HEART OF THE MATTER

Tag: faith

  • EMBRACE JOY THROUGH UNDERSTANDING

    EMBRACE JOY THROUGH UNDERSTANDING

                  In all of life’s hardships that many of us have had to endure, we have found it hard to embrace joy. Some are suffering from financial difficulties, emotional turmoil, sickness, diseases, and hurting hearts, to name a few. We have accepted bow heads and sadness to evade our atmosphere and validated its existence. In the season where we should be jolly, we can’t seem to find joy. We have committed ourselves to chaos and confusion and have gotten comfortable. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning, but we keep crying yesterday’s pain because it is suitable for our situation. We have pierced our eyes on the problems instead of the Savior. “Do not worry, for your Father in heaven already knows what you need.” (Matthew 6:8)

     We have sought someone to ease the pain instead of the Savior. “Come to me all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”(Matthew 11:28). We have medicated ourselves with medicine instead of the Master. By my stripes, you are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) Joy is in our understanding.  John 16:33 Jesus tells us, “In this world, we will have troubles, but take heart I have overcome this world.” Joy is in our understanding. 1st Corinthians 10:13 Paul, the great apostle, says, “He will not let you be tempted with more than you can bear.” Joy is in our understanding. Paul also said, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Joy is in our understanding.

                   Joy is a choice. “This is the day that the Lord has made; we shall be glad and rejoice in it.” Many of us can’t find joy because we expect it to come from temporary people and places. We look for things to satisfy our dreams instead of the Lord. “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your hearts’ desire.” (Psalm 37:4) Joy is in our understanding. The joy that the Lord gives, no one and nothing can rob you of it, but you can give it away by allowing worldly things to manifest more powerful than God’s Word.” The grass will wither, and the flowers will fade, but the Word of God shall stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8). Joy is in our understanding. We all have situations of some sort going on in our lives. Our hope is not hanging on to our storms; our hope is anchored in the Lord.

                   Nehemiah, the governor who rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem and implemented God’s laws back into the people’s hearts, stood with Ezra, the priest, and the scribe, for the reading of God’s word. During the reading of God’s word, the people began to weep, but Nehemiah encouraged them to go and celebrate what the Lord had done. “This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10).  

     Today you may feel weighed down by the works and the burdens you carry, but there is a lifter of our heads. And we can look to the Lord in which comes our help. “if God be for us, then who can be against us.” (Romans 8:31). The scripture shows us that we have a Savior, a Good Shepherd who will leave the ninety-nine to go after the one. Praise be unto God “who can do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Joy is in our understanding

  • DON’T DRAG THE BAGS

    DON’T DRAG THE BAGS

                   God calls us to run the race with endurance and not haste but in order to run at the required pace; we cannot drag the bags. Many of us when we take a trip, we seem to over pack for only a few days which slows us down as we travel. All of us have endured some hardship in life, some more traumatic than others. But God is wanting us to wash away the waste and move at the required pace to carry out his plans and promises he has for our lives. My son runs for his high school track team and he never run with his backpack on with his extra clothes in it. Because the weight of it would slow down his performance. Many of us are dragging bags of the past that slows down our ability to move forward. We have past hurts that keeps us from experiencing the better or greater that God has in store for us. Our disappointments and discouragement have caused us to become discontent. The motivation and focus that once energized us is now a distance smile that God hasn’t seen in a while. We cannot run a good race with all the baggage we carry over from yesterday. We store up too much waste and wonder why are we sick. Jesus warned us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34). We have grown accustomed to taking yesterday’s situations into today’s affairs.

                Healing and forgiveness are available through the blood of Jesus. Forgiveness is for you so that your heart doesn’t become overwhelmed with the hardships that we face in life. Un-forgiveness is a weight that will not allow you to be great. Also, disappointments, fears, anxieties, and addictions. It keeps you in bondage to keep another person down. When you dig a hole for someone and watch them fall in, it will stop your growth. Because you have to stop and watch to make sure, they do not climb out. God is a healer. He is the only one that can make “every valley be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rigged places a plain.” (Isaiah 40:4). The Apostle Paul encouraged us to focus on one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. (Philippians 3:13). God is doing a new thing each day if we will make room to consume. But carrying old baggage will make you drag while others who are weightless run on. “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:14). “But he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13).

