that come to mind. Holy Spirit taught me how to combat these feelings from a place of rest–His rest–through the word. So instead of going into a place and succumbing to what everyone else around me was feeling, I could enter strong and spiritually “armored”.

The armor of God

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17)

When we allow the transformation of God’s word to penetrate our hearts, it will ripple into every place we go. One of the most important places this happens is in our home.

How are we filling our home with God’s word?

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

God’s word is living and active. It’s been with Him from the beginning. In fact, the bible tells us that Jesus is the the Word of God, that came to earth to dwell among us. Knowing this, what are some ways you can steward Jesus’s presence in your home? Here are some simple ideas:

• choose a weekly scripture to display in the kitchen or living space, that everyone can read
• put sticky notes with scripture on your children or roommate’s bedroom doors
• keep your bible open and near your bed

By doing simple things like this, you can ensure God’s word isn’t sitting on a shelf collecting dust, but it’s being applied to your day to day life. None of these things replace the daily time spent in meditating on the bible, but they add more deposits of Jesus to your day.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

An invitation for our participation

Knowing our heavenly authority to engage with God’s presence, inviting His word into our homes lays the foundation for ourselves and our families. When we pray God’s word, we are filling our mouths and bodies with His truth for our lives. And the more we do this in our home, we actually access the transforming power of His truth in our home, neighborhood, and community. Perhaps more importantly, we engage with His truth in the depths of our hearts. As a spouse, this centers our marriage. As parents, this influences our children. We get to choose to engage with the transformation of God’s word, filling our hearts and homes with more of Him.

Cultivating atmospheres of heavenly presence

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

Remind your heart of God’s truth for your life. Incredibly, the hope that we possess in Him can touch every part of our lives. The idea of cultivating atmospheres of God’s heavenly presence might sound…peculiar. But all throughout the bible are instances of Jesus making himself known to us (in our homes, with other believers, even with Paul while He was imprisoned!) When we invite the transformation of God’s word into our homes, we are really inviting Jesus. He brings miracles, healing, and transformation!

When Jesus appears to us

I love the song When You Walk Into The Room. It captures the beauty, wonder, and fresh breath of being in the presence of God. As you listen, read the excerpts I placed below. Consider how every time Jesus encounters someone in scripture, they were impacted. He touches our physical bodies, our hearts, minds, and entire lives! I pray that as engage with your family, you don’t just talk about the Lord. I pray you encounter His tangible, healing presence, in your home.

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” (Matthew 9:35)

Jesus heals a servant

“When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ⁶ “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” ⁷ And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant,‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹² while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.” (Matthew 8:5-13)