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October 10, 2013

Welcome to Heartdwellers. We are a ministry dedicated to restoring the Bride of Christ and preparing her for Jesus Christ's coming

The Lord once said to me, "All of My great generals have been Heartdwellers." And I realized that was probably the most important thing in our lives - to dwell in His heart. As His Bride, we do not focus on doctrinal differences and debates, rather we are immersed in His Love, so we can become His vessels of love to the world. We believe that seeing and hearing our God is the heritage and right of every Christian. As the Scripture promises in John 14: If anyone loves me, he will keep My word, and my Father will love Him and we will come to him and make our abode within him.

And so a major part of our lives is dwelling with Him in our hearts - keeping Him company, adoring and cherishing every minute with Him. He places a very high emphasis on purity of heart. As He said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." So, we are ever concerned and watchful to keep our wedding garments clean and without stain, without compromise with the world.

Methods of communication have changed from sermons beside the Sea of Galilee to Internet podcasts and live streaming. And the lines between worldliness and holiness are seemingly obscured. Yet the very heart of our hearts, the very love of our lives, the very One who means everything to us wants us to know where that line is between the world and holiness.

I'm not talking about Phariseeism and blanket condemnations against the Internet: rock music and drums in church, or girls in jeans, etc. etc. That's not the focus. I'm talking about what our hearts are preoccupied and taken up with. In the depths of our hearts, what do we find? Jesus and what's important to Him. Or a plethora of worldly concerns: what shall I wear? what shall I eat? where shall we shop? ect. Is it the latest fashions and nice car, popularity with our peers, pleasing our parents or relatives? We all have necessities, living in the modern world. Tools of communication, travel, learning and those things, when used for the Kingdom of God are good. What is harmful are endless curiosities and frills. Things like that take life and time that could have been spent for Him, and for our brothers and sisters who have fallen in the abyss of confusion all around us.

If anything is in our hearts that is not useful to Jesus, we are bound to fall short of loving Him with the single-minded passion of His Bride. Yet, even when we see it, we can't change it. Only He can, with our cooperation. And for it to happen, we must make the decision to give Him our all, to turn over to Him all things that are not on His agenda.

That's kind of scary, actually. Self-will and all our hopes and dreams. We're going to put them on the holy altar or His perfect will and see which of those things really are ordained of Him, and which things aren't. Really, I think it makes a very brave person to make that decision, to yield all of that to Him. But even if we are cowards, like me, He'll work with you until you have the strength to actually do that, and to mean it with all your heart.

But we must trust Him, for never does He take from us without first considering how we're going to grow closer to Him and how it will enrich and benefit us. His standards are not the American dream - that's for sure. His standards are a literal Heaven on Earth. Where righteousness walks the stores, the streets, and the schools, and when people see us they see something is different. They can't quite put their finger on it, but there is kind of a sweet fragrance around us, that accompanies us - and that's Jesus.

If we are pursuing any vain and worldly pastime, we are falling into bondage and hurting ourselves. And the Lord is all about healing and setting us free from bondages. So, do we trust Him enough to relinquish our cherished and ill-fated agendas into His capable hands. Or do we want to hold on to them, and make our own decisions about what we're going to spend our life doing and where we're going to be, how we're going to spend our time. Do we really want Him in total control of our lives? This is an honest question, and it's right where the rubber meets the road. Not something you can just pop up and say, "Yes, I want Him in total control." It's not that easy, because there are areas we might hold on to. So, it's a very serious question when we ask how much control are we willing to hand over to the Lord. How far are we willing to go? Or are we lukewarm, comfort-loving Laodicean's, fond of shopping and entertainment and pleasure and pastime. In these very moments in history He is even at the door, soon to descend and claim His Bride - I really, really believe that. But what will He find when He comes? That's a question. Will He see and find a distracted, worldly Bride in a wrinkled and dirty wedding gown, running around and seeking her own interests?

Martha, Martha. And I have to admit to you, that's been my hardest struggle. I've have been a Martha, Martha for a good 20 years. It's taken the Lord a very long time to teach me how to be a Mary, and to put that desire in my heart. I'm not saying that I've arrived, I'm only saying I'm in a better place now than I was then. And He's so masterful in getting me in these places; He does it in such innovative and sweet ways. It's really quite amazing to watch Him working and separating me from the world.

