How to Create a Good Heart.....By John Barnett

 How to Create a Good Heart

By John Barnett

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - Proverbs 4:23

Open with me to Mark 4:20 where Jesus explains that the Good Heart - Accepts the Word.

What does a heart look like that accepts the Word? How is a life lived that welcomes as its own Jesus Christ the Word of God? The Gospels capture six elements from the very lips of Jesus. Listen to Him. Accept His Word. Desire this depth of devotion, and welcome Him by giving yourself to Him.

In the Gospels we can trace Christ's call to commitment. He states we can't be His disciples unless we desire to evidence these characteristics. Here are ways that we evidence Christ as our Teacher, and that we are His Followers.

Hearts opened completely in love for Christ - that means we love Him MOST.

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26).

In this verse, the word "hate" essentially has to do with a comparison of loves. Simply put, our love for God is to be so great that, in comparison, love for even the dearest of relations should seem as hatred. This is based upon His first and greatest commandment:

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37-38).

In both the good times and the bad, we will continually be confronted with whether we are going to obey Christ and His Word—or buckle under to pressures to compromise our faith and "go with the crowd." Each opportunity to serve God represents this test: Who do we love most? If we do not give Christ the preeminence He deserves, He says that we are not worthy of Him (Col. 1:18; Matt. 10:37).

Loving God with an unrivaled love means that we will esteem nothing—family, friends, possessions, job, fame, power, pleasures, and especially ourselves—of more worth to us than He is. In so doing, we demonstrate His "worthship" to us by choosing to do things His way, and not our own. This is the essence of true worship. By losing our lives in that manner for Christ's sake, we will find them (Matt. 16:25).

Be Who You Are.....Denison Ministries

 Be Who You Are

 Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

So often we view God as an enforcer of religious rules. We see the commands of Scripture as a list of to-dos rather than a path leading to abundant life. But those perceptions aren’t the truth of Scripture. Those beliefs are founded on misguided notions of God’s character. God is after the heart. More than he wants us to do right, he wants us to see him rightly. He wants going to church, reading the Bible, worshipping, serving the poor, and living righteously to come from a heart filled with a true revelation of his loving-kindness. May your heart be wholly God’s this week.

Scripture:

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.” Psalm 139:13

Devotional:    

God will never ask you to be anyone other than who you are. He’s not asking you to be just like other believers. He’s not asking you to copy those around you that seem to be well-liked or accepted. So often we view God as a parent who spends all his efforts trying to fix us on the outside that we might keep up appearances. But it couldn’t be more the opposite. God doesn’t spend time trying to cover up who we are. Rather, he devotes himself to uncovering who we truly are—who he made us to be.

Psalm 139:13 says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.” God formed you wonderfully and uniquely. He gave you a personality and calling all your own. He sees past all the exteriors we create to try and fit in. He sees through all our efforts to cover up what makes us unique and different. He sees us for who we really are. And he is calling us to cast down our facades and live out of the revelation that we are already, right now, fully loved and accepted by our Creator.

Discovering your identity begins with a journey with God to your heart. If you’re wondering who you truly are, you need not look past yourself, but rather, with the Holy Spirit, take an honest look at yourself. Don’t shy away from your insecurities. Don’t shy away from that which makes you different. Allow God to reveal how he sees you. Allow him to reveal to you the true desires of your heart. And allow him to lay a secure foundation for you built on his unconditional love that you might live vulnerably and honestly.

Allow God to fill you with the courage to be yourself today. Stop trying to change yourself to fit in to the expectations of others. And live with your identity and value securely founded in the love of your heavenly Father.

Spend some time in guided prayer looking at your heart with the Holy Spirit. Allow him to reveal how he sees you. Ask him how he has formed you and made you unique. And allow him to empower you to be yourself today. May your time in guided prayer be filled with freedom and courage as you cease striving to be someone that you’re not.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s call for you to be who you are. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to live honestly.

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.” Psalm 139:13

“As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.” Proverbs 27:19

2. In what ways are you striving to be someone you’re not? How are you seeking to keep up appearances rather than live honestly?

