Having Jesus In Your Heart 27

“When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region.

“John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’

“Jesus told them, ‘Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.”’” Matthew 11:1-6 (NLT)

“No one is reformed in a state of misfortune if it is only then that he thinks about God and implores His aid, because it is a coerced condition. When he comes into a free state, therefore, he reverts to his former condition in which he thought little if anything about God. Not so people who in a free state before feared God.

“By fearing God we mean fearing to offend Him – offending Him being to sin – and this is an effect not of fear but of love. Does not one who loves another fear to harm him? And the more he loves him, the greater his fear? Without that fear love is shallow and superficial, of the thought only and not at all of the will.

“By states of misfortune we mean states of despair in times of peril, as in battles, duels, shipwrecks, falls, fires, impending or unforeseen loss of wealth, or of office and therefore honor, and other, like situations. To think of God only at these times originates not from God but from self. For the mind is then imprisoned in the body, so to speak, being thus not in a state of freedom and so neither in a state of rationality, without which reformation is impossible.” Divine Providence §140

Jesus was traveling about Galilee, doing miracles and healing people. Some of John’s followers, probably the few who still believed in his ministry, heard where Jesus was and told John. John sent them to Jesus with a very good question: “Are you going to take over soon, or do we go looking for another leader?” I picture John being mentally oppressed by the misfortune he was experiencing, and had some serious doubts that Jesus was the Messiah, the “Coming One,” who would establish the kingdom of God John had been predicting. I imagine that, as strong as his personal call to his mission was, John was justifiably afraid he would soon lose his life, and he likely desired to be rescued by the new king. John needed some information, and he needed it fast!

They go seeking Jesus because they deeply believe He can answer their questions and resolve John’s predicament. They find Jesus and ask Him the question. Apparently, Jesus takes His time in answering the question. He goes about His normal routine, healing blind people; and the paralyzed, diseased and deaf. He even raises someone from the dead! And He spends time preaching to people, probably about the coming kingdom and how there is going to be a serious conflict. And He closes His presentation with what many feel is a gentle and sympathetic yet challenging comment (in the more familiar New King James Version): “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Which means: “Hey, John, don’t worry or be embarrassed or doubtful. I am doing My job successfully and your trust in Me should inspire confidence in Me.”

If you have ever played a game as part of a team you probably experienced being given a game plan, or told which play to run, or a leader plotted a strategy. And you followed the plan. Why? Typically a team player lets go of any plan of his or her own and does what the team has told him or her to do. What kind and amount of humility does this take? My memory of it is that it is rather easy. I go into the game knowing that I will not get my way and that I will simply do what I am told. The motivation behind by giving up my ego is the promise of success, and so my personal honor and glory! To the degree that I believe and feel that the information I have is accurate and successful in the past, to that degree I pour my heart and energy into the action. It is a kind of mindlessness. I am not thinking about alternatives. I am focusing on the strategy and my role. I am thinking neither of myself nor of what others’ are thinking about me.

So, to have Jesus in my heart, to be on His team, I have to be listening to the information He is giving me. I have to be paying attention to the plan He has laid out. And then I have to do my part in that plan, letting go of my ego, my ideas and desires. I can put them aside because I am motivated by the promise of success, in this case, salvation, healing, and joy. If this was like playing on any other team, I could say that letting go of my will in following Jesus is rather easy. And I should be doing it without any thought of myself or what others’ are thinking, feeling or saying about me. It doesn’t happen that way with me. Maybe it does with you. If so, consider yourself blessed!

Once (well maybe more than once!) there was a time that some people spoke critically of me. Putting aside for the moment their dysfunctional behavior about that, I remember that I was really bothered by what they were saying. While I felt an inner satisfaction about some of their complaints, because I felt I was doing what the Lord was asking me to do, I also did stumble. I didn’t feel any blessing. I see now that I had turned away. I was concerned for myself, my reputation, my ego, and my proprium. And so I lost a point of view, strength, a game plan, because I had left the huddle Jesus was inviting me into.

To have Jesus in my heart means here to think, speak and act from aN attitude that the Lord will bless me whenever I am actively on His team. To be actively on His team there is what I consider to be a short list of things I have to practice and be in action about.

