Thoughts ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZONPRTOFF dateof comment Look Inside Data Conditions:Order: Dateof Comment 06/24/2024 Jeff Dunham the extremely talented ventriloquist was having a discussion with his puppet Peanut on how many things have been taken away since he was a kid because it is too dangerous. Jeff said he even rode bicycles without a helmet and turned out normal. Peanut looked him in the eye and said, "Normal people do not talk to puppets. You should have worn the damn helmet." It is true that our present-day culture puts a lot of effort in protecting our head with helmets. But why is it that so little effort is put into protecting our hearts. Our hearts are very important to our King. The heart determines our relationship to the things of God. What was in Davids's heart was why God made him king: 1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Our brain is physical, and our heart is spiritual. Like the brain you can put stuff in it but what are you putting in it? Romans 5:5 NLT And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. OR Acts 5:3 NLT Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. You cannot have both. One will push the other out. Matthew 6:21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. God has the ability to open our heart: Acts 16:14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. Do you want to be blessed? It sure helps if our hearts are pure: Matthew 5:8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God cannot use a hard heart: Matthew 13:15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ Your heart reveals your motive for everything you do: Matthew 18:35 NLT “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” Sin is the number 1 killer of the heart. Paul's letter to Timothy, James and John tells us how to protect our hearts. 2 Timothy 2:22 NLT Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. James 1:21 NLT So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. 1 John 5:21 NLT Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. Even though the enemy wants to take over our hearts, there is hope: 2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. A good friend can make us accountable which will help guard our hearts against evil. Our hearts reveal everything to our King. Let it be something that will bring honor to his name. 07/22/2023 Jeremiah 32:17 (New Living Translation) “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! One of the coolest things that Jesus did was when he walked on the water. Even as fascinating was when Peter asked to walk to him and actually started doing it. There are at least two things that can be learned from this story: Mathew 14:22-33 NLT Jesus Walks on Water 22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed. Have you ever thought about the phrase "little faith". The English language is dumb in the fact one word may mean many things. Check out the word "little" from dictionary.com. If you are like me, you automatically attach definition 1 to this phrase. It takes huge faith to be able to take that first step into the water. Jesus was referring to his faith as definition 2 calls it. Check out all the definitions that this one word has. When we read God's word it is important that we interpret each word with its proper definition, or we will receive the wrong message. little [ lit-l ] See synonyms for: little least lesser less on Thesaurus.com adjective,lit·tler or less or less·er, lit·tlest or least. 1. small in size; not big; not large; tiny: a little desk in the corner of the room. 2. short in duration; not extensive; short; brief: a little while. 3. small in number: a little group of scientists. 4. small in amount or degree; not much: little hope. 5. of a certain amount; appreciable (usually preceded by a): We're having a little difficulty. 6. being such on a small scale: little farmers. 7. younger or youngest: He's my little brother. 8. not strong, forceful, or loud; weak: a little voice. 9. small in consideration, importance, position, affluence, etc.: little discomforts;tax reductions to help the little fellow. 10. mean, narrow, or illiberal: a little mind. 11. endearingly small or considered as such: Bless your little heart! 12. amusingly small or so considered: a funny little way of laughing. 13. contemptibly small, petty, mean, etc., or so considered: filthy little political tricks. adverb,less, least. 14. not at all (used before a verb): He little knows what awaits him. 15. in only a small amount or degree; not much; slightly: a little-known work of art;little better than a previous effort Now that we understand how the meaning of a word can change God's message, the moral of this story is that faith and fear cannot exist together. One will override the other. When Peter saw Jesus, he had no problem walking on the water. When he took his eyes off of Jesus, he could see only wind and waves which cast fear into his life. His faith was immediately taken from him by fear. God is looking for long duration faith. Life continually plays tricks on us by making us think we do not matter, or we say "too much time has passed. I must have heard it wrong." This can also be a faith killer. You have not had your faith tested until you walk in Noah's shoes. He waited 120 years to see it happen. He did have one advantage that he knew that God would not flood the earth until the boat was finished. If Noah lived with fear of being ridiculed by others and even the fact that nothing like this ever happened before he never would have completed the boat. It is no different today. Fear is given by the enemy. We need to bind him up and get rid of his fear. This will allow for the "long duration" faith that God wants in our lives to build. Having reverent fear for our King is something we do not want to lose. This can actually build our faith. 