Revelation 3:20: KEY TO HAPPINESS. Revelation 3:20 (NKJV) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. COMMENTARY PEARL C. S. Lewis wrote, If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. Are you content? Are you a happy person? Or, are you thinking, If I just had this, I would be happy? You wont find happiness in the things this world offers. It wont be found in possessions. It wont be found in accomplishments. It wont be found in fame. It wont be found in any external thing. Happiness does not come from seeking it but from seeking God. Happiness will be found in a relationship with God. Happiness is not about what I have; its about who has me. Its the relationship I have with God that brings the ultimate contentment. As David wrote in Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (verse 1 NKJV). When the Lord is your shepherd, you can find perfect contentment. Tell me what you think you need, and I will tell you what you really want. What youre looking for in life is a relationship with God. Jesus said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20 NKJV). Have you asked Jesus Christ to come into your life to be your Savior and your Lord? Jesus is ready to forgive you, but you must ask Him to come into your life. The day you do that, your questions will be answered. The day you do that, you will find the contentment youve been seeking in life. The day you do that is the day you literally will change your eternal address from Hell to Heaven. [By Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com] COMMENTARY Meals, especially in cultures like those of the Middle East, are an occasion for developing deep friendships and lasting bonds. They aren't just about nutrition; they are about closeness. This is what Jesus promises His people, but only if we hear His voice and open the door. We have to accept His invitation and welcome Him in. Our primary motive for hearing His voice is intimacy with Him. Only then are we drawn into the kind of relationship where His will is discovered and His secrets are made known. He shares His heart with those who have opened the doors of theirs. Above all else in this life, accept this invitation. Don't view it as a one-time acceptance of salvation. See it as an ongoing meal between close friends. Let Him lean over the table of your heart and tell you what's on His mind. There's no greater blessing than this. Jesus, the door of my heart is wide open. Come on in. Sit with me, eat with me, talk to me. Let me be one of Your closest friends. [The One Year Hearing His Voice Devotional by Chris Tiegreen] It happens every day, in every culture, and in every city, town, and village. To establish or deepen relationships, we humans sit down and eat together. The habit is in our genes. Go into any restaurant at lunchtime or dinnertime or visit any sidewalk cafe and quietly observe. You are sure to see business being transacted over a meal, or it could be a reunion of friends from way back. Look around, and you will certainly see several couples, some at the earliest stages of getting to know each other, others perhaps embarrassingly giddy in love (maybe even on their honeymoon), and yet other older couples celebrating life together. Perhaps you will see a family enjoying eating out, or several tables pulled together for a party - for a birthday or maybe a retirement. It is human nature to eat together. Important relationships may progress to the point of inviting someone into your home for a meal. First you set a time and date. You carefully plan the menu, shop for ingredients, and start preparations well ahead, making sure that the setting is right - lighting, music, flowers, the best china, crystal, polished silver, and freshly laundered linen. And the food - everything done to perfection, ready at the same time so that you can sit down to eat together. In spite of all the preparation and attention to detail, it's not about the meal - it is all about the relationship. Hearts knit together over food and drink. It is what we do. So when the one and only Creator-God, Sovereign of the universe, Lord of lords and King of kings, walks up to my door and knocks, waits patiently, and knocks again, and waits again maybe I'm not home. Oh, I am home, all right. This is the door to my heart, my mind. I am always home. He knows that. So He calls to me. He isn't a bill collector or a loan shark, but a Father longing for a relationship with me. Hear the cry in His voice: "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." It isn't about the meal, mind you - it's about the relationship. Lord, please come in. Let's eat. But more important, let's talk. [God of Wonders by David Steen] ILLUSTRATION Our first day in Egypt, my three friends and I found ourselves in the middle of Cairo with a plan to go visit the pyramids of Giza. But we couldn't find the bus that would take us there. As you know, many countries have a different language but still use the same number symbols we do in North America. But Egypt doesn't. Their numbers are totally different, so it took us awhile to find the correct bus stop. After fifteen minutes, we saw a bus approaching in the distance with the number symbol we were looking for. This was our bus! As we looked to the right where our bus was approaching, all the other people waiting at our bus stop suddenly started to run to the left, away from the oncoming bus! What was going on? The bus never stopped; it only slowed down. A moment later it passed us and caught up to the people who were now running alongside the bus at about the same speed. In a flash, the people running alongside the bus jumped onto the bus, and the bus sped off. It all happened so quickly, and we realized we had just missed our bus. We missed it because we didn't know the system. Twenty minutes later, another bus came, and this time we boarded it successfully and made it to the pyramids! Getting to heaven doesnt require us to be aware of any special systems, characters, or languages. God doesn't want us to "miss the bus so he's made it very simple for us to get to heaven. Jesus knocks on the door of your heart every day. Every day you must answer the door and decide if you will accept Jesus into your heart by asking him to be part of everything you do that day. What will you decide for today? [Passport to Adventure by Rich Aguilera] PRACTICAL APPLICATION Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. These silent prayers rise like precious incense before the throne of grace. Satan cannot overcome him whose heart is thus stayed upon God. There is no time or place in which it is inappropriate to offer up a petition to God. There is nothing that can prevent us from lifting up our hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street, in the midst of a business engagement, we may send up a petition to God and plead for divine guidance. A closet of communion may be found wherever we are. We should have the door of the heart open continually and our invitation going up that Jesus may come and abide as a heavenly guest in the soul.. live in the pure air of heaven. Those whose hearts are open to receive the support and blessing of God will walk in a holier atmosphere than that of earth and will have constant communion with heaven. Let the soul be drawn out and upward, that God may grant us a breath of the heavenly atmosphere. We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally as the flower turns to the sun. SC98-100 LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY http://www.abible.com/devotions/2016/20161130-0909.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT Most Important Decision in Life: http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo [old, but one of the best] Importance of Choice: http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video] Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782 Prayer Made Real: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE Musical Devotional On Christian Living: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David DeRose, MD, MPH: https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ Amazing Facts Bible Studies: http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/ Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: http://www.bibleresearch.info/ ABible.com: http://www.aBible.com LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug Batchelor: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK Restoring The Power by John Bradshaw: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRogO1SxoZN15Boa7BMon4BouVMdteVaq Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657 Last Day Prophecy: His Other Sheep by Pastor Gerald Babanezhad: https://vimeo.com/162267518