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how he sees you. Ask him to fill you with courage to cast down any facades and be who you truly are.

Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If you choose to place value and identity on what God says about you, then your heart will find freedom that transcends the ways and cares of the world. Treasure what God says about you. Store up his words and truth over you. Let them be your source of hope and life. May your heart be with your loving, kind heavenly Father as you seek to find freedom to live as you truly are today.

Extended Reading: Matthew 6

The Easy Way To Rest When You’re Exhausted...ASHERITAH CIUCIU

 The Easy Way To Rest When You’re Exhausted

ASHERITAH CIUCIU

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

I eyed the bright numbers on the clock telling me I’d be lucky to get four hours of sleep that night. Hitting “send” on my paper, I stumbled into bed, murmuring, “Once I graduate, then I’ll be able to rest.”

But over the years that followed, that midnight promise morphed to match new seasons:

“Once I meet this work deadline, then I’ll be able to rest.”
“Once our baby sleeps through the night, then I’ll be able to rest.”
“Once the children are in school, then I’ll be able to rest.”

Those refrains pushed me out of bed every morning and kept me working late into the night, until one day I found myself at our kitchen table, head in my hands and sobbing the words “I can’t do this anymore.”

I was exhausted.

And from talking with older women, I knew they were repeating the same worn refrain, merely aged to match their own challenges:

“Once we pay off the mortgage …”
“Once the kids leave for college …”
“Once we retire from our jobs …”

Women of all ages and stages are chasing rest, but that coveted rest eludes us all.

In a moment of clarity, I realized that rest won’t arrive on the other side of “someday” because, no matter how much we get done, there’s always more left to do.

Wiping my tears, I cried out: “God, I need You. I can’t do this anymore.” And in His kindness, God reminded me that we’re not the first generation to struggle with such things, nor are we alone.

In fact, 2,000 years ago, Jesus looked at a crowd of women and men just as exhausted as you and me, and He said:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV).

Jesus doesn’t tell us to wake up early and go to bed late in order to hustle our way into His Kingdom. Quite the opposite. He invites us to lay down our heavy burdens and find rest in Him.

What does that look like in real life? I developed an easy-to-remember R.E.S.T. acronym to guide me toward Jesus when I feel overwhelmed, and you can use it too:

• R: Recite God’s goodness. The next time we find ourselves hustling, let’s pause to praise God for who He is and what He’s already doing (see Psalm 103:1-2). What can we thank Him for? Let’s start there.
• E: Express your neediness. Then we get honest with God about our struggles and sins, casting our burdens on Him because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)
• S: Seek His stillness. Next, we take time to “be still, and know” that He is God (Psalm 46:10a, ESV). We quiet our hearts to listen to His still, small voice. Is there anything He wants to say to us? Are there any burdens or to-dos He’s asking us to lay down?
• T: Trust His faithfulness. Finally, we declare our confidence that our good God, who began a good work in us, will be faithful to complete it. (Philippians 1:6)

We don’t have to wait for that elusive “someday” to experience God’s rest. The gentle and humble Jesus opens wide His arms, and He says, “Come.” Today, just as you are, come.

Let’s come to Jesus, lay down our heavy burdens and receive the gift only He can give us: rest for our souls in His loving presence.

Dear Jesus, how kind You are to welcome me just as I am! I’m so tired of carrying these heavy burdens by myself, so I give them to You right now. (Name them one by one.) Please show me if there’s anything I should do differently. I trust You to refresh me with Your peace and strengthen me with Your power today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Greatest Act of Love.....Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Greatest Act of Love

Dr. Charles Stanley

Romans 5:6-11

What do you think about when you see a depiction of Christ on the cross? Most of us are overwhelmed by the physical and emotional suffering that He endured—the scourging, beating, thorns, nails, mocking, and shame. We are horrified at the cruelty of the Romans and the hard hearts of the Jewish rulers.

But during the crucifixion, far more was happening than the eye could see. God was carrying out His plan to rescue mankind, providing everything we need for salvation:

1. Redemption. Jesus paid the full price of the debt we owed for transgression: death. His payment set us free from bondage to sin.

