No Room

Music and Lyrics: John W. Peterson

This well known song talks about the fact that there was no room for Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus at the inn in Bethlehem. At Scottsdale Bible Church, we are privileged to have with us John Peterson as a Sunday School teacher, former board member, and devout leader of the faith. This song, one of many well-known songs written by John, describes all too vividly the fact that in too many places in this world today, there is no room...for Jesus. One phrase in the song says it all...Angels in heaven up yonder...watch with amazement and wonder...to see the Son of the Highest treated so.

Read Luke 2:1-7.

He was born in a stable. A dirty, grubby stall, with all the accompanying sights, smells, and sounds. He left the palace of heaven and throne of grace for this. A dirty, grubby world, so dark it couldn't even offer one small, clean space for a holy birth.

The angels of heaven must have watched on with dismay as door after door was closed to the struggling couple. To see the Creator of the universe come to this, even if by choice, is a difficult thing to comprehend. To know that one of the most holy moments in creation is about to take place in a stable, when God enters the world as a baby, leaves one in wondering amazement. And this would not be His only birth in a lowly, dirty place. There were many dark hearts yet to fill with His cleansing Light.

Mary and Joseph knew that into their care had been committed the King of the universe. How confusing and humbling for them to know Who was with them, knowing how little they had to offer. No doubt they must have done everything in their power to provide the Child with the best they could offer…always seeking to improve the home of the Lord on earth. And, knowing the heart of His earthly parents, the Lord must have felt He was living in a palace of love and devotion.

And, so the situation is the same today, just as it was so long ago. When Jesus comes to the door of our hearts, will we let Him in? Will we invite Him in to the dark, grubby spaces of our hearts, there to be born within us? But once He dwells in our hearts, do we leave Him in the stable? Do the angels look at our hearts in amazement to see the Son of the Highest dwelling in the unclean places of our lives, while we make no effort to move Him out of the stable of His birth? He has gone before us to prepare a magnificent place for us to dwell with Him in heaven. What kind of place are we providing for Him while He is dwelling here within us? Are you working with the Lord, transforming the stable of His birth in your heart into the palace of His victory?

Food for Thought:

Read the accounts of the Lord's birth. What parallels can you draw between His physical birth on earth and His spiritual birth in your heart? What verse best describes the type of heart you want to provide for Him?

What "home improvement" are you currently working on with the Lord?

Cross References:

Psalm 7:9…O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.

Psalm 8:5…You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

Psalm 29:1…Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Psalm 51:10…Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 119:19…I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.

Isaiah 53:2…He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Micah 5:2…But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be a ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.

Matthew 2:6…"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."

Matthew 6:21…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 15:8…"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

Matthew 23:17…You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

John 8:37…I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.

John 14:2-4…In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.

II Corinthians 7:2…Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.

Colossians 3:15…Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

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shoups@ifriendly.com

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