The Table of our Heart

Proverb. 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

It is good to obey the law and to follow the commandments of God, but doing so out of obligation is not what God desires. The ten commandments were written on a tablet of stone by the finger of God. These commandments are the cornerstone of society that our nation was built on. The laws of the land have been established on the premise of these commandments. Essentially, love God with all your heart, and treat other people the way you would want to be treated. Living by these laws provide for us a wholesome and safe environment to live in. They have allowed our land to become prosperous and blessed. But following such laws does not provide eternal life. The law must go deeper than following a set of rules and statues. The law of God that is written on the table of our heart is the law of love given to us by Christ. His love that is shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, allows us to love beyond what is humanly possible. The nature of sin keeps us from loving God and others with all our hearts. Sin must be forgiven and the Holy Spirit must come to purify our hearts. Mercy and truth become part of our lives when our hearts are made clean and the finger of God can write them on the tablet of our heart.

Rejoice in the Lord

Habakkuk 3:17,18  Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Life is not always a bowl of cherries. Things often don’t turn out the way we want them to. The efforts we make sometimes seems to be useless and without anything to show. We try to make a difference and the fruit of our labors seem to be all in vain. Discouragement settles in and the temptation to quit trying knocks at the door. just as it seems that we are making progress, the bottom falls out and we are back to square one. Weather it be circumstances at work, home, or the church we can find ourselves alone looking at our circumstance and asking why. In times like this, there is but only one thing to do. Turn our hearts toward the God our salvation. Lift up our hearts in praise. Rejoice in the goodness of God and His love for each one of us. Everything in the world may be turned upside down, but God mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. He sees our uprising and downsitting. He knows the struggle we face from day to day, and He understands our frustrations. Life happens and it often will be discouraging, but God is the same and He changes not. “Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice”

Crucify the Flesh

Gal. 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Jesus was crucified on the cross, died and shed His blood for our sins. We who have been forgiven of our sins and have accepted Jesus into our lives identify with His death. We also have been crucified with Christ. The life we now live is not ours, but it belongs to Christ. Our sinful affections and our lustful desires to live for self have been nailed to the cross. We no longer yield our members to the things that have been crucified. Those affections have been forgiven and put to death. Through Christ, we yield our hearts to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. We our to be a reflection of Christ in how we act and live. As we walk in the light of Gods word, he leads us to a complete surrender of our whole body, soul and spirit. Our hopes, our ambitions and everything that we live for is brought to the foot of Jesus. The fullness of His spirit is manifest in the actions and reactions of our lives. The fruit of the  Spirit now rules without command in our hearts. 

Building the Kingdom

Nehemiah 3:2 And next unto him builded …

The building of the wall of Jerusalem was not done single handling by one person. Ezra and Nehemiah get a lot of attention and credit for the rebuilding of the wall and the temple, but it took the cooperation and contributions of many to make it happen. The work of the kingdom is not the job of only preachers and ministries of the gospel, but by everyone that names the Name of Jesus. We are workers together as we build the kingdom of God. Spreading the news that Jesus saves and wants all people of all nations to come together as one people. The world is made up of different cultures and speak different languages, but we all can be children of God, serving and loving Him. The church is more than just a building or a denomination, but a people, washed in the blood of Christ, working to build a better world by sharing the grace of God wherever they go.

Faith to be Saved

Luke 18:42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

Faith requires some action. James says that “Faith without works is dead” We are not saved by works, but our faith is demonstrated by the effort we make to step out in faith. Taking the first step is an act of works. It requires action on the part of the person who has faith. The blind man begging on the street corner demonstrated his faith when he cried out and was given an audience with the one he believed could heal his blinded eyes. We are all born as sinners and are blinded by sin in our lives. I remember when Jesus passed by in my life. The day my eyes were open to His love, grace and forgiveness. I saw that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. Jesus spoke to my heart and said, “Believe in Me and you will be saved” It will be a day that I will never forget,when my eyes were open to the spiritual world around me. If we but believe, have faith that He is God and is able to open our eyes, He will do it!

Man's Understanding

Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding…In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The human mind is an amazing things. Its nature is to figure things out. We teach in our schools to problem solve. How to fix things that are broken, how to come up with solutions that will save us from disaster. God created us with a brain to think and find ways to make life less stressful. But a mind that is not subject to the will of God is influence by the carnal nature of man and the thinking of this world. A mind that leaves God out of the equation becomes humanistic and self reliance. Universities across our land are filled with this mind set. The philosophy that man does not need God to direct their ways is taught in the lecture halls and classroom everywhere. From the lips of the wisest man that lived at his time, gave this warning,  “Don’t put your trust in man’s understanding, put your trust in God, acknowledge His ways and He is able to direct your life”. He who knows our uprising and down sitting is able to guide and direct our life in a way that will be best. God does help them that are willing to submit to His will with all their heart. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” 

Abstain From Sin

1 Peter 2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.

Accepting Christ into our lives and being forgiven of our sins does not mean that we will no longer be tempted to satisfy the desires of the flesh. Especially as new born babes in Christ, the flesh wars against the new spirit within us to yield to the temptation to gratify sinful human desires that God tells us to refrain. As we feed on the milk of God’s word, the Holy Spirit begins to strengthen our resolve and gives us the means to fight against the flesh. As we grow in God, His Spirit brings us to a place where we yield our bodies as a living sacrifice to God’s perfect will in our lives. As it was in the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit takes control of our lives and empowers us to live holy and blameless. We daily submit to the will of God because Satan will continue to tempt us through our humanity to doubt God’s love and will for our lives. “Did God say?”.  Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.