The sources of my heart

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, "Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be." (NLT) In Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." (NLT) In Proverbs 21:2, "People may think they are doing what is right, but the Lord examines the heart." (NLT) "Obey God because you are His children. Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God-who chose you to be His children-is holy. For He Himself has said, "You must be holy because I am holy". 1 Peter 1:14-16 (NLT) "David son of Jesse is a man after my own heart, for he will do everything I want him to do." Acts 13:22 & 1 Samuel 13:14 (NLT) The heart is the source of our emotions, thoughts and motives. "Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as 'the place of conscience and decisive spiritual activity', 'the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thoughts, understanding and will.' and 'the center of a person. The place to which God turns'." Joseph M. Stowell (Fan the Flame) "God goes right for the heart. It is where He meets us. It is where He desires that the flame of an intimate, life-changing relationship with Him be fanned into a great source of spiritual heat and light. He desperately seeks to dwell with us at the core." Joseph M. Stowell (Fan the Flame) As a sinner, I am motivated by a desire that is not part of God. From my old creature, my sins are still in my heart where it pollutes worldly desires and causing me to think more worldly. My selfish desire for happiness and success are really more worldly than spiritually. It is interesting that people talks of faith in relation to "success". The measure of faith by some is defined how successful you are spiritually. I truly don't believe that God determine (measure) our faith based on our own works (success). The Bible teaches that the root of the flesh (sin) is selfishness. The very FIRST SIN occurred in heaven by Lucifer (Satan) was related to selfishness (wanting to be equal to God). I am learning that if I am seeking God for my own selfishness (self-interest) other than my personal salvation with Jesus Christ is a form of idolatry. I need to guard myself and be on the watch against any object of worship that belongs only to God. Biblically, the emphasis is not about happiness but about holiness. God is more concerned about holiness in my heart more than about my emotional being (i.e. happiness). God commanded is to be holy (actually blameless) because He is holy (1 Peter1:16 & Lev. 11:44,45). I should be seeking to KNOW God and HIS Will. I need to "take delight in the Lord, and He will give me my heart's desires" (Psalm 37:4). "To be a true Christian requires that we agree to forfeit the approval of the world." A.W. Tozer (The Price of Neglect) "A selfish desire for happiness is as sinful as any other selfish desire. Its root is in the flesh which can never have any standing before God." A.W. Tozer (The Price of Neglect) Page 36 "....the whole hectic scramble after happiness is as evil as certainly as is the scramble after money or fame or success. It springs out of a vast misunderstanding of ourselves and our true moral condition" A.W. Tozer (The Price of Neglect) Page 37 "There the emphasis is not upon happiness but upon holiness. God is more concerned with the state of people's hearts than with the state of their feelings. Undoubtedly the Will of God brings much final happiness to those who obey, but the most important matter is not how happy we are but how holy." A.W. Tozer (The Price of Neglect) Page 38 "Be assured that in the end you will be as happy as you are holy; but for the time being let your whole ambition be to serve God and be Christ-like. If we are to take a stand like that we may expect to know a new degree of inward purification and, God being who He is, we are more than likely to know a new degree of happiness as well, but a happiness that springs out of a more intimate fellowship with God, a happiness that is elevated and unselfish and free from the carnal drawing of the flesh." A.W. Tozer (The Price of Neglect) Pages 38-39 "Christ is concerned with more than what we do. He is initially concerned about why we do what we do. Christ wants our external activities to be produced out of a personal relationship with Him." Joseph M Stowell (Fan the Flame) "If Christ is my first love, then my behavior is not shaped by who is watching, what makes me feel good, what my hertiage says, what I have always done, or what someone else expects of me." Joseph M Stowell (Fan the Flame) As a believer of Jesus Christ, I should not fear of facing up my failures, guilt and sin because Jesus is in me. I need to have a personal relationship with Jesus by reading the scriptures and pray faithfully. The first step to clean out my heart is to admit that I am the one who is responsible for my own sins. I sin because I listen to my heart (my own selfish desires). My prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for saving my soul and I want to honor you and put you first in my heart. Help me to follow Your desires. Amen

My life is a Spiritual Journey

My spiritual paths gave me spiritual understanding of the dark world around me. When I am alone with God, He teaches me the true meaning of a spiritual life. The Holy Spirit convicts my heart to discern my spiritual health by asking myself: "Is my spiritual life superficial or real?" Looking around, I see that every Christians have their own spiritual direction and every Chrisitian's spiritual directions are different. The bible says that every believer have their own spiritual gift of character. I am learning to use my own spiritual character that God gave me. There are ways to cultivate my spiritual character and gift by allowing the Holy Spirit do the work. I will not understand my spiritual character deeply unless I subject myself to the spiritual discipline of the Holy Spirit and have a wonderful relationship with God.

