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Are You Tuned Into God’s Heart?

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In the book of Jonah, we have a tale of two hearts. We can see God’s heart of compassion for Nineveh. We can also see Jonah has no heart for Nineveh. What is the problem here? Jonah knows the Lord. Jonah knows His voice. Jonah operated in the prophetic, so he is spiritually gifted. Jonah is not a big time sinner. Yet with all of those spiritual credentials, Jonah has no heart for Nineveh. His heart was not tuned into the heart of God. So, what does the Lord do? He confronts Jonah with a situation that shows him how out of tune he is.

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Looking for A Few Good Disciples, Can You Help?

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In this post, I want you to ‘catch’ vision. I want you to ‘see’ what discipleship really is. I want you to get a glimpse of what it is. But in order to ‘see’ Bible truths on discipleship, we are going to have to get a vision of what it looks like. We are going to have to see it before we can acquire it. The same principle works for any Bible area. Healing for example. You have to ‘see’ yourself well before you ever get well. You have to see yourself prosperous before the money comes in. You have to see yourself ‘used of God’ before you ever are. So, what does a disciple of Jesus really look like?

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Three Things God’s Peace Provides

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Peace is translated in the KJV as ‘peace, quietness, rest, or to be set at one again.’ There exists many earthly definitions for peace. But, here we are talking about peace in your heart. Peace that is in your recreated born again human spirit. We are talking about quietness or rest in your spirit. The Bible says the fruit of the spirit is peace! If it is a fruit, then know that fruit can grow! Here are three things that God’s peace provides in the life of a believer.

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Choosing to Serve God with Joy

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There are multitudes of situations on planet earth that can rob a person of the joy they should be experiencing in life. Joy is absolutely a part of the Christian endeavor. It is one of the fruits of the spirit according to Gal. 5:22. But, how important is it?  And, how can we establish this fruit of the spirit in our everyday life? How does it grow and develop?

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Laughing Your Way to Maturity

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Have you ever heard a person testify that when they got saved, the first thing they noticed after they were born-again, was an incredible love they had for people? Or how about those who said that they felt overflowing joy?  I was not one of those people. I did not feel any more love for people or anymore joy after I was saved than before I was saved. What was extremely noticeable, though, was the issue of self-control (2Tim. 1:7). There were things that I was trying to control while I was unsaved but found an incredible inability to do so. As soon as I said yes to Jesus I was able to say ‘NO’ to ungodly behaviors that controlled me. ‘NO’ now meant something. It would stick. Before, I would say NO and it would not stick no matter how hard I tried. When I used to hear about people feeling depth of love and joy in their born experience, it actually confused me. I almost thought at times, maybe my experience was defective somehow it was not all that it should have been. Little did I realize how interconnected all of this was. In today’s post, we are going to hone in on the joy component. We are going to look at laughing your way to maturity.

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Enduring Tests and Trials: Stripping Away Sin; The Epistle of James 1:19-21

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Swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, the three musketeers of competent communication personally and increasing development spiritually. How much human misfortune spawns from the neglect of these wise words. How much ignorance results from inverting these words? In 1870  a bishop visited the president of a small denominational college. He blurted out his biblical conviction. “Inventions are a past affair.” The educator, of course, disagreed. “Why, in 50 years I believe it may be possible for men to soar through the air like birds!” The bishop in shock said “Only angels can fly.” Ironically, that mistaken bishop was none other than Milton Wright, the father of Orville and Wilbur. Thirty Three years later, Orville and Wilbur proved the folly of their fathers words. 1.

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Counting the Cost of Being a Jesus Follower

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Starting in Luke 14: 25 Jesus gives, us teaching on what a disciple really is. Jesus uses the same words: ‘sit down first’ in describing the man who built a tower and the man who deliberates for war. In effect what Jesus is saying is that “When you are considering the idea of becoming a disciple of mine, pull up a chair and have a seat.” And from this seated position, Jesus is saying, “Let’s talk about what discipleship means for your life. Let’s talk about what it means to count the cost.”

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Enduring Tests and Trials: The Supreme Giver; James 1:16-18

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Jesus spoke of the giving nature of His Father. He said in Matthew 7:9–11, that His Heavenly Father is way better than the earthly father who refuses to give his sons rocks instead of bread, or snakes instead of food. In Jesus mind, a great gulf spans between earthly and heavenly. The width of which Jesus describes as ‘how much more’. God is the perfect and supreme giver. The model that we are to copy. The example we are to follow as James lets us know in closing this paragraph on tests and trials.

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Enduring Tests and Trials: The True Source of Temptation; James 1:13-15

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In 1970, comedian Flip Wilson and his show ‘The Flip Wilson Show’ debuted on NBC. His most popular character, was Geraldine Jones, a flirty women whose most famous line,   “The devil made me do it” became a national catchphrase. 1. James, in this portion of his letter, addresses just who makes a person sin. Only one choice qualifies and its not God and its not the devil.

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Enduring Tests and Trials: The Crown of Life; James 1:12

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The crown of Queen Elizabeth II has 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and 5 rubies. The crown includes the Cullian II  diamond, known as the Second Star of Africa which weighs 317.4 carats. God is into jewelry. Each gate of New Jerusalem consists of a single pearl. Twelve pearls equals twelve gates. What do you think of Gods’ blink? Did you know one day God will hand out His version of a crown? The Crown of Life the saints of God can receive has far more value than any earthen crown. Earthen decadence never compares with heavenly glory. James mentions this crown in the same breath as overcoming tests and trials in verse twelve.

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Enduring Tests and Trials: Rich and Poor Alike; James 1:9-11

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The trials of life mows everybody’s lawn the same height on planet earth. People’s money and social connections won’t spare stewing time in life’s great crock pot. From the penthouse to the basement, all tenants stomach hard times. Do you remember the mark of the beast in Revelation thirteen? Did you notice how all classes get the same stamp?  The assets and  connections of the rich won’t keep them from the branding. Full bodied bank accounts will get you a designer version of the mark but not much else. And the poor? Do they get a pass since they have no money to control anyway? No, the poor line up to receive the mark just like government cheese (Rev. 13:16).  666 is an equal opportunity intrusion into life. Compliance is compulsory. Resistance is futile.  Tests are like taxes, you can’t avoid them. James starts this paragraph on tests by addressing the subject with rich and poor.