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No Agenda, One Motive

I have a friend, Michael Mcleymore, who runs an amazing rehab/ recovery program in Union County, South Carolina, called The Prodigal’s Home. He recently had another inspiring post that he shared from a moment in the life of their program. At the end, he closed with:

“No agenda, one motive: be the love of Jesus! “

One of the ugliest things about people who are involved in “good things” is when we find there is an hidden agenda. When we find out that someone has laid out a chess match type of manipulation/transaction of a situation where they give the impression that they are being good, generous, charitable, etc. — but it turns out they were actually just doing it for themselves.

Even religious people who think that doing more good deeds in this life will earn them a greater reward somehow — may actually be working under a hidden agenda to benefit themselves, rather than truly being “motivated to love and serve others”.

It is the motive that matters.

As a Christian, we are to be motivated by the love of Jesus for us, that in turn motivates us to love others. This motivation that rises up out of faith that He loved us first — it is truly the foundation for the disciple of Christ.

If our theology, traditions, dogma and ceremonies don’t all grow from this root — from this motive — they are fruit from the seed of a poisonous tree — they are about the self-righteous measuring and comparing of our own good and evil — rather than a being drawn close to the Lord to walk as He walks.

No agenda, one motive: Be the love of Jesus!

Find out more about Michael’s ministry here: https://www.facebook.com/421873688267793/

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:9‭-‬10 NLT

People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.
Proverbs 16:2 NLT

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
Jeremiah 17:9‭-‬10 NLT

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
Hebrews 4:12‭-‬13 NLT

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s! So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him! * * *
Romans 8:5‭-‬17 MSG

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Realize His Presence

There is a difference that I’ve noticed between intimate time in His presence versus trying to “free the mind from worries and anxieties”, or “imagining Jesus by my side and talking to Him”, or “going through the motions of praying”.

What I’ve found is that when I’ve fallen into only meditating and listening, or only imagining and speaking, or only walking through the tradition and practice — that the intimacy is missing in my interactions with the Lord.

Do we truly “realize His presence” here with us — or does He feel far from us?

Are we “naked before God” by confessing our weaknesses and giving Him glory by acknowledging our need for Him to fight our battles for us — or focusing more on how we think our own minds should be clean and we’re wanting to be stronger and more positive in our thoughts?

Are we soaking in the presence of God as we savor our time with Him — or are we doing what we know we’re supposed to do and saying the things we’ve been taught to say?

Are we aware of His actual presence right here with us — or are we trying to imagine God strong enough with our minds so that we can put on a pretty face and ignore our feelings?

We might say these are subtle differences if we were a scientist or mathematician observing and asking questions to record measurements about the physical process itself — but there is an Almighty difference in what is happening spiritually.

Prayer is not something done alone “inside our own minds” — but is intimacy with Almighty God.

Faith is not us being strong minded enough to “put on a happy face” in spite of feelings and circumstances and to not hurt or not be unhappy or only think positively — but Faith is a choice to be honest and vulnerable about our brokenness, our weaknesses, and our need for God to fight our battles, coupled with our trust that He will because He said He will.

In today’s world where there is so much new aged philosophy and self help and religious practice around us to distract us from a personal and intimate relationship with our God — sometimes it helps to remember, to realize who is right beside us, who is with us.

Why would a man turn to pictures on his phone, or flirtations with another, or fantasizing on his own if his wonderful, beautiful, passionate wife is laying beside him? He either doesn’t want intimacy with her, or he doesn’t believe she wants intimacy with him!

And this is how we are with God! We trade actual intimacy with God — for self manufactured imaginations, coping mechanisms, and substitutions.

And don’t feel particularly low about it if you can see it yourself, friend. I said “we” because this is common to man. We have all gone astray and forgotten at times how sweet, beautiful, loving and amazing the Lord is to us. But it is time to return to intimacy with the Lord. It is time to be vulnerable and real. It is time to pray, realizing we are in the presence of God. Amen.

For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord , ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11‭-‬13 AMP

One thing I have asked of the Lord , and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.
Psalms 27:4 AMP

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, And the night will be the only light around me,” Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You, But the night shines as bright as the day; Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being formed in secret, And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were appointed for me, When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape]. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.
Psalms 139:7‭-‬18 AMP

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Father, Reveal…

Father,

Reveal who you are. 