    In life, we will have to remove all those things that weight us down or hold us back from reaching our predestined purpose.  God came to set us free by saying give it to me and trust me to handle it. God never intended for us to carry the cares of the world but to cast our cares upon him because he cares for us. Each day you awake think about what are you carrying over from yesterday and make a decision to leave those bags behind. “Do you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24). What are you carrying that’s causing hindrance?

  • Overcoming Doubt with Faith in God’s Word

    Overcoming Doubt with Faith in God’s Word

    Believing the word of God, whether written or spoken is instrumental to our walk of faith. God’s word is what moves us forward in times of difficulty and darkness. It challenges us to become what he says and not what we see. It compels us forward in faith so that we can believe without a shadow of doubt that God’s word and his will shall prevail in all circumstances. It is the promises of God that keeps us contending to fight the good fight of faith.

    The other night, I awakened early in the morning to pray and pour my heart out to God. I asked God about my heart condition and the heart condition of others. I asked the Lord, why had I become so frustrated in the matters of my life and the Lord spoke to me, “seeds of doubt.” Seeds of doubt causes frustration, anger, discouragement, anxiety, and panic. Of course, I cried and repented for not believing what God had spoken. God is who he says he is even when we cannot trace him, we are still required to trust him. Because what we seen him do, he still can do. Doubt will take you out when the Word of the Lord is not sealed in your heart. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you.” Knowing what God has spoken and keeping his word in your heart will cause what he said to manifest. Because where doubt is faith cannot operate and “faith is what pleases God”. (Hebrews 11:6).

    The enemy is after the faith of the children of God. In the Garden of Eden, Eve believed God when he said we shall not eat from the tree of good and evil. And the enemy came and presented it in a way, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” The enemy came and sowed seeds of doubt. (Genesis 3:1-4.) And because Eve believed more of what she saw instead of what God said seeds of doubt were planted. (Matthew 13:18) “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” The seed is the Word. God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers3:19) No scene changes anything that God has spoken. We must hold on to the Word of God like our life depends on it, because our life depends on it.

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  • FALLING IN LOVE WITH JESUS

    FALLING IN LOVE WITH JESUS

                When asking the question, who was your first love? Many are quick to recite a name of a man or woman, present or past. And at the remembrance of that name come the smiles or the pain. But we never forget that amazing feeling that comes along with the opportunity to freely love. The beautiful beginnings that set our souls on fire: the early morning texts, the late night conversations and the small love messages throughout the day. We have even given them special ring tones that when we hear it instantly we began to smile. Our hearts grow and glow as we pour ourselves deeper into the emotion. We make Facebook posts about love and in our eyes others can see hearts. And I must admit that it is simply amazing and often breath-taking. Our hearts become overwhelmed with a flood of tender passionate affection that we can’t contain. And all is good, even when things are not going well because our focus isn’t on what isn’t but what is. We’ve embraced a place that we don’t want to erase, and we prepare to stay there. Love never fails and all is well.

                God is a God of order and there is a reason he has designed and defined love specifically and significantly. Love is far greater than any emotion or emoji we seem to tamper with. Love comes with a cost that many of us never counted. We flirt with the feeling and we base life decisions off of it. Jesus going to the cross was a cost for humanity and he did so all in the name of love. (John 3:16) Agape love is the highest form of love, the type of love that God has for his children.  Our first love is actually supposed to be God. God wanted us to feel that tender passionate affection with him and for him. Matthew 22:37 “Love the Lord with all thy heart, soul, and mind.”  In the beginning, Adam loved God. He didn’t long for a mate. God was his mate and they had a relationship. It was God that saw that Adam needed a mate and created Eve to help him. Genesis 2:18, “The Lord said, “it is not suitable for man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.” Adam never asked for a mate because his heart belonged to the Lord. Adam loved God and felt he had all he needed. 1st Corinthians 13: 4-8, The Apostle Paul gives us the specifics of love. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Paul ends this chapter with, “three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love- and the greatest of these is love.

                Love is powerful and it can take you on an emotional ride when God is not properly place. God intended for all to fall in love with him first. Love is not a feeling, it is a focus; a God loving focus that we are to do to the glory of God. Everything that God did was out of love. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). God is love and the only way to rightly love is through him.