01/06/2023 John 17 talks more about God calling people to Jesus Christ. Jesus only reveals himself to those people who are called by the Father. I want Jesus to say the same things about me as he did his disciples: John 17:6-9 "I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. 9 "My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. It is amazing how we are called by God. He knows me and you because he knows that we can give glory to his son, Jesus Christ. Just remember that Not everybody is called. It is quite an honor that we are called to come to Jesus Christ by the Father. We need to give Glory to God for who he is and Give GLORY to his son who makes us righteous in front of God. Don’t forget the HolySpirit who was sent by Jesus to bring wisdom and the abundant life while we continue to bring glory to God's Son. This is where the powerful Christian walk starts under the Holy Spirits control. 12/16/2022 Jesus gave his disciples a great promise on what they would be able to do when he went back to the Father. This same promise works for you and me. John 14:12-14 12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! Some may feel cheated when they read this verse. Maybe this is your problem: James 4:3 Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong, you want only what will give you pleasure. I know a pastor who had the gift of healing. He laid his hands on many people and they all got well. His son became deathly ill and he prayed for him like he would anybody else. He continued to pray over him for over a week but eventually his son died. The pastor began to feel that he lost his power of praying. God finally said, "You do not understand. Your son did not want to come back. He wanted to go home with me." God may not answer our prayers if there are conflicting wills. Other times he may not answer our prayers if they put us in danger or if he knows that we will be disappointed in what we ask for. Other times he may be just testing our faith to see how we respond. But he will many times answer our prayers later if we are patient. We may have the faith to pray that God will move a mountain. But if his children are giving Thanksgiving to God because the mountain is not moving there is a pretty good chance that your prayer will not be answered. The best way to make sure that a prayer is answered is that God gets the glory and the victory in anything that you may ask for. This is the best way of guaranteeing that you have your prayers answered. 05/06/2022 John 9:31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. It is easy to get involved with life that we forget why God put us on this earth. They are: 1. Worship him 2. Make Disciples of all nations He gave a free will to worship him. He will not force it on us. We have to be nuts if we cannot see all the things he has done for us. Giving thanks to him is a form of Worship. Anything that Glorifies our God is worship. Jesus gave us the next step. Something that greatly honors him: Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." All of us can do what Christ commanded. It still can be challenging. That is why he sent his Holy Spirit to help us. We still need to know God's Word to figure out the enemies moves. It is also so much easier to talk to others about God if you know who you are talking about. In Titus, Paul was sent to those God has chosen: Titus 1:1 I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. 2 This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised them before the world began. 3 And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him. God may give you a ministry where you only go after certain people. I notice these people seem to have a closer walk with Jesus. Try to get some ministry that requires that closer walk with Jesus. It increases your faith and trust in him. You will be more sensitive to the truth also. In the end, the same Gospel is being preached and hearts are being changed for Jesus Christ to place their names in the Lambs Book of Life. Prayer makes everything more effective. Paul served God well in the areas God placed him. Paul never forgot about the power of prayer when he accomplished his ministry. I sometime wonder when I missed an opportunity to talk about Jesus to someone what may have become of that person. Whatever; do not put yourself in a guilt trip but look for opportunities to share Christ today. 04/21/2022 John 3:16 is the most encouraging verse in the Bible because of Gods promise and the things Jesus accomplished as a man: 16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. Now this is what Jesus had to say in all of this: John 10:28-30 (New Living Translation) I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” Jesus confirms that He and the Father are in total agreement. But look how hard Jesus is fighting for us. The devil is going to have a battle to take us. This is true love having a high priest that even fights for us while presenting us as clean to the Father because he shed blood for us. If only we had friends like that. Of course, I need to be a friend like that to someone. My blood cannot forgive other people's sins but I can forgive those who sin against me and I can pray that God can bring change to their hearts and blessing into their lives. After all Jesus came to demonstrate how to live the godly life. It is all written about in God's word.