You are setting the world right. 

Keep us alive with sustaining meals for both body and spirit. 

Keep us forgiven in you and forgiving others freely. 

Keep us safe from ourselves and from the enemy.

Amen.

Philippians 2:13 “God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him, and the power to do what pleases Him.”


Romans 8:1 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”


“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.” – John 3:16‭-‬21 MSG


But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord , have spoken! – Jeremiah 9:24 NLT

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Are you certain? Why?

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6 NLT
http://bible.com/116/php.1.6.NLT

We can be confident that if God has started a work in us, that it will be completed. We can be confident,  when we look and see lives that are being filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit,  with the change that comes from seed that has been planted and watered and has been budding and growing over time into a new and changed character in a person that there is something spiritual at work inside them. And when God starts a work in someone,  He intends to complete it,  so we can find confidence in His being faithful and true.

I look to the story of Balaam and his donkey. That very same donkey that he had ridden all of his life suddenly began acting quite different than usual. It resisted the way that Balaam wanted to go because it knew that if he went that way Balaam would be killed. But Balaam was concerned about how foolish he was looking to those around him by his not being able to follow in the same path where those men with him were going. He wasn’t concerned with the why, and he didn’t think about whether or not this path might be contrary to God’s will,  he intended to follow it. So he began beating his donkey.

“But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him. “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.” Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the Lord , “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.” But the angel of the Lord told Balaam, “Go with these men, but say only what I tell you to say.” So Balaam went on with Balak’s officials.
Numbers 22:30-35 NLT
http://bible.com/116/num.22.30-35.NLT

If we know someone, especially if we have known them long enough to know their character,  the baseline of their normal behavior, we can also recognize when there is difference in their behavior that is “out of character” for them. We can have reasonable expectations for how both their emotional feelings and rational mind are going to work together to respond to a situation our circumstance, because we’ve seen the evidence and know their patterns. But there are also spiritual influences that can alter this normal/baseline behavior.

We can recognize the spiritual influence of growth and change in ourselves if we have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and we are indeed born again Children of God, because our lives will be altered and we will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is how those who are spiritual can make right judgements about whether or not someone is “in the faith”. In fact, this is how we can encourage others to have confidence that God will complete the work that He has begun.

And it is not because someone pretends that they are perfect and without sin, because those are blind, lying to themselves, without any real understanding of the ways of c Good,  but blinded by their own prose and religious attitudes. It is also not because of a strong but short lived interest in God because someone has come to the knowledge of their sin and have felt shame and guilt and reacted in emotion towards the Word of God for a short time and then turned back to the ways of the world.

Paul in this letter to the Philippians can have confidence in what the Lord is going to accomplish in their lives because he has seen the change to their character,  the change to their baseline attitudes,  the change to their desires and motivations that comes from a new heart and the teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul can confidently trust in the Lord and encourage them that the Lord will complete His work in them, not just because He saw them say a prayer,  not just because he saw them dunked under water, but because he saw the evidence of true change in their lives. If we know the change of repentance, if we examine our lives and see true change and interest in following the will of God,  we can find confidence in that.

But if we are more interested in following in the ways of the world, and we are frustrated that we can’t go the way of the world, afraid that we are going to look foolish in the eyes of the world if we don’t walk that same path that they are walking – if we are more interested in our own way, we might need to examine ourselves for fruit and determine whose way and life is truth and which leads to destruction.

Just because you’ve ignored that other voice in your head because it sounds foolish and limiting and restrictive doesn’t mean that you are wise or right.

Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
Proverbs 12:15 NLT
http://bible.com/116/pro.12.15.NLT

I wonder how often we beat and resist the very donkey in our lives that has c a message from God for us,  because we are more interested in listening to the world than God?

This is why it is important that we examine ourselves – not so that we can think that, we’ve arrived – no,  that is pride! But so that we can have confidence in the Lord that He is, at work in us and that our deceitful heart is not deceiving us.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord , search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jer.17.9-10.NLT

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you ; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.
2 Corinthians 13:5 NLT
http://bible.com/116/2co.13.5.NLT

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Galatians 5:16-26 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gal.5.16-26.NLT

Can I trust in the Lord and have confidence that He will complete the work that He has started in you,  friend? The answer depends not on God,  but on you,  whether or not you have believed,  received and repented so that His work has yet begun in you. Because His promises are faithful and true.

