The other night, I was in Torrance where Kim Walker was leading and Danny and Sheri Silk were speaking. While everyone was singing, I saw this picture of a heart, with both sides pulling apart like two french doors on a weekend morning. It was then that I heard "The mind is the gate, but the heart is the doorway".
I had heard Bill Johnson talk a few years ago about you and I being the gate of heaven. (Genesis 18:17: He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.") and the mind residing as gate of hell—when Christ tells Peter, "And the gates of hell will not prevail against you", he was speaking of the mind because He later tells Peter, "Get behind me satan for your mind is not full of the things of God, but full of the things of man". James 3:15 also says, "Such 'wisdom' does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil." The war wages in the mind, trying to get get control of our heart through unbelief. But why?
Because our heart is the door by which Jesus enters. The outworking of the Spirit of God in our lives comes and shows us the need for Jesus and once we chose to walk this journey, we need to renew our minds daily so that the doors of our heart can be open to Jesus daily.
Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
This verse has been so misconstrued over the years to be seen as a call for salvation when really, this is a call to us in the Church. Jesus is knocking on your door and my door because we've put Him outside. With each knock on the door of our heart is a resounding call for intimacy with us, His friends.
When I saw the doors of the heart open on Saturday night, it was an entry point. A point of welcoming, where I could host the Presence of Jesus. For all that I long to see and do in my life, to write new songs, run with new ideas, tell untold stories and to see bodies, minds and hearts around the world healed, delivered, fed and redeemed—it all can only come from opening my heart to the person of Jesus. Each and every day. In every possible moment, when I'm waking, working, eating, resting, playing, dreaming.
The heart is the doorway, friends. I pray for all of you who glance and read over this, that you would find your heart opening up. Maybe your door is a heavy steel one right now, or maybe it's a nice sliding glass door—either way, the point is to open wide the doors and let Him in. Because it doesn't end there. He doesn't just sit there staring at your soul. He actually wants to dine with you and I! He wants to share your favorite meal with you, have food fights or maybe it's just to come in have a good beer and share life. Open the doors to see His face and don't be surprised by what He does!
For more on opening the door, read my post from Sept 08.