Wednesday, July 27, 2022

 Heart to Mouth Disease

Matthew 15: 11 It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” 

Matthew 15:17-20 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”


The longer I walk with Jesus the more I realize the sorry , sick state of my heart. I look back at my conversion experience and recall  understanding that I was a sinner in need of grace. However, I had no idea at that time of just how powerful and resistant our sin nature really is! No matter how diligent I try to clean up  and get healthy, I am left with a impure heart that will eventually manifest its sickness through my mouth!   I have to conclude that I suffer from a disease that plagues others too. It is called " heart to mouth disease".  

I have my morning devotions. I sing praises to the King. I go about my day thinking I'm doing pretty good. Then it happens. Words come out of my mouth that reveal the depravity of my heart! Oh they may not be words that are listed on the " curse word list"  They may actually seem harmless to the others nearby but I know that they are snarky and cutting. They are not coming from a heart like Jesus. They are coming from a place of anger or resentment. Maybe from disappointment or rejection. They are coming from an unhealthy heart. 

No amount of diet and exercise will eradicate this. No pill nor vaccine will cure this either. There is only one remedy and that is the cleansing by the blood of Christ. Because Jesus went to Calvary to pay for my sin and shame, He too will slowly but surely do an inside cleansing of the heart. But I must be willing to hand it over. To allow Him to bring storms and fiery furnaces to accomplish the purification process. If I am convinced that I have no heart issue I have failed to understand the reason for the cross. I am no better than the religious leaders of whom Jesus compared to white washed tombs full of dead men's bones. 

 The apostle John reminds us of our need to be honest with ourselves and with God concerning this heart problem: " If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and  the truth is not in us"( 1 John 1:4).  It is only when I fully surrender my pride and agree wholeheartedly ( no pun intended) that my heart disease proves itself active by what comes out of my mouth , that I will begin to receive the healing that only He can give. 

The entire human race has this awful illness, this heart to mouth disease. Aren't you thankful that we have the Great Physician Who not only accurately diagnoses but has the ability to heal it as well? 



Friday, July 22, 2022

 Following

After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.( Luke 5: 27-28)

When we were children we used to play a little game called Follow the Leader. The leader took the line of children around the classroom or playground. Whatever he or she did, those in line behind him did also. 

The Christian walk is not about living according to the doctrine of a book. The Christian life is one of following. Following the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the example of what to do and not to do. However, the detail within this verse that caught my attention is what happens after Jesus' invitation. Luke records for us that Levi ( Matthew) got up and left behind everything in order to follow Jesus.

Matthew rose up and left behind the tax collecting business.  Jesus did not tell him to pack up the tax collecting gig and bring it with him. He simply said , "Follow Me". Matthew did not analyze the cost, make a pro/con list and try to figure out which would be best. Stay or go? He rose up and left everything behind to follow Jesus. 

When we leave behind the right to ourselves we "rise" not fall. We go up higher, not sink lower. Leaving behind the things that hinder us from following Jesus will always result in " rising" not falling. In fact, until we are willing to leave it all behind and rise we cannot follow Jesus. 

How often do we try to follow Jesus but we want to bring our place of comfort along for the ride. We treat coming to Jesus as if  it means we ask Him to be our Lord and Savior, then refuse to leave anything behind. We essentially tack Jesus onto our lives and expect Him to bless our mess. We struggle to follow the Master as we are weighed down by a giant backpack of self interest that we refuse to put down and leave behind. 

While it is true that we come to Christ just as we are and then Jesus begins to clean us up according to His time and way, it is equally true that we must leave behind the old life. We have a choice like Levi. We can remain in our life of self interest or we can put it down and follow Jesus.  

If we boil this down to its core, what we are to leave behind is self. The right to self. The right to have my own way. To do life in my strength, on my time table, on my comfort level. Me, myself and I must be left behind in the dust. When I finally get to a place where I lay the right to myself down at the feet of Jesus, no longer thinking of me,  I then can truly follow the Master. 

