From A Worldly Point Of View…

We as always need to be careful of how we see things. It’s easy to look at things from a worldly point of view. Peter gives us the ultimate example (right after declaring Jesus as the Messiah), and gets reprimanded for it. If he viewed things from a worldly view all the while walking with Jesus, don’t you think it’s also possible that we can do the same? That’s why Jesus told us to always stay connected to Him (apart from Me you can do nothing - John 15). Seeing life through God’s eyes is paramount in the life of a believer, it’s what spiritual sight is all about. Make it your priority to stay connect to the Vine.

21 From then on Jesus began to tell His disciples plainly that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem, and that He would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day He would be raised from the dead.22 But Peter took Him aside and began to reprimand Him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to You!”23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from Me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to Me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?27 For the Son of Man will come with His angels in the glory of His Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.28 And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.” Matthew 16:21-28

What You Allow Into Your Heart….

Why is guarding our heart so important? The heart is the center of our thinking and reason. It is where our WILL starts, our emotions are birthed, and it’s the bank of our memories and experiences. It affects our words, our outlook, and our behavior. When we fill it with things that contradict truth, the behavior that follows mimics the input. Garbage in, garbage out. If we focus on things that the Bible calls “above the law” we reap the fruits it produces: peace, patience, kindness, etc... We use filters for our air conditioning units, gas and oil filters in our cars, filters for our coffee, and filters for our pools. There are even filters put on cigarettes (for whatever reason I’m still trying to figure out). We use firewalls for our internet usage to keep out malware, viruses, and many other detrimental outside predators to protect our information. But what do we do to protect and guard our hearts? The Bible says “Above all else”. Don’t you think we should listen to God’s most important command? Look around, the evidence is clear of what society becomes when we don’t guard our hearts. Start today. Ask God to protect you from the evil one. And start filtering what you allow into your heart, it will pay big dividends in your life. We reap what we sow.

20 My child, pay attention to what I say.Listen carefully to my words.21 Don’t lose sight of them.Let them penetrate deep into your heart,22 for they bring life to those who find them,and healing to their whole body. 23 Guard your heart above all else,for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:20-23

Helpless And Hopeless….

David knew God, he knew the truth about God. He knew the truth about his own nature. To think over 3,000 years ago David wrote, “only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God’”. People are still saying it today. Times may change but people don’t. David then goes on to explain why people say this, they have corrupt hearts. We all have corrupt hearts. It is not until we repent, and accept God’s terms of reconciliation, that we desire to seek God, serve Him, and begin to understand our sinful nature. Without God’s invitation, we are helpless and hopeless. The true nature of man, the flesh, fights against God. Until we come to this realization, pursuing God is impossible.

1 Only fools say in their hearts,“There is no God.”They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;not one of them does good! 2 The Lord looks down from heavenon the entire human race;He looks to see if anyone is truly wise,if anyone seeks God.3 But no, all have turned away;all have become corrupt.No one does good,not a single one! 4 Will those who do evil never learn?They eat up my people like breadand wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord.5 Terror will grip them,for God is with those who obey Him.6 The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed,but the Lord will protect His people. 7 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?When the Lord restores His people,Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice. Psalms 14:1-7

Harsh, Elitist, and Even Rude….