  • WHEN PAIN WON’T ALLOW YOU TO SEE THE PROMISE

                    The things that we have experienced in life will cause us to suffer from spiritual blindness. It will affect the way we see God and the things that he is doing in our lives. Scripture tells us that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning encouraging us to let go of some things quickly. Not to say that what happened didn’t hurt, but it doesn’t have to keep hurting. Some pains we are still holding on to because we feel we are entitled to, and the reason being is that we have made it a part of who we are. So, we wear the scars instead of being healed and held by the Savior. When you deal with deep pain only God can heal a broken heart. Things of the world can’t fix it, and the people in the earth can’t aid in what they can’t see . In most instances, they add to it. They do things against you that build onto the pain that is already present. God is a healer and a wonderful counselor that will cause us to overcome what has come. On this journey of life, we can get so buried under burdens that it becomes hard for us to strive and even stay alive. (1ST  Peter 5:7) says that we can cast all our cares upon the Lord because he cares for us. God’s grace is what carries us through life’s storms when we are out of our norm. In those times of uncertainty, we can call on a Savior that will help us and navigate us through the darkness by his marvelous light. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the light that came to destroy the works of the darkness. The promises of God can literally be occurring in our face, and the pain that we experienced will keep us entangled by the thoughts of the past that we miss what God is doing in the present.  God hasn’t reneged on his promises because we have experienced pain or disappointment in the process. We are still capable of achieving the greater work that Jesus promised before his departure. We must believe in his work and his capabilities despite our own fears. Many times, it’s us and the things that we have experienced that hold us back from the breakthrough that we need. God is willing to take whatever burden that we are willing to part with. The Lord loves us with his whole heart, that is why he asks us to love him the same. “Love the Lord with all your mind, all of your heart, and all of your strength. When all of you are in Christ Jesus then the enemy has nothing to hold you down and keep you bound because he has nothing on Jesus. Being in pain will become a big distraction to the promises that God has for you. ( For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.) Jeremiah 29:11. Physical pain and crushed spirits will have you questioning rather than rejoicing.

                    God is calling us to live a set free life, but we cannot live in what we won’t allow to take place. Healing all wounds comes from God. We must come to him and forgive those that caused us pain and make a choice and force ourselves not to live in the offense. Letting go of the offense is one of the difficult choices that we must endure in order to take back the freedom that Christ provided. It is possible and you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. One day at a time.  

  • THE SPIRIT OF REJECTION IS NOT A SHIELD OF PROTECTION

                    Many of us have built walls to protect us but it is also a wall that blocks us from advancing where God has called us. The spirit of rejection consumes us with fear that we can’t walk in the freedom that God provides. It convinces us that we are better off alone and without instead of the prospering life that God wants to give to those who trust in him. The spirit of rejection can start in the womb from the circumstances that surround the birth of the child. Unwanted pregnancy and uncontrolled pregnancy are open doors to the spirit of rejection. This is a spirit that holds you in hurtful places, not allowing you to flourish because it robs you of your freedom. It reminds you of your pain so that you won’t truly triumph into your victory season. It makes you have a victim mentality rather than a victory mindset. The attacks in our lives can leave us broken, and the enemy knows our weaknesses that is why we can’t trust our instincts in those times of trying and we must surrender to God those places where we are operating in fear or worry. Shielding yourselves from something that you can’t see coming is an impossible thing to accomplish. God provides protection and direction for the believer. Resting in the Lord will kill the noise of the enemy. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7-10). Submitting means surrendering to the word and the will of the Lord who then protects you and position you to triumph. The word works when you work it. Many of us think that we can operate outside the will of God, and everything will go well for us. Which is not a true statement because it doesn’t align with truth. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all of his righteousness and all things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33). The spirit of rejection is not a shield of protection, it is rather a spirit that keeps you bound rather than dwelling in the spirit. “Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.”

                    God paid a hefty price to see his people set free. And when man gave authority over to the enemy. Jesus came and took it back and gave it back to man to rule and reign. We are more powerful than we think and more blessed than we know. “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32). Allow God to train your ear to hear and your heart to understand. Freewill permits you to live how you feel. Following Christ requires you to follow God’s will. “Let his Kingdom come. Let his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). God is for you.

                    The spirit of rejection is not a place for you to hide but it is a place for you to decide rather or not to trust God in the overcoming. Jesus said, “in this world, you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world.”  We too shall overcome, if we trust in the Lord with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6). God has accepted us into his freedom to give us life and life abundantly. But the spirit of rejection robs, kills, and destroys and the choice is yours.

    Have a great day, peeps.

  • DESIRE WITHOUT DISCIPLINE IS DANGEROUS.