Can God use me?

Can God use me despite my sinful past? For a long time now after coming back to Christ around the time I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, I have been thinking that God can’t use me because of my sinful past. Some say I was probably never saved. Others say, I rebelled and back-sliding to my old nature like a prodigal son. Reading many materials, I have found that God uses unqualified people to accomplish God’s spiritual purposes. Here are the following God’s CHOSEN/CALLED unqualified people to serve Him. 1. Lot got drunk and committed incest. 2. Abraham doubted God and committed adultery. 3. Jacob deceived his father. 4. Moses murdered. 5. David murdered and committed adultery. 6. Jonah got angry with God (in a sinful way) 7. Paul (Saul) murdered Christians 8. All 12 of Jesus disciples were not qualified to be the Apostles however Jesus called them. and much more. God will use ordinary good people as well as ordinary very sinful people to accomplish great things. Through out the history (in the past 2,000 years), God uses people of limitless backgrounds who can minister “together” (unity) for Christ. God works all things together for His purposes. With my life... past sinful life as well as being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and hearing-impaired, I have learned that even though God does not always permit such serious life-changing situations in my life, but He did lead me into life-changing experiences that heighten my effectiveness in the ministry (or ministries) whenever and wherever He put me. God knows how to get results using people like me. I read somewhere that “There’s no higher calling in the world than to be an instrument of God’s grace.” (John MacArthur). God uses people with the right life experiences by putting them through the right spiritual directions and teaching them the right spiritual lessons. God knows my heart and He will honor my search for truth. God will use me as long as my heart is pure with proper motives. My goal is to concentrate on my present purity before God and allow Him to bless my future ministries whenever I may be involved as He sees fit. In God’s hands, I can be a wonderful and effective instrument in whatever I do for Him.

Be part of a local church.....

The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the importance of going to church. In fact, it was the pattern of Paul's ministry to establish local congregations in the cities where he preached the gospel. Hebrews 10:24-25 commands every believer to be a part of such a local body and reveals why this is necessary.

Quote: NIV: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Acts 2:42 shows us what the early church did when they met ogether: "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." I am committed to a member of a local church because: 1) I submit to the authority of the church's elders. 2) I want to minister. 3) Help the Church spread the Gospel and edify one another. It is very important for a Christian to be identified with a local church, to come under the authority of the elders, for accountability, and, to come into the ministry for the sake of serving Jesus Christ in that local church. When there is no accountability, there is no testing of your faith when you can float and a Christian should never be alone that ALL Christians should fellowship as a family under the shepard of a local church's pastor.

Early WoF's mistake.......

Richard Dortch, who was Jim Bakker's right hand man in the fallen PTL ministry said:

Quote: "Sometimes I think the church doesn't know anything about true success. It's all tied to how many stations we have on our network, or how big our building is. It's so easy to lose control, to compromise without recognizing it. At PTL, there was no time taken for prayer and for family, because the show had to go on. We were so caught up in God's work that we forgot about God."

DEMAS

2 Timothy 4:10 (New Living Translation)

Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica.

Demas is mentioned briefly by Paul in three of his letters. He was evidently a Greek convert to Christianity and traveled with Paul on his journeys. He apparently stayed close to Paul during his first imprisonment; Paul's prison letters to Philemon and the Colossians both mention Demas by name. So.... what happened to Demas? It is related to "worldliness and apathy". Quote from A.W. Tozer relating to "apathy"

Quote: "Jesus did not promise any of us that consistent Christian living would be easy! He did not promise a release from daily problems and pressures. He did not promise to take us to our heavenly home on a fluffy pink cloud! We live our lives in the knowledge of the grace of God, but we dare not forget that our Lord came to die for us and to express the never-changing moral and redemptive will of God for His people. Before we condemn the Jews of Bible history for their failures, we must be sure that we are not overlooking spiritual and moral shortcomings of our own! As Christian believers, you and I must be careful about the reasons we give for not heeding God's Word and God's warning from heaven. Have we taken His grace seriously enough that we have sought forgiveness for spiritual carelessness, indifference and apathy?"

