A Merry Heart

 Proverbs 11:22
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

God created us with a body, mind, and spirit. But most important is that we have the breath of God in us,  God gave us a soul that will live on forever. Without going into a deep dive, suffice to say that our soul is a separate entity from what is visually observed through human observation. Jesus makes this distinction when He said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” The condition of our soul should always be top priority. This is not to say that we should not care for the well being of our body, mind, and heart (emotions). We are the temple of God, earthen vessels that God desires to fill and use for His glory. In our humanity, we represent Christ in every aspect of our lives. How we treat our body, the thoughts we think, and how we express our emotions (spirit). Our attitude in life is a manifestation of our spirit. We do live in troubled days, and having a cheerful and merry heart is made difficult with the sadness that surrounds us. Having a merry heart comes with believing God is the source of our contentment, He alone can bring true joy to the heart.  With purpose, we rejoice in the Lord, we find that God is good, and can make the heart glad. “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”- Psalm 118:24

I Will Not Fear

Ps. 18:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

The wicked hearts of men are able to kill the body. They are able to afflict suffering beyond imagination. Those that hated Jesus spit, whipped, pierced, and hung Him on a cross to die. Jesus said,  “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The reality is that in this earthly life, sin respects no one. It is natural to fear people who have no conscience and are bent on doing harm to anyone who gets in their way of selfish desires. We are reminded that we should not live in fear of such evil for the Lord is on our side. I don’t claim to understand the evil of our day and why God allows such wickedness to prevail. Even toward those who are serving God, life can be quickly taken away as a result of evil doers. No man can destroy or kill the life one has in Christ. If Christ be in us, who can be against us. I will not fear for He is with me no matter what man can do.

Training Our Body

1 Corinth 9:27 “ But I keep control of my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”-

Growing in Christ requires that we work out spiritually, training our body and mind to do the will of God. Left to our own human tendency, it is easy to let down and allow legitimate human weakness to brings us down. Paul is teaching us that being a spiritual man will not come without some effort, and if we are not careful, our faith can become shipwrecked. Presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God is the 1st step in bringing our bodies into subjection. Consecrating our life to Him and His will means that we seek 1st His desires before we act on impulse to fulfill our desires. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that make it possible for us to transcend the human flesh. He will empower those who are willing to say “yes”  to Him. Bring our body into subjection may require us to get up earlier in the day to spend some time with God. It is taking control of our thoughts when the devil bring temptation that will grieve God if we yield. It may mean that we make ourselves put down some things we enjoy that we may reach out and touch others for Christ. Disciplining ourselves to do what is right is something we set our will to do. If our will has been surrendered to Christ, then half the battle is done.  

The Body of Christ

Eph 2:18 “for through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father”- 

All who are in Christ Jesus make up the body of Christ. This is the true church. It matter not your station in life or your genetic roots, Christ came to unity all people under His banner of love. The institution of the church has been a vehicle that God has used to strengthen and organized His work, but it has also been a hinderance to all who call themselves Christian and truly desire to live for God. Many bonds of fellowship have been broken because the “church” they associate with cannot accept the practices of others. We sometime behave as if we are the only ones that will make it to heaven. I believe God is please with any “church” that will choose to make Christ the head and sincerely follow the footsteps of Jesus. We both who desire to live for Christ have access by His Spirit. The Father looks down and sees the blood of Christ applied to the heart and gathers all who live consciously in His word, and calls them His Church. The bride of Christ.