First, I need to regularly read His Word so that I am continually gathering information from Him, updated to my current spiritual state. (Perhaps a good analogy is that I have to refresh the page regularly because the firmware is changing and the data will be used in new and better ways!) So every time I read His Word, I get more from the miracles I see, and more from the speeches I listen to.

Next item is practicing prayer. This means I actually, really stop all that I am doing and sit still and quietly. No music, no planning, no dialogue, no mantra. Those certainly are all helpful in our inner and outer spiritual and natural development. But the practice of prayer that I see is needed is putting aside for a time all that would filter, impede, or even, heaven forbid, block the flow of love from the Lord. So I turn my attention inward, seeking a spiritual place in me that is nothing but quiet peace, serenity, openness, reception, wonder. Where I am simply being, and not doing. Practicing this kind of prayer regularly will have side benefits, but its purpose is to teach me how to have the Lord in my heart in all the circumstances of my life. When I have practiced this prayer enough, I will stumble less often in my daily living. I will less often turn my gaze from the path the Lord has put me on. I will less often look at my own faulty information and trip on the rock called ego or self concern.

And then there is anticipating blessing. I heard this characterized as knowing that my life will be joyful, that circumstances will get better, that things will work out. This describes what my words and actions sound and look like when I have that inner circumstance produced by having information from the Lord I consider to be good, and I have practiced simply being open to receiving it. In anticipating His blessing in this way, I have Jesus in my heart. And then it will be relatively easy to recognize the lie of the evil spirits that I am in prison. I will not be manipulated by the threats of the hells that, if I continue believing and speaking the love of Jesus Christ, I will die. I will be giving energy and attention to the blessings in my life, the joy, and the possibilities.

I suggest that you consider simply collecting the truth of the Lord’s Word, prayerfully quiet your mind to prepare for feeling His love and truth in all circumstances, and then look for the blessing. Try this for a time – long enough to experience a blessing where before you didn’t. That will be an experience of having Jesus in your heart.

Having Jesus In Your Heart 26

“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

I have come to set a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

Your enemies will be right in your own household!’

“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

“Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me. If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” Matthew 10:34-42 (NLT)

“Human beings are nothing else than forms receiving life from the Lord. However, people's heredity, and their own actions, condition their form such that they refuse spiritual life coming from the Lord. But once those receptacles have been renounced so completely that they no longer claim any ownership of their freedom, there is total submission.

“The Lord desires any person's total submission so that He can make him blissful and happy. That is, He does not want him to be partly his own man and partly the Lord's, for then there are two masters whom a person cannot serve simultaneously, Matthew 6:24. Total submission is again meant by the Lord's words in Matthew,

Whoever loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:37.” Secrets of Heaven §6138

[If a person repeatedly resists and abstains from doing evil deeds] “he finds the pleasures he gets from those evils become, because of the repetition, unpleasant to him, and he ends by consigning them to hell. This is what is meant by the Lord's words: If anyone wants to find his soul, he will lose it, and if anyone loses his soul for my sake, he will find it. Matt. 10:39.” True Christian Religion §532

We begin with the obvious: Jesus can be in your heart only if you and the devil are not taking up all the spiritual space, which is desire and belief. It follows that a person must do some work to make the space. This is an uncomfortable, inconvenient truth. The work to make space in your heart for Jesus is called temptation’s battle. Notice that this is not fighting against yourself to not eat the fattening food. This is a spiritual battle between good and evil and between truth and falsity. This is at the heart of many powerful stories of human failing and then redemption. But more importantly, it is the battle every single human being (that includes you, dear reader!) must engage in or spiritually die. It’s that serious. If you do not participate in the battle between the Lord and the devil, the devil will win because the evil desires and false thoughts are already taking all the space in your heart you leave for them.

War is hell. The Lord did not design the human being with this design. Why it is this way is not our topic today. But it is the way it is. Every human on the planet is being given a chance to be healed, saved and find a home in heaven by this means. Jesus knew this, and used a powerful metaphor to bring it home. (FYI: Jesus never meant this to be taken literally. One of many obvious truths about His intention to bring peace is John 14:27. Check it out).

