Does it seem like your conscious mind is overflowing with clutter? Scattered thoughts and worries about work, school, relationships, desires, chores – these things and more make a mess of your mind.

Yet I’m right here, just below the clutter. Today, find a quiet place away from the world, close your eyes and grab your broom. If you can sweep clean a corner of your mind, you will find me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, right here within you. I’m always here, waiting for you to look for me. And you will find me when you look hard enough.

Please look. I so want to have time together, without the clutter getting in the way. And when you push the clutter aside, and we look on each other, eye to eye, you will see peace, you will feel peace, you will be peace.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Come to me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Come, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. When you look within, to me, for help while traveling the path of your life, I will take your hand and guide you. Come to me, and the burdens of your journey will become lighter, for I will lift them from your shoulder. Oh, the burdens of humanity don’t go away. But I will help you carry them… sharing the load.

By my human death, I, Jesus Christ, saved your soul. By my Spirit within you, I can save your life. Just look within and come to me, please.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

[Look, something brought you to this blog post. But if you’d like to see something else that may be more worth your time, please check out the blurb about my soon-to-be-published novel on my new website. It’s basically about seeing a different perspective of Jesus, through the eyes of some background characters in the Bible. New website: cjpenn.com]

Has someone ever invited you into their home, and you walked into a house full of clutter and filth? Dirty clothes scattered on the floor, random trash ignored in the corners, tattered furniture, a floor barely visible through the debris, thick dust, and a stale locker room smell – home sweet home. How would you feel walking into such a place and invited to sit on a drink-stained couch? Uncomfortable? Disgusted? Looking for an excuse to leave? Or, maybe you could look beyond the surface filth, to the person who lives there. Maybe you could give more attention to the relationship than the clutter.

I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, look beyond the clutter. Many of you have messy lives, and you may believe that the filth of your humanity turns me off. But I look beyond the filth, to you. The greatest desire of my heart is to share your life with you, to live with you in the living room of your heart. And I don’t care how messy your heart is.

Please, invite me in.

In this world, surrender paints an image of imprisonment. Yet I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, am not of this world. And when you surrender to me, I will set you free from the shackles of the world that bind your mind and weigh down your soul.

Judgment, expectations, pride, selfishness, greed, worry, fear, anger… sin; these are the links in the iron chain that binds you in the dungeon of human suffering. But you can escape by surrendering to me. Let me inside you; let me free your mind of the shackles that weigh you down. And with my freedom, you will find true life and true peace.

“The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. … You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.” (Romans 8:6, 9)

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Have you ever felt a special moment with me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ? I’m talking about a moment where you truly feel my presence within you, where you feel the closeness between the two of us. Whether you’ve felt my presence or not, does your heart crave closeness with me?

If you’ve ever felt the tears of joy and love that come with those intimate moments, please know that I’ve felt those joyful tears too. Oh how I crave those special moments with you.

That’s why I’m always looking to you to turn your sights inward. You will always find me there, within you, waiting for you to sweep away the clutter of your mind, the clutter that piles up between you and me. I’m waiting for you to make a clear path for the two of us to come together and embrace; my Spirit and your soul. Oh, those moments are like medicine for an aching heart, aren’t they?

My life was short. I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, walked this earth as a human for only a brief span of years. You might think my life was a bit tragic, having died so young.

But I can walk the earth again, today, on your two feet. Please let me in, let me share your life with you, and I will walk with you on your journey of life.

My promise is as certain today as it was 2000 years ago… “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) As you walk through your day today, look inside yourself and see me there, walking with you. You don’t need to walk alone.