2. Forgiveness. God could now release us from the punishment we deserved.

3. Propitiation. Christ’s payment satisfied
the Father by fulfilling His demand for justice while letting Him forgive us.

4. Justification. On the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice, the Lord now declares believers not guilty. Although we will still sin in this earthly life, our standing before God is one of righteousness. This is a legal declaration that can never be reversed.

5. Reconciliation. The sin barrier that separated us from the Father was removed by Christ’s death on our behalf. We’re now God’s children—we have open access to Him and fellowship with Him.

The crucifixion was the only way to rescue lost humanity. If there had been any other way, the cross would have been a grotesque display of divine cruelty. But because so much was at stake, it can truly be called the greatest act of love by both the Father and the Son.

The Power of Words.....By Anna Kuta

 The Power of Words

By Anna Kuta

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” - Proverbs 18:21.

We’ve all heard the phrase “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” In my mind, that statement couldn’t be further from the truth.

Words are powerful. We’ve all, no doubt, been wounded at some point by careless, unkind or mean statements. Their effect on our lives, even years later, is undeniable. No matter how much we deny it, it still makes us cringe to remember the taunts of the second-grade bully on the playground and makes us want to crawl under a rock to think of that rumor spreading through the high school hallways.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” Proverbs 18:21 says. The impact our words have on others cannot be overstated. One small comment or remark can make the difference between building a relationship up or tearing it down. We have the power to either encourage or destroy others with our speech.

The Bible speaks extensively about the power of words – especially positive ones – and warns about the dangers of careless ones. “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger,” says Proverbs 15:1. “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones,” Proverbs 16:24 adds. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” And Matthew 12:36-37 says: “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

One particular instance of the power of words in my life stands out in my mind – one that, without exaggerating, very likely changed my whole course at that time. It was early in the second semester of my sophomore year of college, and I was trudging up the stairs of the journalism building to turn in an assignment. Freshman year and the first half of sophomore year had been rough for a variety of reasons, and now I was struggling to juggle my classes, work and personal issues and keep my head afloat. I had to officially declare my major in just a few weeks, but I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. It was one of those weeks where I seemed to be failing on every assignment, and to top it off, I had just come from a disastrous meeting with an econ professor who made me feel stupid for not understanding an “easy” problem. Even in my journalism classes – my best subject – I couldn’t seem to get into the swing of things. The harder I tried, the worse the results seemed to be. I was beginning to worry that majoring in journalism would be the most terrible idea of my life, and I was, in all honesty, becoming more and more tempted to give it all up completely and go take a semester off somewhere.

On my way out of the journalism building, I passed two of my professors talking in the hallway. I said hi to them and kept walking, but after I rounded the corner I stopped short as I heard one of them say to the other, “Anna is one of the most hard-working and good journalism students.” I don’t know if he meant for me to overhear his statement, and I don’t remember hearing either of them say a single other thing, but his words made me freeze and stand there for a good 10 seconds. A good student – that’s really what he thought? My work was paying off? I wasn’t a total journalistic failure who would never succeed as a writer? It was like right then and there something went off in my mind. I hadn’t even realized I needed the encouragement, but suddenly my whole outlook changed. If that’s what my professor thought of me, then I was determined not to let him down. Many times throughout the rest of college when I doubted myself or just needed a pick-me-up, I thought back to his comment. He became one of my most trusted mentors, and before I graduated I was finally able to tell him how his words that day had probably been the turning point in my whole academic career. To this day, I still don’t know what it was about that one simple statement – but I do know its impact went a thousand times beyond what my professor could have ever imagined.

A kind, positive or encouraging word at the right time can truly be life-changing. Your words hold the power to breathe an attitude of death or life into others – which will you choose?

Intersecting Faith & Life: Let us strive to remember the power of our words and their impact on those who hear them. Think twice before making a negative statement, and instead find a way to pass along an encouraging word today.