Do you want to have your way? Sure you do. Do you want your own personal space? Sure you do. You even give to charities to help the homeless. Do you save and go into debt to get the stuff you want? Sure you do. Everybody does it! If you are seeking a spiritual path, you will have noticed times and circumstances when your desires have pushed out other, more noble realities than your wants. You have been uncomfortable. You are in a temptation battle. Before you lay a choice that must be consistently made correctly if you are going to be healed of egotism, selfishness, and materialism. That is the hard part. It takes attention and effort. You have to wake up in the morning and not do that thing or think that thought which you have had on awakening for years.

Do you know the right thing to do? Sure you do. And you tell your employees or coworkers every day. Do you have experience that has taught you the best way to accomplish a task? Sure you do. And your spouse and children are taught and helped every day by your sharing your experience. Did you read the article on the internet and know the facts so that you are right and he or she is wrong? Sure you did. If everybody agreed that world’s problems would be solved. And then it happens: you win an argument and lose a friend. You get no respect at work. Your kids rebel for no good reason, “just because!” However, you are pursuing a spiritual path, and the results of your behavior hit you. And you feel very badly. That is the feeling you have in a temptation battle. So you can change your behavior. Over time, as you consistently act with love, respect and humility, your coworkers, friends and family begin to treat you differently. That long term, consistent behavior change is really hard. Ever try to quit an addiction? Tough work.

This is what Jesus is trying to have us get. There are serious issues in our own spirit that must be confronted. And so He has given us some powerful ideas to use. And He is always present in our hearts, no matter how crowded it is! Our work is to use the truth we get from reliable sources (e.g. the Word) to assess the distinction between evil and good and falsity and truth. And then, appealing to the Lord, accepting our culpability, and accessing the prophet and righteous person that is already in our spirit, we little by little, step by step, make different, intentional choices.

The Lord then takes over! I really love the following powerful description of the process of the healing of my mind.

“Any falsity that the hells introduce is met with a response from the Divine. The falsities that come from hell are thrust into and enter the external or natural man, but the response from the Divine enters the internal or spiritual man. The person is less conscious of this response which comes from the Divine than he is of those falsities. It does not touch his individual thoughts, only his general awareness, yet in such a way that he scarcely comes to be conscious of it except as hope and consequent comfort, which however hold within them countless blessings of which the person has no knowledge. These are such that they are suited to his affection or love, especially his affection for, or love of, truth and goodness, which form his conscience.” Secrets of Heaven n.8159

The Lord wants us to recognize and hold onto that hope and comfort. I can miss it by not paying attention. However, He has designed our being, and implemented a process, that favors our wholeness, peace, serenity and security. He is revealing to us that our task is to lay down the evil desires and false ideas in our mind, which actually make up a very external part of us. We then are receptive to His love and faith, and we “lose” the old faith and its intellectual pride and arrogant will. We find a new life, which is the living soul that the Lord implants in us when we have Jesus in our heart.

Having Jesus In Your Heart 25

[Jesus is talking to His Apostles as He sends them out to minister] “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

“A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel. 

“Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!

“But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:16-33

We have here a widely argued issue about how the Divine Providence of Jesus Christ works: how can a God who is love only tell me to acquiesce to persecution just so that He can achieve His will? Note verse 18: “You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me.” Now, He does promise to be especially present and helpful in such moments, giving us just the right words to speak. But He predicts I will be whipped. He implies in several speeches that I will die. Now, I am very conscious of the thousands of people around the world who are actually, really, being tortured and killed because they are a certain religion. (And of course there are thousands being tortured and killed because of their socially unacceptable behavior. Recently it was reported that lesbians in Ecuador were being tortured to change them.) But I know that I will not be tortured or killed for my Christianity here in Cincinnati, OH, USA, in 2011.

So what am I to do with this long list of explanations provided by Jesus explaining why I my being persecuted, each with the perfect resources for me to weather the trial? I want to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to have a clear feeling that He is with me, is on my side, and that His truth will prevail. The information Jesus is giving me here is a wonderful contribution to that relationship.