Focusing on God in Spirit, Love and Lordship

Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

1. Living in Spiritual Worship: Romans 12 2. Living in Love: 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 3 3. Living in Spirit: Galatians 5 and Hebrews 5 - 6 4. Living in Light: Ephesians 5 and 1 John 1 5. Living in the Armor of God: Ephesians 6 6. Living to know Christ: Phillipians 3 and 2 Peter 1 7. Living Spiritually Alert: 1 Thessalonians 5 8. Living in Faith: Hebrews 11 9. Living Close to God: James 4 10. Living in Holiness: 1 Peter 1 11. Living in Truth: 2 John There is only ONE Good News Galatians 1:6-10 Grow in the Knowledge of God 2 Peter 1:1-11 Know the Wisdom of God 1 Corin. 1:18- 2: 16 Live and Worship in Spirit Romans 12:1-21 Put on the Armor of God Ephesians 6:10-20 Stand Firm to your Faith 2 Thess. 2:13-17 Know false and true teachings 1 Timothy 6:1-21 Promote True teachings Titus 2:1-15 Grow from basic Christian towards MATURE Christian Hebrew 6:1-8 Learn to discern false teachings 1 John 4:1-6 "Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Ephesians 6:17 (NLT) (READ your BIBLE and KNOW the Word of God) A local church is for: Worshiping & Praying (Romans (12:1-2) Love (1 Pet. 1:22) Edify (Eph. 4:16) Encourage (Heb. 10:24) Teach and Admonish (Col. 3:16) Bear Burdens (Gal. 6:2) Comfort (1 Thes. 4:18) Forgive (Eph. 4:32; Matt. 6:14-15) Work Together (Phil. 1:27) Discipline ( Matt. 18:15, 2 Cor. 2:5-11, Thes. 3:6-15, and Jude 22-23) The best way to witness is to: Be like Christ (truly a Christian) People watch you (your behavior, your attitude, your speech) You are the light They will DRAW to you and ask questions about YOUR life Then you tell them about Christ If you talk (witness about Christ) and your life do not show it, that's NOT effective witnessing. I believe the hardest part as a Christian is being like-Christ and try to live in a "blameless" life. We do not expect our pastors to be the only ones who are acting like-Christ and live in a blameless life. ALL members of the Church must live in a blameless life, be the shining light to the lost and bring them to Christ. Pastor/Elder qualifications: Titus 1:6-9 ".....must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless-not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Sin begins with a "thought"

A. W. Tozer said:

"What we think about when we are free to think about what we will--that is what we are or will soon become"

As a Christian, every wrong act or practice begins with a "thought". I need to understand that Christians are always engaged in a spiritual warfare. The enemy (Satan) is able and will continue to establish his strongholds in our lives. Those strongholds must be pulled down by God Himself. The real battle is a battle for my mind. Sin happens after a "thought" came into my mind, I begin to ponder, contemplate, consider and thinking whatever that my flesh will lead me to sin. Its my heart that took hold of my "thought" that I began to thinking of the pleasurable aspects of my "thought". This where I fail because in Proverbs 4:23, it says "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." An example of one great Bible man who sinned after "thinking". David with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). David woke up from a nap, went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman taking a bath. Through the eyes of David, enter into his mind, he sees a beautiful naked woman and began thinking about her. I am a man, and I have a GOOD IDEA what he was thinking. David's thinking led him to self-serving which was motivated by lust and envy. This is where God has a problem with me (as well as with all Christians). The problem is my spiritual condition which is measured by my heart, not my actions. God sees and measures the heart more than He sees my actions. My sinful actions were the RESULT of my sinful heart. I need to control my "thoughts". I am unable to master all of our tendencies and desires on my own however I know and should submit myself to the Holy Spirit so that I can be empowered to exercise self-control. I need to use the spiritual resources God has placed at my disposal. Spiritually, I am an enabled believer and the enablement of the Spirit must be used in my daily life. God already supplied the resources and all I have to do is submit. Simply submit. I am reminded that I am a dust which means flesh and God wants me to be spiritual. If I am to rely on my flesh, God will refuse to help me. If I am to rely on God's Spirit, He has given me His word; He has promised that I would never be tempted above what I am able to bear; He has placed Himself at my disposal in response to believing prayer; He has made available to me the infinite moral power of His Holy Spirit to enable me to do His will here on earth. There is no excuse for ME acting like timid weaklings who falls into sin. More Scripture readings: Proverbs 16:2 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 Colossians 3:1-5 Galatians 5:16-26