Further Reading

1 Peter 3:10
Colossians 3:8
Proverbs 15

A Prayer for Greater Longing for Christ.....By: Victoria Riollano

 A Prayer for Greater Longing for Christ

By: Victoria Riollano

As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. Psalm 42:1

I must be honest.

There are many things I desire. On my shortlist: Friendships that bring me joy, a family that operates in love, and financial security. This doesn’t include my desire for a new pair of shoes, a homecooked meal from my mother (who lives ten hours away), nor my weekly need for a chocolate-filled dessert. Many times, I’m willing to go out of my way to attain these desires. Even a food craving will lead me to pile seven children in a car and make a complete grocery trip for just one moment of satisfaction.

Yet, when I encounter Psalm 42:1, I ask myself, “Do I long for Jesus in the same way?”

Am I willing to pause everything just for him? Do I think of Him in the morning or talk to Him throughout my day? When I ask myself these questions, I’m faced with my own spiritual deficit. Though longing for Jesus should always be my heart cry, I often miss the mark. Trapped between my own fleshly desires and the need to be in control, there are many moments Jesus becomes an afterthought rather than my first love.

The word “longing” in Psalm 42:1 goes beyond a momentary want. The original meaning of the word used by the psalmist is “to cry out.” In other words, the one who “longs” cries out for what they need and is desperate for the object of their affection.

When the psalmist says, “as the deer longs for the streams of water,” this imagery is not a fleeting desire of an animal. Instead, the psalmist is keenly aware the deer cannot sustain herself without water. Having water once a week or when times get tough is not enough. For deer, water is needed several times throughout the day. So much so, that mature deer make their homes close to small water sources so that they can always be in close proximity of this basic need.

This verse reminds us that the Lord is the source of our strength, rejuvenation, and spiritual nourishment. He has no desire for us to be thirsty Christians in need of refreshing. He does not want us to only seek Him when we are feeling spiritually depleted.

Instead, like the deer, He wants us to camp out in His presence and see Him as our resting place. Our soul’s desire should be to remain in a continual state of seeking Him. Through prayer, worship, studying His Word, we refresh ourselves in the streams of His presence.

Today, I can’t help but imagine how different our world would be if the followers of Christ would all long for Jesus. This personal longing for Christ would strengthen our faith and cause us to live into and out of God’s love in a deeper way. Without a doubt, the testimony of how God would move in our personal lives and communities would draw people to our Savior. Yet, it starts with us making a choice to seek God above all else.

Although we can certainly desire the things of this world like a great career, finances, or even our favorite meal, we know that all these things are momentary. In time, they will all change or fade away completely. But our God remains the same. Never changing and always present for His creation now and until the end of time. May our soul cry out for the one who has all the answers, knows all the plans, and provides all the resources. He alone is enough.

Dear Lord,

I pray for a great refreshing to come over my life. I ask that you deepen my desire for your word and your presence. Like the deer pants for water, I pray I may long for your presence in my life. I ask for forgiveness for the many times I sought the fleeting things of this life more than I sought you.

Lord, I long for your truth to invade my mind, will, and emotions. I pray to experience your presence and to know with all my heart, mind and soul that you are enough to satisfy me.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

THE RESURRECTION.....Daily In Your Presence

 THE RESURRECTION

Daily In Your Presence

Jesus said to her,
 "I am the resurrection and the life."
JOHN 11:25

FROM THE FATHER'S HEART
My child, you've walked away from the funerals of your loved ones with fresh memories still clinging to you like grave clothes. Tears have filled your eyes as you've said good-bye to the last dreams of your heart. Remember, for those who love Me and are My children, death is but a step into eternity with Me. It is never the end but the start of forever - what you were created for! Take heart. I am the resurrection and the life. Where I am, you will be also. Find peace in Me.

A GRATEFUL RESPONSE
Lord, death could not hold You. And because of You, the resurrection, we, too, can live. Thank You that the grave is only a journey into the presence of God. You have removed the sting of death and empowered this thing called life. Now I will live in Your presence forever.

SIMPLE TRUTH

On the other side of death is the real side of life.