I hope the answer is yes. Our I hope if the answer has been no up to this moment,  that it will be yes today and forevermore and eternity as you surrender your life to Him,  choosing to now walk in the one way,  the one truth,  the one life,  Jesus Christ.

Choose the narrow gate of our only Hope in Jesus Christ, and walk the narrow path of Faithfulness, and the Holy Spirit of Christ will come upon you and anoint you with the Love of God that pours out upon His Children.

There is no greater peon,  there is no greater prize, than to serve at the feet of the Lord and never leave His presence – and I’m not talking about one day after you are dead. I’m talking about today, now, while your service is of use in waking others to the truth.

Awake,
Arise,
Go.

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Disobedience? Compliance? Obedience? Grace?

Disobedience? Compliance? Obedience? Grace?

Disobedience
Do we know what disobedience is these days? Isn’t it choosing to do our own will instead of the will of God? What does scripture tell us about disobedience?

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.  A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
John 8:34-36 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.8.34-36.NLT

John 14:15 ESV
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Luke 6:46 ESV
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Continue reading “Disobedience? Compliance? Obedience? Grace?” →

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Are you taught by God?

As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.
John 6:45 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.6.45.NLT

This is refering to the book of Isaiah telling what to expect in the coming Kingdom of God that would be ushered in by the Messiah:

I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great peace.
Isaiah 54:13 NLT
http://bible.com/116/isa.54.13.NLT

In the book of Matthew,  Jesus warns us to call no one c teacher,  because He is to be our only teacher:

And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.
Matthew 23:10 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.23.10.NLT

In the book of, John,  Jesus tells us about the Spirit of Truth that is to come

John 16:13 ESV
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

And Jesus clarifies further when, He describes the gift of the Holy Spirit that we who are followers of Christ receive:

John 14:26 ESV
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

You see, He doesn’t tell us to seek out a great, charismatic preacher or teacher and dedicate ourselves to them. No, in fact He warns us about putting our trust in them and says that we should trust only in Him:

Psalm 118:8 ESV
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

Jeremiah 17:5 ESV
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.

And this is because men aren’t meant to be as much teacher as messenger, sharing the Word of God and what they to learn from the Holy Spirit’s guidance in their own lives. But since you cannot easily confirm the source of anything they claim to be “from God”, we must test it against what we know is from God.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
Acts of the Apostles 17:11-12 NLT
http://bible.com/116/act.17.11-12.NLT

We aren’t supposed to blindly follow what a religious leader tells us, this can be very dangerous with the false teachers who are like wolves amongst the sheep. We aren’t just supposed to read the Bible as a self help guide to try to figure it out for ourselves either. We are to be taught by God.

So how do I start being “taught by God”? First, you must surrender your heart to Jesus Christ and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not just a water baptism, but being reborn as a new creation with Christ living inside you. It isn’t signing up for a religion, and it isn’t buying your get out of hell free card with a one time prayer. It is deciding to do this life,  hand in hand with Christ who loves you,  forgives,  you,  and wants to teach you and change you moment by moment,  day by day, to be more like Him.

Then, you must be willing to seek His wisdom and to listen, and to examine and test what you hear against the truth of the Word of God. Yes, this requires accepting that the Word of God is Truth. It takes accepting that God knows better than you what is good and acceptable for your life. It takes seeking not only what is acceptable,  but what is holy and will bring God glory and honor. It takes putting God’s will first as the center of your life.

Then you must be willing to repent and put it into action. This isn’t a mind game, learning it in our heads but not applying it in our lives – that is empty religious practice and sacrifice. God desires the change in our hearts that results in a changed life, a changed perspective,  a humbling to remain teachable at the feet of the master.

Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Matthew 9:13 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.9.13.NLT

We aren’t to practice traditions of men and man made ideas as commandments from God. If you are participating in a church that tell you that you must follow their traditions, or that you must be taught by their leader, or that God recognizes them differently than He recognizes you, test them against the Word of God,  find them false,  and abandon these dens of deceit where they feed off of the lambs like wolves,  or like hirelings who kill the sheep to fatten their own bellies,  instead of sacrificing for, and suffering for, and feeding and providing for the sheep as Christ gave the example of the Good Shepherd.

Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ ”
Matthew 15:3, 6-9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.15.3-9.NLT

I encourage you, friend. Examine where you are receiving your teaching. Examine who you have laid your trust upon. Is it a man? Or are you being taught by God?

Get it from the source. Examine and test it against the Word of God.

I pray that we can all continue to stay out of the way and simply be the messengers receiving and then delivering the Word of God as humble and faithful servants – not teachers who thinks themselves yet wise or righteous or completed works. I too need to remain teachable, and listening, and growing.

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What is God’s will?

However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.
John 6:37-38 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.6.37-38.NLT

I am His. I know this because He draws me near to Him. I can trust that He will not forsake me. And He gave me the example to follow – to do God’s will and not my own.

So the next logical question is,  what is God’s will?

Continue reading “What is God’s will?” →

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Watch out! Danger Ahead!

image

“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware,  like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth.  Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:34-36 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.21.34-36.NLT

OBSERVATION

He tells us:
1) Don’t let our hearts be dulled
2) Don’t be caught unaware
3) Keep alert
4) Pray for strength

1) Guard your heart
So first and foremost, Jesus is talking about our heart. Scripture tells us many things about our heart. Do we know there are different types of hearts?

Deceitful Hearts

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Matthew 15:18-20 ESV
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.

New/Clean Hearts

Psalm 51:10 ESV
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Ezekiel 36:26 ESV
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Pure Hearts

Matthew 5:8 ESV
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

And God’s Word tells us that He must be the one to replace our deceitful hearts,  our hearts of stone and replace them with new hearts of flesh. And then He gives us instruction for guarding that heart and for exercising it and “getting the blood flowing”, for getting the living waters active in our lives, for activating His Word in our daily lives.

HOPE: Trust in Him

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

FAITH: Walk Faithful to His Word

Hebrews 4:12 ESV
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Proverbs 4:23 ESV
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

LOVE: Walk in His Spirit

Luke 12:33-34 ESV
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

1 Timothy 1:5 ESV
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

2) Don’t be caught unaware
And we should know why our heart is so important.

Examine your own heart

Proverbs 21:2 ESV
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.

Romans 1:21 ESV
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Know the kind of heart Good seeks

Psalm 51:17 ESV
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Find the brokenness through Repentance

Acts 8:22 ESV
Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

Believe in your Heart

Romans 10:10 ESV
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Pursue God

2 Timothy 2:22 ESV
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

3) Keep Alert
And we are to keep alert, ever vigilant and awaiting His triumphant return. Running this race to the end, and being aware of the distractions of this world which seek to dampen our light,  which seek to darken our testimony, which work in opposition to His will.

Do not let yourself become hardened / complacent

Romans 2:5 ESV
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Find Assurance in Faithfulness

Hebrews 10:22 ESV
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

4) Pray for Strength
And if we try to accomplish  this under our own strength So that we might claim victory for ourselves in prideful vanity,  we will encounter mountains that we cannot move. But if we have faith,  if we pray to God in that faithful brokenness of humility,  relying upon His strength to deliver us – we will know His strength and His victory.

Precious,  heavenly Father,  who rains down upon us your many blessings and your glorious favor out of the very nature of your being as creator and give of life. We ask you to help us examine our hearts in the light of your Word and to have the discernment to see those things in our own life that need to be cut out and removed by your forgiveness,  healed by your loving touch,  and strengthened by our repentance to follow your will. Let our reliance upon you be a testimony of your strength,  Lord. Let your name be glorified by our lives today. We lift our prayers to you Lord, we receive your Holy Spirit by the blood of Jesus Christ she’d upon the cross, and we ask that your Holy Spirit living in us who knows better than ourselves how we might pray would lift this prayer as a wonderful incense and testimony to your glory, we trust that Jesus Christ who is raised from the tomb and sits triumphantly upon the throne as our advocate has pleaded for our lives and forgiveness of our sins and that c we are yours, Lord. Keep us mindful of your Kingdom work today,  as your will is done on earth through our lives loving and serving others and spreading this Good News of the reconciliation of men to your glory through your grace and by our faith, made possible by the way,  the truth,  and v the life of Jesus Christ. Let us lean not on our own understanding,  skills,  or talents for these are creations – let us instead rely upon the source,  the giver of life, the creator,  the one true God for our strength. We love you,  Lord – teach u, guide us, equip us, use us as you see fit,  Lord. Your will be done. Amen.