Are you like Levi? Willing to get up, leave everything behind and follow the Lord Jesus Christ? Whoever said "Christianity is for the weak who need a crutch"  are only halfway telling truth. We indeed are weak but we dont need a crutch . We need a cross to crucify our flesh! 






Monday, July 18, 2022

 The Cost of being a Disciple

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew16: 24-26)


As I read the word of our our Lord , I have to ask myself," What exactly has it cost me to follow Jesus?" Has being a Christian cost me anything? Often do we think in terms of what Christ has done for us. We think of what it cost God to send His only begotten Son . Jesus paid the price for our redemption with His precious blood. It cost God everything in order to reconcile sinful man with his Creator. It cost God His Son that we might have forgiveness. Again I come back to the question, what has it cost me to follow Him? Jesus is clear throughout the Gospel accounts that discipleship is costly. 

What exactly does that mean? It certainly does not mean we must "pay" to get into the Kingdom. We can never pay off God with money, nor good deeds. We can never become martyrs as a means to earn righteous standing with God. And while salvation is a free gift we must not overlook the words of our Lord that tell us that a true follower is one who is willing to deny himself, take up his cross and follow Jesus.

Deny, die and follow. That is what a disciple must be prepared and willing to do. Deny his flesh. Deny having his own way. Deny the right to self. This denial is a dying to the flesh. To pick up one's cross speaks of a crucifixion. A cross in Jesus day was  an instrument of death, not a pretty gold emblem on a chain worn as jewelry! Its not a burden to bear. Picking up ones cross mean carry the very tool of execution! The one who follows after Jesus must deny his right to self and crucify the flesh in order that the Holy Spirit may instead lead! Then after the denying and the dying to self, a man or woman can follow Jesus.  It would be impossible to follow the flesh and Jesus at the same time!

So while some Christians around the globe literally will give up their physical lives to follow Christ, all must be willing to give up the right to self . It means learning to pray that my will should line up with His will. It means willingness to suffer for righteousness sake. The desire for an intimate close walk means more than people pleasing and going with the crowd. This may mean going against the grain with family and those who are close to us.

Christianity is not a choice one picks from the box of world religions. After the "choice" then one goes about life as if nothings really changed. Maybe where a Sunday morning is spent changes. Perhaps even a little devotional here and there. Such "religiosity" is nothing more than loving ones life, sin and all, while tacking on  Jesus  like a lucky rabbit foot! 

The Lord Jesus Christ is not a little statue I carry around to add to my life as I ask Him to bless my sinful mess. No, following Jesus means acknowledging the great cost God paid that I might be set free from the bondage of sin. Jesus tells us to consider the cost of following Him before we make some false commitment. 

It surely must sadden our Lord's heart when professing Christians are content to celebrate their sinful past as if it were an award. When the mindset is "how much can I still do and get away with it " it is evident that such a person is not following Jesus. They are following self. The price of following Christ is losing our self . 

As Jesus said, nothing is worth it if it means losing our soul.

What has it cost you to follow Him?

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Secular and Divine? 

 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands" Acts 17:24

In God's view there is no such thing as the "secular" and the "divine". It is all divine! It is all His! If we say otherwise, then we are claiming that He is not omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. We are then indirectly putting God in a box labeled, " sacred" and all other is " secular"  Either God is all powerful, all present and all knowing or He isn't. There is no gray area on this! 

Recently I was faced with an interruption in my day. I was annoyed by having to do something that "wasted" my time due to another's  lack of consideration for others. I was griping about it to the Lord when He gently reminded me of this truth: As a believer I don't just serve God in " churchy things"  Yes, even in the situations we deem routine maybe even annoying, can be service to Him! However, it depends on my attitude!  

 I could look at it from my view and get bummed out that I had better things to do,  or I could choose to see it from above. Just because I can't see what God is up to all the time  doesn't mean He isnt working in the midst of it! 

