Our Heart Will Deceive Us!

Deceive: To mislead by falsehood, to lead unto error.

If I’ve heard it once, I've heard a thousand times, "God knows my heart!" And you're right, my friends, He definitely does - but let me share with you what  Jeremiah 17:9 says about our hearts; "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Well let me tell you, only God knows - He knows our every thought and every hidden motive. I’m sure that you've heard people say, "I’m following my heart." If I could give you one word of advice it would be -  don’t follow your heart; follow Jesus - He’s the only sure thing.

Our heart is so deceitful that sometimes we think that we can actually deceive God Himself, but let me tell you - that's impossible, especially when you consider what the Word says in Hebrews 4:13, "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

We certainly know how to deceive others - we know how to make things seem perfect on the outside, when corruption is working on/through us deep inside. For instance, our heart might have us thinking that we are doing something good when we unload other people’s dirty laundry on a friend. This is not being a friend, it's only the imagination of deceit. We can put smiles on our faces and mislead man, for they only focus on what they see, but not the Lord: "...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

The Lord knows what’s in our heart and in Mark 7:21-23 He identifies thirteen things that are evil and defile the man: "...evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness."

So with all those things in us, it’s easy for our heart to deceive us. God wants to give us a new heart and create a right spirit within us, but first there is some thing we have to do. We must invite Him into our heart as our personal savior and acknowledge the fact that those 13 evil things are there. We must then repent for them and He will give us a new heart. After that, we have to get busy in prayer so that the word of God can starve your old heart and feed your new heart until it comes into the likeness and image of Jesus Christ.

Jesus loves us and He is more than willing and able to help us get rid of those things that are not like Him. Thank God for Jesus!

With all that said, let the Church say amen… and AMEN!    

There's Rewards in Giving!

Giving: to cause to have or receive
Rewards: something given in return for good or evil

Giving can touch other people's lives in ways that some of us may never experience. It can also expand our circle of concern to include others. Besides that, the bible tells us that God loves a cheerful giver: "But this I say... He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart; so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

Consider this - even God Himself gave - and I'm not talking about the multitude of things that He gives us daily. He made the ultimate sacrifice - He gave His only begotten Son, so the least we can do is to practice giving ourselves. Not to mention, there's rewards in giving and giving doesn't always have to be monetary giving. As Matthew 10:42 tell us, "And if as my representatives you give even a cup of cold water to a little child you will surely be rewarded" (The Living Bible). Your Reward: You shall be rewarded by the Lord Himself.

If we are really willing to give, then it's not important how much we have to give. God wants us to give what we can and not what we cannot. We should always be willing to share with others if we have extra and can help them. And then at some other time, those same people (or even someone else) will be able to share with us when we are in need. Your Reward: When we are in need, others will be a blessing onto us.

The Words command us to "share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help" (Isaiah 58:7). Your Reward: He will heal and protect you - "your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind" (Isaiah 58:8). What an awesome reward!

Keep sowing your seeds, for you never know which seed will grow and blossom - perhaps they all will! Your Reward: You will have more than enough, because it's possible that all of your sowed seeds will grow!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

Life Won't Always Be A Bed Of Flowers!

Flowers: a state of blooming or flourishing

I was sitting outside this evening just admiring God's beautiful creation and I began to think about all of the things that are going on in the world today and about the path that God has set out for us. The fact is that the path that God has for us won't always be smooth - it's not likely to be a path free of obstacles and set backs.

We often think that just because we're Christians, everything in our lives is going to go smoothly. My friends, God didn't promise us a smooth path. However, He did promise that He would never leave us or forsake us - which means that He's with us even in the tough and rocky times, just as He's with us doing the smooth times.

In times like these, we have to remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So while we can't move the obstacles or avoid the setbacks, we can find strength and encouragement in the Lord and His word. Hebrews 13:5 tells us, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." It's imperative that we continue to be prayerful and share the love and the word of God with others - for that's how we get and share strength.

I'm beginning to understand that these circumstances are not reasons for us to lose faith and hope in God, but instead, we should draw closer to Him, because it's in these times that God wants to carry us, so let's draw closer to Him. He also said that goodness and mercy would surely follow us all the days of our lives, which means that He's there in the good times and the bad times (all the days of our lives).

Saints, we serve an awesome and powerful God! Remember, what James 1:2 says, "count it all joy." Please notice that the author didn't say that only great things would happen to us, he simply said count it all joy, so that lets us know that although life may not always be blooming or flourishing, if we count it all joy, that joy will be the strength we need to survive anything the world throws our way!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

Count It All Joy!

Count: To command with official authority, to consider

James 1:2 says: "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." However, we sometimes lose our joy. I'm not talking about the joy that you might have by getting things on the outside; I'm talking about that joy you have on the inside that you allow to work through you on the outside.

Nearly everyone wants joy, but we often look for it on the outside. Getting a new car won't give you the type of joy I'm talking about; buying a new house can make you happy for a minute, but it still won't get you the kind of joy I'm talking about.

This joy comes from within and we must get the right thing on the inside of us - that thing that will in turn make us radiate with joy. When we have that type of joy, things that might be going wrong on the outside don't affect our joy - because it's on the inside working through to the outside.

Not everyone has joy... some people are happy - usually because something good has happened. But when you get the joy of the Lord on the inside, it doesn't matter if something does or does not happen - you are happy anyway! James 1:2 doesn't say to count it all joy... when you get a new house or a new car... no, it tells us to count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations, such as being lied on, laugh at, and despitefully used.

We put this joy to work by commanding with official authority the Word of God. The world doesn't give us this joy - no, it comes from the Lord. And when we understand that, we can speak to our trials and tribulations and STILL have joy! We won't have to consider them as problems, instead, we can command them to be joy. But first, we must put the Word of God in us. We can conquer any situation by staying in prayer and by speaking the Word -- things like, "the joy of the Lord is my strength," and "this joy that I have the World didn't give it to me and the world can't take it away!"

Stay in the presence of the Lord, my friends because, as Psalms 16:11 tell us - "in thy presence is fullness of joy."

With all that said, let the Church say amen... and AMEN!          

Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself!

Neighbor: fellowman, one living or located near another.

Mark 12:31 tells us; "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherish it. Some people don't want to love others, because of the potential of being hurt, but I'm here to tell you that it is more dangerous not to love them. That's because God is love and He commands us to love one another.

Given the current state of the world, now is the perfect time to show the type of love that Jesus is talking about in Mark 12. We may think that we can make it in this world by ourselves, but the fact is, we cannot. We need each other. It's easy to see that love is not always shown in today's world - if we were really loving our neighbors there would not be so much killing, hatred, bitterness, and anger among us.

One might wonder who is my neighbor? Well, let me answer that for you: your neighbor is anyone you can share God's love with. We are not only required to love those who are similar to us, but all whom God places in our path. Additionally, along with those placed in our path, we must also love our enemies and pray for those that talk about us (imagine that!). Those people are our neighbors too, so we must show God's love to them as well. We have gotten so far away from the Golden Rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" that loving each other feels foreign.

Let me share this example with you: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his raiment, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance there came down a certain Priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite (also a Priest), came upon the same place, looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan (people that were hated) journeyed by. That Samaritan came to the place where the wounded man was and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine. Then he put the wounded man on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was a neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go and do thou likewise. (Luke 10: 30-37). When we show love unto our neighbors, we are really demonstrating our love toward God.

Love is the key and God is love, so let's love our neighbors as ourselves.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!