"Above all else guard your heart for it affects everything you do." Proverbs 4:23
"Lord, I just want my heart to be right." Ever prayed that prayer? I have--but not nearly often enough. Honestly, much of the time I don't pay very close attention to where my heart is or what's going on inside of it. I guess you could say I allow my heart to get "hijacked" more often than I would like to admit.
Hijack. The dictionary definition says it all - "to illegally seize in transit and force to go to a different destination or use it for one's own purposes."
If my heart isn't surrendered and dedicated to my Lord then guess who has the easy opening to hijack it? To whom have I given the power to seize it and force it to a different destination? To whom have I handed over the power to use it for his own purposes?
This scripture reminds me that my heart is so fragile, so precious that it needs to be guarded. Why? Because the attitude of my heart affects every area of my life. I must be deliberate about where my heart is and who has control of it. It's my choice.
"Lord, I really do want my heart to be right..."
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Friday, January 26, 2018
Starting Over
"The steadfast love of the Lord never cease, his mercies never come to an end: they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23
It's that time again. New year, new goals, new outlook, and if you know Jesus--new mercies. Aren't you glad that God invented starting over? It was His idea. That's why Jesus came. He came to live a sinless life and suffer and die on that cross so that we could start over--every single day!
There is no other person, group or institution I know of that allows you to start over again...and again...and again. Why would they? I mean let's think about it. If you need to keep starting over it's because you keep messing up. Keeping someone around who continues failing isn't very practical, or easy or cost effective. In fact, it's down right stressful! Honestly, how many times can one person say "I'm sorry" and turn right around and stumble and fall down again? What would make anyone tolerate that kind of behavior let alone be patient and long-suffering with someone like that?
In Romans 8:38-39 the Apostle Paul gets ahold of the wonderful truth that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God:
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ
Jesus our Lord."
Thank you, Lord for your unwavering love for me and for always receiving me with open arms when I'm ready to start over....
It's that time again. New year, new goals, new outlook, and if you know Jesus--new mercies. Aren't you glad that God invented starting over? It was His idea. That's why Jesus came. He came to live a sinless life and suffer and die on that cross so that we could start over--every single day!
There is no other person, group or institution I know of that allows you to start over again...and again...and again. Why would they? I mean let's think about it. If you need to keep starting over it's because you keep messing up. Keeping someone around who continues failing isn't very practical, or easy or cost effective. In fact, it's down right stressful! Honestly, how many times can one person say "I'm sorry" and turn right around and stumble and fall down again? What would make anyone tolerate that kind of behavior let alone be patient and long-suffering with someone like that?
In Romans 8:38-39 the Apostle Paul gets ahold of the wonderful truth that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God:
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ
Jesus our Lord."
Thank you, Lord for your unwavering love for me and for always receiving me with open arms when I'm ready to start over....
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