When I listen to Jesus, do what He commands, apply His teachings to myself – including the one that says He loves me regardless – then it is much easier for me to choose to say the truth, with love, to proclaim His love and wisdom, and to defend the stand I am taking, even if it is unpopular

So, based on what Jesus says here, I am going to strive for these attitudes and practices (see verses 26-33): I will seek to be good, even if people hate me for it because that is better for me and the world than my being agreeable so that I am liked. I will practice appearing to trust the Lord rather than appearing to be strong in the face of peer pressure. I want to love a person because of who they really are – a child of God – rather than who their parents are, the position they hold, or the doctrine they espouse. I intend to act like I believe the Lord loves me as much as anyone else. I will explore ways to confess my sins to the Lord that are effective – that open my heart to Him so that He may heal me.

My experience is that as I practice these exercises and do these tasks, Jesus is making His home in me, abiding in me. I then have Him in my heart.

Having Jesus In Your Heart 24

“Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town. When you enter the home, give it your blessing. If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing. If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave. I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day. Matthew 10:11-15 (NLT)

By 'peace' are signified all things in a complex whole that are from the Lord, and consequently all the things of heaven and the Church; also the blessedness of life in them. These are of peace in the supreme or inmost sense. It follows, therefore, that charity, spiritual security and internal rest are 'peace', for when a man is in the Lord he is in the peace with the neighbour that is charity, in the protection against the hells that is spiritual security; and when he is in peace with the neighbour and in protection against the hells, he is in internal rest from evils and untruths. Apocalypse Revealed n.306

It was from this signification that the Lord commanded His disciples to shake off the dust of their feet if they were not received, as in Matthew:

Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city (Matt. 10:14-15; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5; 10:10-12);

by the "disciples" here are not meant disciples, but all things of the church, thus all things of faith and charity (n. 2089, 2129, 2130, 3354, 3858, 3913, 6397); by "not receiving, and not hearing," is signified to reject the truths of faith and the goods of charity; and by "shaking off the dust of the feet," damnation. That "it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city," is because by "Sodom and Gomorrah" are meant those who are in evil of life, but who have known nothing of the Lord and the Word, and thus could not receive. From this it can be seen that there is not meant a house or city which would not receive the disciples, but those who are within the church and do not live the life of faith. Everyone can see that a whole city could not be damned because they did not receive the disciples and at once acknowledge the new doctrine which they preached. Secrets of Heaven  n.7418

As "dust" signifies those who do not regard spiritual and celestial things, but only what is corporeal and earthly, therefore the Lord enjoined His disciples that if the city or house into which they entered was not worthy, they should "shake off the dust of their feet" (Matt. 10:14). (That "dust" signifies what is condemned and infernal, will be further shown at verse 19.) Secrets of Heaven n.24

Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as ye go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet (Matt. 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5);

where the "dust of the feet" has a signification like that of a "shoe," namely, uncleanness from evil and falsity, because the sole of the foot is the ultimate natural. They were commanded to do this because they were at that time in representatives, and thought that heavenly arcana were stored up in these alone, and not in naked truths. Secrets of Heaven n.1748

It was the custom for travelers, when they came into any house, to wash their feet; as when the brethren of Joseph were introduced into Joseph's house (Gen. 43:24); and when the Levite and his attendant were received into the house of the old man (Judges 19:21); and when Uriah on his return home was commanded by David to go down to his house and to wash his feet (2 Sam. 11:8). The reason was that traveling and journeying signified what relates to instruction, and thence to life (see n. 1293, 1457, 1463, 2025); and that these were to be purified was shown above; and further, lest the impurity understood in the spiritual sense should adhere, and defile the house, that is, the man; as is also evident from the fact that the disciples were to shake off the dust of the feet, if the city or the house would not receive peace (Matt. 10:14). Secrets of Heaven n.3148

That "dust" signifies what is condemned, is because the earth over the hells in the spiritual world consists of mere dust without grass and herbage. Apocalypse Revealed n.788

Having Jesus In Your Heart 23

“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ‘Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.” Matthew 10:1-10

