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

God’s Word Is The Key To Life…

God’s word is the key to life. It unlocks the door of truth, and that truth sets us free when we embrace it. Never try to stifle being honest with yourself. Your paths will be straight and your life will be long.

10 My child, listen to me and do as I say,and you will have a long, good life.11 I will teach you wisdom’s waysand lead you in straight paths.12 When you walk, you won’t be held back;when you run, you won’t stumble.13 Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go.Guard them, for they are the key to life. Proverbs 4:10-13

God Places Leaders In Power….

In a time of transition of our country’s leadership, with policies reverting back to previous tenures of leadership that promote ungodly behaviors disguised under the veil of “being progressive”, we have to remember it is God Who is in control. God places leaders in power for a reason. We may never know (at the moment) what that reason is, but we can still fully trust God because He is worthy of it all. So regardless who is in power in America, remember, Salvation will never arrive on Air Force One.

I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me,“Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!2 The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right.3 The foundations of law and order have collapsed.What can the righteous do?” 4 But the Lord is in His holy Temple;the Lord still rules from heaven.He watches everyone closely,examining every person on earth.5 The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.He hates those who love violence.6 He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,punishing them with scorching winds.7 For the righteous Lord loves justice.The virtuous will see His face. Psalms 11:1-7

Fully Human…

Jesus was fully human. When he was informed of John the Baptist’s death, He left in a boat to a remote area. The Bible doesn’t tell us any more details, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. He left to grieve the death of His cousin. He left to mourn the loss of the greatest prophet. His leaving shows His humanity. Sure, He could’ve just carried on with His mission, ignoring His feelings, knowing John was in Heaven, safe and secure, but He didn’t. This shows us the heart of God. When a true follower is persecuted, suffers, or dies, it affects God. When good is stifled by evil, God takes offense to that. He sees His creation being abused by the very people He created. He knows this is not how it is supposed to be, but allows it until the last person responds to His calling. In the mean time He grieves over every single sorrow created by the ill-effects of sin. Until we see things the way God sees them, we are not being fully human, in the manner in which we were created to be. Jesus was fully God, and fully human. It’s our duty as Christians to become more like Jesus. And that means viewing life like He did/does. If it doesn’t bother us when we see suffering, persecution, death, and sorrow, then that should show us we are not being fully human, and we still have a way to go in the sanctification process.

10 So John was beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12 Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened. 13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, He left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where He was headed and followed on foot from many towns. 14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:10-14

People Long For Wisdom And Insight…

We live in a day that says “don’t judge”. We live in a day that tells us there is no such thing as absolute truth. And despite all of this, people long for wisdom and insight, longing to know we are significant and serve a purpose. There are so many people in the world listening to Satan’s deceptive lies trying to re-write our history, change the definition of words, remove statues, and redefine common sense, which makes it’s difficult to find meaning in anything. All of this should be a wakeup call. It should reveal to us how important God’s word is. The only wisdom we can ever gain will only comes from God, Himself. God’s truth (the only truth there is) is objective. It doesn’t change. It remains the same throughout eternity. This wisdom helps us form our judging skills. Jesus tells us “when we judge, we are to judge rightly”. How can anyone judge accurately when there is no standard in which to judge. That’s where God comes in. His standard is the standard. His word is the sharp, two-edged sword that separates truth from falsehood. When we seek it from Him, we find purpose, meaning, and significance. It’s what gives us solid ground to stand on. Its what gives us the ability to discern. It’s what helps us to recognize a tree by the fruit it produces. It’s the very reason why Jesus tells us “the Truth will sets us free”. When we seek wisdom, and ask God for it, He will honor us and grant our request, giving us the humility to judge accurately. I’ve always said, “when we honor God, He will honor us”. Seeking wisdom is honoring God, because it shows us our dependence upon Him, and with obedience, we learn to use it for His glory. Wisdom comes from God.... and His standard forms our ability to judge. Ask Him to grant you some wisdom today. Then give it to someone else as a gift, and watch how it changes the world of those that receive it.

7 Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.8 If you prize wisdom, she will make you great.Embrace her, and she will honor you.9 She will place a lovely wreath on your head;she will present you with a beautiful crown.” Proverbs 4:7-9