A Heart For Jesus

 ”Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”“ 2 Chronicles‬ ‭20‬:‭3‬, ‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬ ‭‭ I was reflecting on 2 Chronicles 20:1-23. There were lots of "ites" that were coming against Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. Which got me thinking, what are the "ites" that are coming against you? Against me? Angryites; Jelousyites; Envyites; Discouragementites; Self pityites; Pridites? What are the ites? When you recognize these "ites" are coming against you, what is the first thing you do? Jehoshaphat sought the Lord; proclaimed a fast; made others aware of the struggle.  He set his face; fixed his eyes to seek the Lord. He didn't focus on the size of his problem. He focused on God and what God could do. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus

  What does it mean that I or we have the mind of Christ? What would it look like to think as Jesus thinks?  My mind is easily distracted. Always rehearsing scenarios that may or may not happen. Rehashing things that are long past. At times overwhelmed with “what if’s”. But what about Jesus? What did He think about? What were His first thoughts in the morning or when He slept at night? Or were His only thoughts on how He could glorify His Father that particular day? How He could fulfill God’s will? Was He always thinking about how He could meet other’s needs?  I found this verse in John 2:24, “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.”(NIV) Jesus knows our minds, our hearts. He knows how we think, how fickle we can be. We believe when everything is going great, then let one thing trip us up and we’re questioning His love and care for us. He knows how easily we change our minds or how we can be led astray. But not Jesus. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not human,

  “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Luke 15:8‭-‬9 ESV                                                             Have you ever lost something that meant a lot to you? Something you felt you could never replace? You look for it diligently, but it’s no where to be found. I was reflecting on this verse and couldn’t help but recall an event that happened back in   November of 2020. My husband Danny and I had gone camping to Highlands Hammock in Seabring Florida. The Friday before we were to leave we decided to go to Publix. Because my shorts had no decent pockets in which to carry a wallet, I decided to take my purse. This is a purse that has always been special to me. It's the purse Danny picked out for me, when we went to Alaska in

  ”I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.“  Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬ ‭‭  I have read this verse multiple times, but it hit me differently today. I hadn’t thought about this before, but what is my “Egypt”?Egypt for me, is a place of separation from God. A place of darkness, loneliness and despair. Held captive by the enemies of my mind. “Not good enough”, “don’t measure up”, “not wanted”. The constant need for approval, to fit in, for validation. Doing whatever was necessary to get my needs met yet never feeling fulfilled. A “slave” to my fears and emotions, allowing them to control me instead of me controlling them. As Peter reminds us, “For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:19, ESV) I suppose that is why it is so important to put 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) into practice! “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to ma

‭‭  ”They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”“ ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬ “They will fight against you”, not they might, or they may or could, but they will. Who are “they”? In Jeremiah’s day it was the Israelites who had turned against God, the Israelites were the “they” that would fight against Jeremiah and his message. But what or who are the “they” for me? For us? I think the “they“ are the enemies of our souls and mind. Or even those who would try and discourage us in our walk of faith, or even criticize our beliefs. But one thing I’ve learned, our enemy, regardless of what form he takes, is relentless in his attacks. Remember Peter said, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”1 Peter 5:8 ESV. To devour by definition is to “eat hungrily”; “to destroy completely”. Our enemy is ruthless, he will fight against us, but we ar