I am called to be a woman of faith in My God who cannot be put in some " religious" box!  I am called to believe that studying for a message  is not necessarily  more special to the Lord than the "secular" activities to which I may be required to participate. God takes us through places we may not choose to go but if we are following Christ He will always bring blessing for our obedience. God is concerned with my attitude and response ! 

God instructed Moses in the desert to take off his sandals there at the burning bush because he was standing on holy ground!" ( Ex 3: 4-5)  I must remember that I am a vessel of the Holy Spirit and He goes where I go. My actions and attitudes need to line up with such truth! When we walk with the Lord we are always standing on holy ground! 



Saturday, July 9, 2022

 Reminders

I'm not sure if its age or if it is the state of the world around us, but I find myself needing the reminders in God's Word more and more. I find myself needing to open the Bible and speak the promises of God out loud, to myself. I find myself spending more time in prayer than ever before. 

The headlines on our newsfeed are hard to digest day after day. The amount of division and strife  in our world is staggering. There is a looming sense of hopelessness. As a follower of Jesus Christ I have hope. I do not feel hopeless but I do feel the hopelessness of the world around me. Its like a heavy wet blanket at times. I feel others who are hurting and scared. I feel the weight of a world that is seeing what happens when you try to remove God from the equation. It hurts my heart. I'm sure it breaks God's heart as well. It never had to be this way. But when mankind rejects his Creator and demand to do things his way not God's there will be great trouble. 

But praise God those promises in His word are still true and powerful. Praise God He is able to do exceedingly more than I could ever ask or think or hope! Praise God Jesus is coming again and all the evil and all the wickedness will be judged; the scales of justice that seem to be so far out of balance will be balanced by His righteous hand! Balanced once and for all!

I need reminders to make an appointment, to buy apples, to get gas in the car... and I need reminders of Who is still in control. We all do!  That is why God gives us His word. We have the ability to hear His word and  read His Word, through so many avenues these days. Take advantage of the technology that has been given to you. Make wise use of  these blessed reminders of Who He is and who you are in Christ. 



Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Divided

 "Any Kingdom divided against itself is laid waste" Matthew 12: 25


Ever had one of those days where it felt like the world was a huge rock and you were underneath it? A time where the lies of the enemy screamed louder than the promises of God? Maybe the lies were not louder, but you just chose to listen to one over the other?

I've had those times. Unfortunately more times than I want to admit. I know what the Bible promises me as His child. I believe what the Bible claims yet how often do I align myself with the enemy's version of my current situation?  

One of the most effective strategies the enemy of our souls uses is division. He uses it to destroy a community, a nation, a world. Satan divides us by race, religion, denomination. He never brings unity and peace.  Subtle but divisive strife is his ammo.   

Satan doesn't just use this tactic outwardly in community. He uses it within as well. If we believe just for a moment his lies we are being sliced and diced on the inside. Our thinking is not as a kingdom citizen. It is not according to the King but now according to the prince of darkness. This now beings a division within the mind. May seem trivial but its implications are huge.

As Jesus declared in Matthew 12, a kingdom divided against itself is laid waste.  This reminds me , sadly, of how many times I've sided with Satan. When I have entertained falsehoods about myself, I have aligned myself with the enemy.  Destruction from within begins! 

Maybe you've done this too. Allowed the lies that whisper,  " You're never going to be good enough to..... You might as well quit because. you are a hopeless case..."  

James speaks of the double minded man.(Ja 1: 8) This man's prayers will not be answered because he is torn between unbelief and faith. It is a dividing of a mans heart, soul and mind. Instead of being solely focused in faith on God he is torn away by lies and distractions. Division!  Listening to the lies brings division and makes us double minded. We can not walk by the Spirit and by the flesh at the same time. We will not live by truth while walking in  a fog of falsehood. 

Join me today in renouncing the lies of the devil. Let us purpose in our hearts that we will not allow Satan to divide us corporately nor individually. Every true believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit . God is not into time shares! May Jesus and Him alone receive our undivided love and attention! 

A Spiritual Workout  " …work out your salvation with fear and trembling" ( Phil 2:12) I don't know about you, but sometimes I ...