Satan is clever in the use of disguise and deception. Yet we must be on guard for lower level deception. A.W. Tozer

The key about being prosperous and healthy

Prosperous The Bible does not forbid the possession of wealth & being prosperous. If I have multiple cars, boats, acres of land, houses, all kinds of investments and other possessions, it takes a lot of time to make sure everything is secure and well taken care of. No time is left for God. Are possessions first in my life or God? Does the possessions OWN me? Do my possessions control my life? Your view of money and material possessions is an effective barometer of your spirituality. Wealth is neither good nor bad in itself. What we do with our money God gives us is a reflection of your thinking. As Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). When we accumulate our possessions for our own selfish sake--those possessions have become idols. Idols when a Christian have a selfish heart of greed (name it, claim it) is your master. This means a Christian have put prosperous and wealth AHEAD of Jesus. Jesus is the Lord who says, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny Himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). To obey Him is to enjoy the fellowship of God and true believers, a fellowship of light (1 John 1:5-7). A person's heart is always found running in the direction of his/her desires. The heart that desires often leads a person towards the wrong direction. Those who believed that God will not allow Christians to suffer are in big trouble and probably won't last. People view possessions as blessings from God and suffering is not part of a Christian's life. The Bible talks about "apathy" and "apostasy". Jesus and New Testament writers warned that there will be "Christians" who will reveal their true self whether they are a Christian or playing a Christian. I had a thread about "Cost of Discipleship", Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s concept of "costly grace" has appealed to many who think it is the answer to the apathy and worldliness of contemporary (1930's) Christians. From reading Dietrich's book, "The Cost of Discipleship" which first published in English in 1949. He wrote: 'costly grace' as opposed to 'cheap grace,' which he described as 'Grace without price; grace without cost,' or "grace without discipleship.' To Bonhoeffer, costly grace is inseparable from discipleship. By the way, Bonhoeffer was hanged in the Nazi concentration camp at Flossenbürg on April 9, 1945. Health: Its simple. I live in a tent. A temporary body which is AGING and my physical body is going to DIE someday. I am healthy when I take care of my body. When I am unhealthy, its because my body is carrying the disease called sin and it will make my body go back to DUST. CHRISTIANS are not immuned to diseases however, we are immuned to eternal death.

A quote by A.W. Tozer (About Sin)

A quote by A.W. Tozer Quote:

Some sin seems strictly personal, its effects internal only. But even the most personal sin can affect our attitudes, judgments and values, all of which influence our behavior toward others. No sin is private. It may be secret but it is not private. Sin is three-dimensional and has consequences in three directions: toward God, toward self and toward society. It alienates from God, degrades self and injures others.

As a Prodigal Christian

As a "Prodigal Christian", I know Christ's death for me, removed my sins and scrubs my consciences. Therefore it is time for me to bury my regrets and start serving God. As a "returned prodigal" Christian, I should be honoring God more by rejoicing than by moping and fretting about my past. I should remember that Satan does not want me to forget my sinful past. Satan wants me to remember them and ponder them even though I already confessed, forgiven and cleansed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. I am to focus on my spiritual life, my spiritual hope and my spiritual enjoyments. The best thing I know about Jesus, my Savior is that He loves me even though I am a sinner. Reading the Scriptures, He has always loved the outcast-and for that I should be glad, for I, too, was once an outcast. Remember David, the son of Jesse? He was an extraordinary man. He was highly gifted as a poet, musician, warrior, king. Despite some personal failures he was noted as a man after God's own heart. God has in Christ provided a cure for me, only when I am humble and seek forgiveness and cleansing by Jesus Christ on the cross that I should pray, " Forgive me, Lord for clinging to certain sin. I want to experience that freedom in You from all sin."