Your Journey to the Heart of God
You are invited to come on an amazing journey uniquely designed and different for each person, designed to heal any wounds in your heart.
151) God’s Will
We are all put here for a purpose. This purpose is to glorify God and to love and serve Him. Most of the time, however, we need more direction on how to carry that out. I would like to talk about some steps that we could use to see if our dreams and plans are really of the Lord.
The first way that we can test if our plans are of the Lord is by the desires that He puts in our hearts. These will always agree with Scripture. In one way or another, God will use these desires to give us guidance.
– We should take inventory and reflect on our desires and dreams.
– These desires should bring delight to others as well as ourselves. God’s desires will always build the kingdom of God. These desires will always cause us to delight in the Lord.
– These desires should bring delight to others as well as ourselves. God’s desires will always build the kingdom of God. These desires will always cause us to delight in the Lord. the determination to carry it out. This does not mean that we won’t become discouraged. But it does mean that we will not always be overwhelmed with the task of bringing it about. If our dream is from God, we should experience deeper and deeper peace. As we do it, there will be something in us that will not let us give it up.
– If our dream is from God, we will experience dedication to our dream. We will not be easily swayed by events and circumstances. (read more)
152) Dealing With Trouble
Trouble comes to every person. It is part of life. It depends on how we deal with it. Some of us have more of it than others.
Trouble comes to us in three main ways:
– Through our head (thoughts that we keep)
– Through our heart (attitudes we hold);
– Through our personal actions (what we do with our thoughts and attitudes).
Trouble is the furnace that makes us a success or failure.
Trouble will tell us and others whether we are a man or a mouse. It will bring out the worst or best in you.
Trouble becomes greater when we do not face it, or when we feed it with negative thoughts and actions.
Trouble comes in with the faces of anger, bitterness, revenge and arrogance. Trouble comes when we:
– Don’t listen
– Become rigid
– When we want it now, and will do anything to get it. (read more)
153) Growing in Mature Love
We like to ask the question why do fools fall in love? This implies that falling in love is illogical and foolish. Perhaps sometimes this is the case. Falling in love and growing in it can come from a series of choices that we can make.
My definition of falling in love with God and His people means that we give up our self and grow in selflessness. Mature love means finding your greatest joy in the joy of your loved one.
When we talk about mature love, we can talk about the expression and the action of giving and receiving love in a strong, deep, and continuous manner. A mature and successful Christian love requires that we have this kind of love for both God and man.
God has placed love in human hands. This gift has been forgotten, abused, and misused. We try to love God, but forget the people around us. We try to love people, but make idols out of them and forget God. We are drawn to collect and use things and forget both people and God.
The greatest goal of the evil one is to draw us to anything but loving Jesus. The devil will work toward deepening our affections toward things and situations that we can control. He will tell us that God is both uncontrollable and unreliable. (read more)
154) The Gift Of No Expectations In Relationships
Philippians 4:11-13
As an employer or as an employee, clearly defined expectations are necessary. These job duties drive businesses and corporations. Difficulties exist when these expectations are not written or unspoken. Our lives are full of expectations. They are often subtle demands. They can be a reflection of our needs or hopes about a person or persons.
An expectation is simply something we expect someone to do or be for us.
Some of the time these can be helpful, but most of the time
these bring us frustration, burdens and sorrow.
The question can then be asked, how can I live without having expectations of others? This can occur when we expect a lot from God, and little or nothing from everyone else. Trusting God to provide for all our needs enables us to live without expecting.
Sometimes we become confused between a goal and an expectation.
– A goal is something that a person or a group of people make for themselves to reach.
– Goals are established thru a process of communication. Expectations are often unspoken.
– An expectation and or demand are something that we place on someone else to perform or become.
– It is better to concentrate working on our own goals than expect others to live up to our expectations.
– It is best to expect the best from God alone and little or nothing from everyone else.
To believe in a person helps them to reach a goal. To expect them to do it places demands upon them and does not help them in the way that God intended.
– We can help others reach their goals but still expect little of them.
– This gives them more freedom to be themselves; people have enough trouble just being who they are. (read more)
155) The Crisis
Like the little boy who cried wolf, time is short. Somebody has to be ready when others do not know. God has called us to be a people who are ready. How many disciples did Jesus have? What really mattered was their commitment and desire. We are not ready because we have not heeded the Lord’s warning. This theme is not occurring only in this place, but all over the world.
What are the reasons that we are not ready?
The first enemy is nonchalance. EVERYTHING is going well.
That is not what is happening in the spirit! There is incredible spiritual warfare going on in the heavenlies. Earthquakes and other disasters will occur. We are going to be tested for who we are and what we believe. This is the time to be serious about loving the Lord and each other. We will be more exposed to fear and terror. Worldly systems will be shaken and some will fall. The devil will attempt to snatch our faith from us by fear, intimidation and confrontation.
The second enemy is that we are focused on self and not on Jesus. Self-centeredness leads us toward consuming, but the spirit of God leads us toward giving. We are busy consuming the values of the world and not feeding ourselves with the values of sacrifice and selflessness. Self-centeredness leads to spiritual sleep and death to ourselves and others. Selflessness brings life to us and to others. Jesus gave us life through His selflessness, while Satan brings death with his selfishness.
The third enemy is bickering among one another and not loving each other. We should build up each other in order to tear down the fortresses of evil that we have allowed to grow.
The fourth enemy is petty differences and jealousies. We have worshiped individuality and separateness. We have concentrated on what divides us more than who will bring us together. (read more)
“Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Quotations and/or reprints in excess of one thousand verses, or other permission requests must be directed and approved in writing by Zondervan Bible Publishers.” All verses are NIV except those that are otherwise noted.
The Eagles Cry 