When I read the story of the Gentile woman coming to beg Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter, I can see His reaction disturbing people. His initial reaction could be seen as very harsh, elitist, and even rude. Is this the same Jesus that everyone praises about His love and non-judgemental attitude? Is this the compassionate, loving, defender of the weak and helpless? How can Jesus respond so coldly to this desperate woman’s plea for help? His reaction, though as harsh as it may seem, was a test. This test was to see how genuine this woman’s request was. Jesus was brought all kinds of people to be healed. And as we read the story of the ten lepers, about how only one came back to thank Him, we must realize more and more people were using Jesus to be healed and not because they loved Him, and wanted to be saved. Didn’t Jesus have plenty of people around Him that we’re disingenuous? They wanted to follow Him because they wanted Him to overthrow the government? Those that wanted Him to heal the sick without thanking Him? Those that wanted to trap Him, so they could eventually kill Him? They wanted something from Him, not Him. His methods whittled away the false believers from the true believers. Yes, some of them (unbelievers) got healed, but it was the ones that expressed their true faith in Him that really got the full blessing, healing and salvation. I’ll finish with a story that will help illustrate my point. In Russia, during the Cold War, many Christians were persecuted under the communist regime. One particular church continued to hold services, but were very discreet about it. One late night during the service, several Russian KGB agents burst into the church. They told every one that denounced their faith could leave. After more than half the church people left, they locked the doors and told the pastor to continue his sermon. You see they were Christians too, and the only way they could attend services is if they weeded out all the pretenders, for the true followers of Christ would not rat them out. This is exactly what Jesus did here. He purposely (in a harsh way) told the woman, you are not as important as the Jews, so stop asking me to heal your daughter. The woman proved her faith in Him by telling Him (my paraphrase), “if you are God, then You care about all people, so please care about me”. Jesus’ response proves this to be true. Sometimes we need to be prodded, offended, or persecuted to prove our faith is authentic and real to ourselves, and that it is the most important thing to us in our lives (where our true loyalty lies). The only way to bring it out is through adversity. God’s ways are above our ways. And He knows us better than we know ourselves. Do you believe this?

21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile woman who lived there came to Him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then His disciples urged Him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep–the people of Israel.”25 But she came and worshiped Him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed. Matthew 15:21-28

Where The Genuine “Me” Resides….

The heart is what matters to God. That’s where the genuine “me” resides. That’s why the proverb says, “above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well-spring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Once you realize this, it changes everything. Once you realize how wicked your heart naturally is (selfish), you realize why we need a Savior (Someone Else to be righteous for us). That’s exactly what justified means. Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sins, for He was the only One qualified to do it (sinless). Since He justified our sin (just if I had never sinned 😁), He gives us the ability to come to God. It’s His Spirit in us that makes room in our heart (giving us reason to clear out our selfishness) that allows the fruits of the Spirit to grow and reproduce. With all of this said, it’s what resides in our heart that justifies or condemns us. That’s where our focus should be as believers. That’s what we should be guarding day and night. That’s what we should fight for in the lives of others, especially our children and loved ones. That’s what God wants from us.

1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked Him, 2 “Why do Your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips,but their hearts are far from Me.9 Their worship is a farce,for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’” 10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” He said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”12 Then the disciples came to Him and asked, “Do You realize You offended the Pharisees by what You just said?”13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by My heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.18 But the words you speak come from the heart–that’s what defiles you.19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” Matthew 15:1-20

Never Buy Into The Message….

Never buy into the message of the wicked. Even though they seem to flourish, gleaming at the break of day, turn away and keep moving. Wickedness and violence follow them wherever they go. They cannot rest until they spewed their venom on unsuspecting souls. If it seems odd when an apparent decent person speaks, and it raises question inside you, it’s because your conscience is doing it’s job. Any time I hear or see of a movement, protest, or demonstration, I immediately look into it to see what it’s really about, not what it tries to promote. Each time I find evidence that reveals its true motives. Not every thing out there is wickedly bad, but without discernment, it’s almost impossible to discern the difference. Ask God to reveal the truth to you. Then use it to uncover the motives of that group. You’ll never find friendship with people that eat the food of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

14 Don’t do as the wicked do,and don’t follow the path of evildoers.15 Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.Turn away and keep moving.16 For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day.They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.17 They eat the food of wickednessand drink the wine of violence! Proverbs 4:14-17

We Prosper In His Promises….

It’s easy to get caught up in our changing times. Seeing evil gain power can be disheartening. Watching people lie to each other, speaking from deceitful hearts certainly can rob us of a positive outlook. But that’s when we lift our heads toward the Heavens and seek out God. His motives are pure and can be trusted. In times like these the faithful need to be just that, faithful. Trust God with your life, for His promises are as pure as silver and gold. We prosper in His promises.

1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!The faithful have vanished from the earth!2 Neighbors lie to each other,speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lipsand silence their boastful tongues.4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.Our lips are our own–who can stop us?” 5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,and I have heard the groans of the poor.Now I will rise up to rescue them,as they have longed for Me to do.”6 The Lord’s promises are pure,like silver refined in a furnace,purified seven times over.7 Therefore, Lord, we know You will protect the oppressed,preserving them forever from this lying generation,8 even though the wicked strut about,and evil is praised throughout the land. Psalms 12:1-8