“The regeneration of the spiritual man proceeds as follows: At first he is taught the truths of faith, during which time the Lord maintains his affection for truth. At the same time the good of faith, which is charity towards the neighbor, is instilled into him, though in such a way that he hardly knows it because that good lies concealed within the affection for truth. All this takes place to the end that the truth of faith may be joined to the good of charity. As time goes by the affection for the truth of faith increases and truth is seen because of its end in view, which is good, or what amounts to the same, life. That affection grows more and more. In this way is truth instilled into good, and while it is being instilled the person absorbs into himself the good of life in accordance with the truth that has been instilled into it. Thus he acts, or seems to himself to act, from good. Prior to this the truth of faith has been for him the chief thing, but after this the good of life becomes the chief thing….This is how regeneration proceeds. Regeneration is carried out to the end that a person may be received into heaven - heaven being nothing else than the marriage of truth and good, and of good and truth.” Secrets of Heaven §2979

The joining of desire and thought, will and intellect, goodness and truth is described in the Word thousands of times, so it must be important. And it must be important to describe it so many ways because it is not an instinctual way of being. It is not a natural or automatic accomplishment in our living. It is said to make us “spiritual,” rather than remaining natural. And, wonderfully, it is said that joining our sense of goodness with our understanding of truth into a cohesive, congruent unit, creates heaven in us. And so, therefore, around us.

A further conclusion is that having this integrity of desire and thought is the ways we were created to be. Remember, we are created IN His image, predestined to become according to His likeness. So God created the process whereby we are transformed so that we are spiritual, healed, regenerated, saved. He reveals truth to us in many ways. As we adopt the truth for our own (oftentimes clumsily, applying it to others rather an to ourselves!), He has designed our spirit such that the truth attracts the love that causes and creates that truth. So, as we adopt the goodness with in the truth, we become good people!

Here is a living, ongoing example (and I pray you have patience with and compassion for me!) I learned early that the key New Church idea is that God is the Lord Jesus Christ. My first use of this truth was to see how other denominations get this wrong. One time I was a young volunteer at church and, when a visitor asked me about it, I announced that the visitor believed in three gods and we do not. I have regret about treating that person that way. Some years later, at a wedding feast no less, I got into an argument about it with a relative of the bride who knew very little about the New Church. I swore of arguing about doctrine! I now judge that the truth about God that is in my understanding has been so infilled with the love of God, which the concept is intended to give me, that I no longer use it to assess others’ relationship with God! Instead it reveals to me a lot about a person’s relationship with the Lord, and I am ready, willing and able to support them in their spiritual development.

We all have “the facts” which include many truths. Indeed, we have the truths that describe the Lord’s church, which is symbolized by the twelve Apostles. And we each have the power from those truths to do what is good – we can go forth and preach the Good News. We have tools to speak the truth to ourselves and to the world. The task is to dwell in the truths that exist within the facts of our life; to own them, that is, to apply them to our selves. And then patiently practice using them as tools for our spiritual life.

As we do this, we will be able to receive the love that brings healing and joy first to our spirits, and then to the world around us. This is a transformation that happens according to the Lord design. We don’t do it. So it is subtle, gentle and gradual. It is the Lord Jesus Christ working in us, to glorify the truth so that it becomes love, even as He glorified Himself and became Love itself, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Even as my desire, my truth, my actions and my speech are all distinctly one, so too is my God, who is visible and powerful in Himself and in me.

To do our part of this spiritual development, we have to travel lightly and trust the Lord above any other resource. Extra money (magnified self worth), extra baggage (living from the past), extra clothing (exalted self image), or an extra staff (self derived power), all interfere with the process the Lord has designed, which is, in fact, automatic – His free grace. To trust in this process is the hardest task of life. And every time we participate, it brings the greatest reward, which is especially noticed after we have failed and sinned. The Lord’s hand is most evident as we look back and see the food He gave us, and the life coming back into our spirit.

It feels like the Lord is with us, walking along with us, dwelling in us. Indeed it is His love that is infilling the truth we have worked so hard to learn, adhere to, and internalize. It then feels like He is in our heart.