A Heart For Jesus

  Some lessons we can learn from the Kings of Israel I find it interesting that during the time of the Kings there were more bad kings than good! In fact, in my research, after the split in the 12 tribes of Israel, the northern kingdom had NONE and the southern kingdom known as Judah, only had 8! So, to keep this short I’m only focusing on a few from the Kingdom of Judah One of the “bad” kings was King Ahaz, look what 2Chronicles 28:22 says, “In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord.” This verse stood out to me because in his time of trouble, Ahaz became even more UNfaithful! Instead of looking to the Lord, he turned to idols, false gods for help. And his situation only grew worse. Made me think, who or what    do I turn to in times of trouble? Who do I look to for help when distressed? In my past I have looked to someone or something else to solve my struggles, which only became worse,    but thanks be to God I am steadily learni...

  James 1:27, “…to keep oneself from being unspotted from the world?” This verse really stood out for me, what does it mean to keep myself “from being unspotted from the world?” In Romans 12:2 Paul tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  ‭‭ I can tend to be easily influenced by others for either good or bad. Too easily have I done what I thought would win friends or make me likable. Too easily have I done what I thought would make me acceptable in their eyes to my own detriment. I tended towards being a follower, didn’t want to seem different, wanted to fit in. Instead of being myself I’d do my best to say or do what I thought others wanted so I would win their approval. Such a trap, life as a people pleaser is a no win battle and for me is a form of idolatry because I’m more concerned about pleasing people than pleasing God!...

  “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor in vain build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1, NKJV) Have you ever wondered about the process of building a house? I may not be a home builder, but I can imagine that the first step would be to clear the land and level the ground before laying the foundation. You’d also need a skilled master builder to ensure that the house is constructed properly. Once the house is finished, it requires regular maintenance to prevent it from falling down. Perhaps we are like those new homes or were once in a similar state. Thankfully, we have the Master Builder, Jesus, who can come in and clear the land, removing the “weeds” that have taken root in our lives. We need Jesus to repair the cracks in our foundation and restore us to life. This verse emphasizes that our own strength is insufficient to build our faith. It states, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor in vain build it.” ...

“”Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Mark 11:23 NIV Sometimes I can take things too literally. Like in this verse, Jesus says we can tell a mountain to move into the sea. Well, maybe not a literal mountain, but what about a difficult circumstance? A personal trial or struggle. What about fear or worry; insecurity or doubt? These could be considered “mountains”. So, what if we spoke to these “mountains”, like David. In 1 Samuel‬ ‭17:45‬ ‭(NIV), David is speaking to Goliath, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” Now Goliath, as we know, was a big man, a giant, maybe even 9 feet tall! But David didn’t focus on the bigness of the giant, he focused on the bigness of His God! I  love how David spoke to his...

  “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”  1 John 4:16 ESV   Have I come to know and to believe the love God has for me?   Why is it so difficult for me to believe I am loved? Is it enough for me to believe that Jesus gave Himself for me? That He took the punishment I deserved for my sins? That He says I am completely forgiven?  What keeps me from grasping this promise and believing? Is it fear? Is it because I have a low opinion of myself? I messed up too badly? How could He love someone like me after all I’ve done?  But the Bible says,  ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John   3 : 16   ESV Am I not part of “the world”; am I not “whoever”?  Then why the underlying fear of rejection? An overwhelming need, at times, for approval from other...

  I read this book by Charles Spurgeon called, “Faithful To Christ”, the first chapter was on Pride and gave me quite a lot to think about!  Especially this statement, “Pride is something that should be unnatural to us, for we have nothing to be proud of”. It kind of took me back. What? I’m not supposed to be proud of myself? Or my accomplishments? Or how far I’ve come? But as I thought about it, I noticed something. “My accomplishments”, “I’ve come”, “Myself”? Where’s God? Reminded me of the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-19. What struck me about this one,    was how the farmer never gives any gratitude to God for all he's been given. It's all about what he's done. Don’t I or we do the same thing? But if you think about it, it’s God who gives us our abilities. God who helps us accomplish all that we’ve done. God who has brought us this far. In Exodus 4:11, God reminds Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it n...

“And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”” Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬ I love this story of how Jesus heals the man who had a demon. But I’ve often wondered why the people of the area begged Jesus to leave their region. I would think they would want Him to stay after witnessing how the demon possessed man was healed.  So I decided to get a little background on this country of the Gerasenes. The people of this area were Gentiles. So most likely they were pagans. Being pagans, they probably had many gods, so who knows what their gods required of them. No wonder they were afraid! Perhaps that is why they asked    Jesus to leave? Maybe they were afraid of what else He would do? Maybe they were afraid...