PUT IT IN ACTION
Let Christ be our example.

Every day Jesus went to the Temple to teach, and each evening he returned to spend the night on the Mount of Olives. The crowds gathered at the Temple early each morning to hear him.
Luke 21:35-38 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.21.35-38.NLT

Teach daily about Christ who lives in you in the testimony of your life – your actions,  your words,  and by taking captive your thoughts and the desires of your heart. Do this relying upon His strength,  not your own, and experience the victory of a blessed life, walking in His will and purpose for you.

hballingerLeave a comment

Come, drink, and live

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:1-2 ESV
http://bible.com/59/rev.22.1-2.ESV

The life giving waters flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. Jesus talks of these living waters,  telling us that once we drink of the living waters,  we will thirst no more.

John 4:14 ESV
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

And not only are we, able to stand beside the river of living waters and drink from them,  we are able to tap into the living waters and flow with living waters ourselves.

John 7:38 ESV
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

This living water is the very Spirit of God,  the Holy Spirit, that we become aware of,  that we are able to communicate with even more closely and directly as we continue seeking and growing in our faith. The living waters are the anointing of the Spirit of the Lord upon our lives, changing us, and molding us,  and guiding us,  and teaching us – once we are surrendered to Christ,  once we believe,  once we are decided to follow His will and purpose, not just our own.

It is when we grow thirsty in life that we begin to understand our need for these living waters. It is when we are trapped in darkness that we begin to understand our need for light. It is when we are broken that we understand our need for healing to take place within our lives. So we are never “too far from God” to come to Him. He has never left our side,  even though we were unaware of His presence. He is no closer or further away from you than the great saints and His rain falls upon the parched and dry earth the same as it does on the fertile forests – for all life depends on life giving water and a forest was once empty land before life first sprung forth.

Isaiah 44:3 ESV
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Christ calls out to us,  making us aware that He has the very life giving water that we need to nourish our soul and provide healing to our body,  mind,  and soul. So we have no excuse for remaining thirsty when the water is available for us to come and drink.

John 7:37 ESV
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

This living water,  He gives to us without payment,  it is a gift, and we cannot work to earn it, nor does it once received allow us to remain the same.

Revelation 21:6 ESV
And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

The Lord asks two things of his people, to love Him and to love one another. Jesus Christ explained that, all of the law and words of the prophets grow from this central truth,  that all of it points to this central relationship between ourselves and the living God. That He is available to us to see His face,  to hear His voice,  to walk with Him, to experience life with Him.

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Revelation 22:4 ESV
http://bible.com/59/rev.22.4.ESV

“Blessed are  the pure in heart, for  they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 ESV
http://bible.com/59/mat.5.8.ESV

John 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

But the problem is that we ignore the voice and we have continued our lives chosing evil instead.

Revelation 2:4
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
John 3:19-21 ESV
http://bible.com/59/jhn.3.19-21.ESV

We have chosen darkness over light, and we have chosen to value things and self more than God.

Jeremiah 2:13 ESV
For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

It is never too late to turn to Him,  to seek Him, to drink of the living waters. To be washed in the blood of the Lamb,  and to know both salvation and the hand of the Lord upon your life, friend. We, the believers, the bride of Christ,  are inviting you to come,  drink of the waters.

Revelation 22:17 ESV
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Isaiah 12:3 ESV
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Revelation 7:16-17 ESV
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Isaiah 58:11 ESV
And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Isaiah 41:17-18 ESV
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Isaiah 55:1-2 ESV
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

Come, drink.

And live.

hballingerLeave a comment

A scary prayer? Or blessed assurance?

“Lord, if we need anything to further your ministry and to serve you,  provide all of it,  along with the responsible hearts to manage it effectively for your glory and honor. Bless us and give us increase in all areas of our lives that can be used to lift up your name – our love for you, our love and service unto others, our wisdom and understanding, our testimony, our spiritual gifts, our exercising your authority upon this earth, our health, our families, our homes, our food, our property, our very breathe within our bodies. It is all yours not truly ours, only lent to us for your purpose, and with it comes a responsibility to be a good steward. But if we are going to use it to glorify ourselves or anything other than your name, take it all from us, and instead give us yourself. Take it all if you must. Let your will be done, not ours. Amen.”

Continue reading “A scary prayer? Or blessed assurance?” →