HOW'S THE HEART?

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Ezekiel 11:19

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Did you get it wrong yesterday?

Was it a blow up with the spouse that led to a very chilly night?

Find yourself in a compromised position and then “compromised”?

Maybe a little un-truth was sprinkled in that presentation in order to make a sale.

You had some thoughts wander into areas and on things that to even the “untrained” eye would be considered a little suspect?

I’m not going to say all these happened to me yesterday, but I will be truthful and say they have “happened” to me.

We all have let things like anger, lust; deceit and bitterness get the best of us.  We are human after all. 

Yet what GOD asks of us to not allow the sins to harden our hearts or in other words callous our conscience.  GOD understands that we will have moments, days even, where we aren’t up to par.  That is why GOD has given us this “heart of flesh”.  It is there to reveal to us our errors and sins and to then guide us back to the truth, the Spirit and to GOD himself.

I love what Spurgeon says about the role of our conscience and the importance of maintaining a heart of flesh.

The quickened conscience holds a daily court and its sentences are heard and respected by the heart of flesh.

To paraphrase Spurgeon further,

When our heart is “flesh”, then the love of God affects us, humbles us, captivates us and draws us up towards Heaven!

For many who are recovering, our hearts have been hardened by a life of bad decisions, poor choices, and an ignored conscience.  Once we come to Jesus, once He changes the condition of our heart, we are to become more sensitive and more in tune with the heart of Jesus; a heart that is deeply in love with GOD.

Psalm 73:26

My flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

So join me. 

Let’s give our hearts a quick “once over” this morning.  Is it supple or stingy?  Is it bitter or bendable?  Is it pious or pliable? Is it rebellious or “ready”?

1 Peter 3:14

…Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master.

 

Have a blessed day.

I love you all.

Freedom Church

DEFLECT DISTRACTIONS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Distractions. Diversions.

Detours. Deceptions.

Just a few little “D” words that are the specialty of another “D” word... the devil.

These things do their best to “disrupt” our day don’t they?

Maybe a detour of gossip with the morning coffee? Maybe you get wind of some criticism before you can even get your second sock on. Perhaps you are welcomed to work by a distracting conflict with a co-worker and that casts a cloud on the day.

There are probably countless examples, but hopefully you get my drift that it can be difficult to stay on track sometimes isn’t it?

That is why it is so important to pause and reset our minds and Spirits each morning before the deluge of those “D” words has a chance to kick in, because they are certain to try.

The enemy uses whatever is available to drive a wedge between us and GOD each day. He wants to kink that spiritual life-line; he wants to be the fly in our ointment and the pebble in our shoe. He will do anything, use anything, and try anything in a diligent effort to cloud your calling.

So take some action this morning. Listen to scripture.

Ephesians 4:27

Don’t give the devil a way to defeat you.

Don’t allow those devil-driven distractions to derail you.

1 Peter 5:9

Refuse to follow the devil. Stand strong in your faith

Make a concerted effort to stay focused, to remain steady, and to approach the day with a clear mind and purposeful agenda and leave those distractions in the ditch.

Ephesians 1:16-17

…ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do…

Have a blessed and distraction-free day.

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

HOPE PLACEMENT

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Yesterday was “CONNEX CRAZE” at AHOP in Xenia.  In a nutshell it is a “small group fair” where folks from the church can gather info and join a small group study or ministry.  It is a great fellowship and each year new people step up to volunteer or lead.

Like every year, we had a little table for FREEDOM CHURCH with our requisite cookies, candies and resources.  And we had several folks ‘purus’ the “possibility” of linking up with FREEDOM and its mission.  But I don’t believe that is why we were there yesterday at all.

Instead our little table was there to provide a glimmer of HOPE.

Hope for a desperate sister whose sibling was slipping into a deep depression and a progressing addiction.  Hope for a mama whose youngest was cemented in a life of drug abuse and homelessness. 

I am so thankful for the hope that comes from the Lord.

I will be brutally honest.  I didn’t have a solution for either of those circumstances, I didn’t have a magically elixir that would turn the tide for these two who were hurting.  Yet I could provide the hope that GOD did and that in the right time and according to His plan, GOD WOULD deliver.  And that was what was needed.

Psalm 146:3-9

Don’t put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life. Mere humans don’t have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them. Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in GOD and know real blessing!

So I ask you today, where are you placing your hope?  I am sure you, like these two, are facing a challenge or two today.