Well, when He comes, will He see this distracted, worldly Bride in a wrinkled and dirty wedding gown - or a Bride in pristine attire, passionately on fire, serving Him and awaiting the sound of that trumpet. We can't be ready for Him on our own. We really and truly need the power of God working in our hearts. We need to dwell with Him consistently, passionately and let Him be the all-consuming love of our lives. He lives in our heart! All you have to do is immerse yourself in Him in your heart - He is there! And He'll teach you how to see Him and how to hear Him. He's waiting, really only waiting for our consent. Give Him an inch and He'll take a delightful mile! That's one thing about the book we have on the site, Chronicles of the Bride. It's all about the delights of Heaven and the special place that He's prepared for us. My place in Heaven's gonna look different from yours - but I guarantee you that it will be the most delightful place you can ever imagine, because you'll have everything that you love there.

Well, once we are on the road to freedom from our vain attachments to the world, we'll never want to turn back. Those things will seem flat, without luster, without interest - where they used to have such a passionate hold on us before. Why? Well, I'll have to say it's because we'll have more and more of Jesus, and the more we love Him the more we want Him. And the more we see Him, the more we love Him, the more we want to be with Him and we also can look back on the emptiness of the lives we once led before. Even if it's in little steps. Moving forward in little steps you can still look back and see the little things He's detached you from. So, you can be filled more with Him and less with yourself and things of the world.

Well, as far as timing goes, in America right now we're on the brink of an economic chaos and I believe this is no accident. We truly have become the lukewarm church that says, "I'm prosperous. My closets and freezers are full; I have my savings and retirement, my vehicles. I've got it all together. Except the gold that WE (as believers) possess. For the most part, for most of us it is not fire-tried. But I believe it soon will be. The Lord Himself is allowing this, to reveal that we are truly poor, blind and naked. I've seen a lot of good Christian people just throwing their hands up and not understanding what's going on. "Why, Lord, why have YOU allowed this to happen? Why have we had so many financial disasters?" I believe He's emptying His Bride of all of her worldly attachments, I truly believe that.

I'm reminded of a conference I attended, with Heidi Baker speaking. She looked over the audience, fell to her knees and begged Jesus, "Please, don't leave us here. Please visit us! Don't let us stay here in this place!" She prayed for all who came forward and I thought it conspicuous that no miracles took place. Had she prayed that prayer in Mozambique, undoubtedly the blind and the lame would have been raised on the spot. But our blindness, our infirmity is far more insidious. We don't see our spiritual state. If we observed the little girls the Lord saved from being sex slaves in Africa, if we saw them praying over the blind and deaf, and witnessing the miracles that fell upon the people - perhaps then we would see with spiritual eyes that truly we are the blind and naked. And they are the ones who are rich in fire-tried gold.

The grace is the same, whether it be Africa or America. So, what was different? I believe we in this country are surfeited with the world - so much so, there's little room left for the agendas and grace of God. In Mozambique the people have nothing, no one but God. Their hunger and emptiness calls out to Him, and the graces fill their empty cups to overflowing. But here, our cups are overflowing with worldly things, and the graces find no place to land.

So, what can we do? Well, I know that on my part I have to empty my heart of all that is not God. That's a continuing process, 'cause there's more layers than I recognize. So, each time one layer comes up, another layer presents itself. But I believe with the economic difficulties that are coming, if we work with it, and recognize that we are acquiring fire-tried gold that we'll make some progress in detachment. I believe that we'll see ourselves as poor, blind and naked, and finally we'll realize and recognize what is lacking and do something serious about it. Like giving the Lord our very best time, and pushing the world out more and more.

This is what Heartdwellers is all about. Letting go of the world and its fatal compromises and embracing Jesus with a pure heart. I hope you'll stay tuned with us as we share with you the continuating revelation of the Lord's love and wisdom. On this site you'll find teachings and inspiration for daily living, music and our first book, Chronicles of the Bride, in which we share with you some of the delights of Heaven. A foretaste that the Lord was so generous to give to us, of what He's prepared for those who love Him.

Please pray for us and we will pray for you, that through mutual encouragement we may live a life worthy of the very souse of Jesus.

God bless you. And I hope to hear from you.