    DESIRE WITHOUT DISCIPLINE IS DANGEROUS.

                 We all have desires in our hearts that we want to accomplish. Many of us have effortlessly tried to achieve our desire, while others have tasted what they were after. It is the very thing that drives us to succeed in the work that we would like to achieve. Whether the desire is to own a home, start a business, embark on a new career journey, go to college, get married, have children, or even deeper desires that reign heavily in the heart of many people, the desire to be loved, seen, protected, admired, and so on. The Oxford Dictionary defines desire as a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. And with desire being our drive, we tend to make it happen, unaware of the dangers of the pursuit. Desire without discipline is dangerous and unhealthy. Desire will burn inside of you until it is fed. When our desires become the leading factor in our lives, we open ourselves to destruction because of the lack of control that can lead to encountering such experiences. We tend to ignore the warning signs or turn a blind eye to bad behaviors. This will cause us to encounter dangerous territory even when we have the right desire but no discipline.

     According to the Oxford Dictionary, discipline is the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. Many of us lack self-control in many ways in our lives. And where there is no self-control, problems arise. And some of us ask ourselves how we got here and must accept that our lack of self-control led us to darkness and destruction.

    Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” There is protection and correction when you delight yourselves in God. He will lead and instruct as you pursue his purpose and his promise. He will guide you on the right paths for his namesake. Even running after the things of God and not abiding in God is dangerous and will lead to destructive choices and behaviors because everything that looks right isn’t right.  We all have desires; desire drives us to the finish line, but desire without discipline is dangerous.

    David, the king of Israel, had the desire to have intimacy with Bathsheba, another man’s wife, and because he showed no discipline in his pursuit, he caused pain to all parties involved. ( 2nd Samuel 11:2) His desire without discipline put him in a bad situation and caused him to stumble onto a path of darkness. But God, who is faithful in his love towards us, led him back on the right path after David’s repentance, and what he once desired became his, the right way.

    God will give you your heart desires if you walk according to his will and his way. (James 4:2-17) Desires drive us to our destiny, but without discipline, it will cause us to stumble onto a path of destruction.

    Have a great day, peeps.

  • WHERE’S YOUR FOCUS?

    This morning while driving to work I was pondering about the goodness of God. I thought about the storms that we have in life and that sometimes when storms arrive in our lives that they are not always the enemy. God may be allowing things to happen to strengthen our trust in him. “Trust the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5). As I was meditating on the thought. The event with Peter walking on water rose in my spirit. A storm was occurring when the disciples saw someone in the distance. They became terrified because they thought it was a ghost, and they cried out in fear. “But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Peter still unsure, but having a relationship with the Lord said, “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus said to him, Come. Peter stepped out of the boat at the Lord’s command and walked on water towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out Lord, save me!” Peter’s fear magnified because he took his eyes off Jesus. He stopped focusing on the Savior and started focusing on the storm. He started to pay more attention to what was going on around him than to the one who called him.

     Yes, it matters where your focus is when you are walking with God. There will be times when the walk gets scary because the storms are roaring louder than the Savior. But remember that the one who called you is faithful. (1st Thessalonians 5:24). Your perception is everything in life. How do you view what you are seeing? Peter could have allowed the storm to keep him from reacting to the Lord’s command. He could have ignored the grace that was granted to him to walk on water. But hearing from Jesus he stepped out of fear into faith to find that amid the storm the Lord was there. “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” I believe the storm was used in this event to strengthen the faith of Peter so that when Jesus left the world, he would know no matter what comes, the Lord is with me. “I will never leave you nor will I forsake you.”

    Our focus is so important when going through life. What we see often shapes our mindset and encourages what we become. Keeping our minds stayed on Jesus keeps us in perfect peace. And to keep our minds we must fix our sight. The more we focus on God the better we are at trusting in him as we journey with him. Faith is the substance of things hoped for but the evidence of things unseen. Faith is a muscle that must be exercised to be built up. If you don’t find the opportunities to walk in faith, then you will never see the goodness or the greatness of God who has called us to walk by faith and not by sight. Peter asked for what was granted to him. However, it would take faith for him to see it. It’s going to take us stepping out of our comfort zone into the confrontations of life to see the unseen manifest. We are overcomers, but we cannot overcome what we have conformed to unless we seek opportunities that allow us to do so. Faith can only be caught if you are focused on who’s leading.  “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” (Hebrews