Are you going to delve into today counting on the experts or your own steam to get you through or are you going to funnel your energy more wisely and place your hope where the true power lies, the Lord? 

Here, let me help you get started…

Psalm 31:24

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

Psalm 33:18

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

Psalm 33:20

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 37:9

For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

Micah 7:7

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Have a blessed day.

I love you all.

Freedom Church

IT'S ABOUT TODAY

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere...

― Helen Keller

Recovery, the Christian walk, will have its “bad days”, it's failures.  You know those days where our thoughts wander into old dark alleys; those days where our deeds aren’t so honorable or representative of our “newness”.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

You know, days when “the old” decides to show back up.

Maybe the pressure of the day led to a heated argument.

Maybe fatigue set in and you let an old bad habit creep back in to entertain you in spite of the danger.

Maybe you said something, did something, indulged in something that doesn’t align with whom you are striving to be; who you were created to be.

Maybe it was just a bad day.

We have them.  God says we will.

Ecclesiastes 7:14

 On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days So that we won’t take anything for granted.

But what we can’t allow is for yesterday’s failures to set the tone for today’s opportunities. 

Far too often we allow a bad day or two to infiltrate our thinking and discourage us; we let bad days grow into bad weeks and bad weeks into bad months.

Instead we need to do what the WORD says to do. 

Have a bad day? “Examine your conscience”.

Things get out of alignment? Realign quickly.

Get it wrong? Learn from it. 

Get up, clear the deck, go to GOD, and get this day off to a fresh start; a better start.  Don’t allow yesterday to define today!

Psalm 19:12-13

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins…Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray.

“Don’t waste another day of your life grieving over something that you cannot do anything about. Let God give you a new beginning. Your mistakes are not enough to stop God if you don’t let them.”

― Joyce Meyer

 

Have a blessed weekend.

I love you all.

Freedom Church

 

Pastor GDelaney

RESTORE 'EM

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Do you have some folks in your life that “just make you a little crazy”? Folks who never seem to “get it”? Folks whose mistakes and decisions have negative repercussions?

Come on now, be honest.

I know we are to espouse that whole “love one another” command, but sometimes even our best friends get under our skin or put us in a bind.

Yet GOD calls us to be “restorers”.

Just what does that mean?

It means GOD expects us to pick each other up, have each other’s back, and bear each other’s burdens even when we have been negatively impacted.

That isn’t an easy task sometimes is it?

Friends let us down. We watch folks derail. People disappoint. We even make a mess of things from time to time on our own don’t we?

And yet we are charged to pick each other up, dust each other off, and help each other overcome and move forward.

Galatians 6:1

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.

So even when others do US wrong, we are to tenderly point men and women in the direction of God’s forgiveness, saving our “critical comments”, and our judgment for ourselves.

That is a tall order some days isn’t it?

It sure would seem easier to play the revenge card, criticize or repay in kind when others “blow it”, but GOD’s ways are not our ways you know…

Isaiah 55:8

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.

Perhaps you know someone who has “blown it” and could use a little restoring today. Maybe they even caused a mess for you.

Get creative!

Reach out. Lend them a hand. Offer them restoration from Jesus. You might be surprised when you do.

Proverbs 11:25

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.

Have a blessed day.

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

SOMEONE ELSE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Ok.

Take out your "list" for today. Go ahead I will wait.

Let’s have a look.

· Wake up

· Hit snooze

· Wake up again

· Get ready

· Mad dash to work

· Work, work, work…

· Mad dash home

· Eat

· Indulge in “bad TV”…J or do a thousand errands…

· Collapse into the bed

I’m going to wager that little list pales in comparison to a real day for you. I bet it nowhere near depicts how nutty YOUR day really is.

But I will also wager that regardless of the size and scope of that "list", your day is primarily focused on YOU.

Things YOU need to do; stuff that will help YOU out. Things YOU like to do.

And there is nothing wrong with that at all. All I am doing today is asking you to do is put one more thing on the list.

I know, yell and scream, tell me you don’t have time, pout, cross your arms, try to refuse. Put this little “extra" on the list.

· Something for someone else.

That’s it.

· Something for someone else.

Philippians 2:3-4

…Think of other people as more important than yourself. Do not always be thinking about your own plans only.

Come on.

Set aside YOUR plans for a second. Put down YOUR agenda. Look around. Could somebody use a blessing today? Could someone use a good word, a comforting phone call, or maybe a “thinking of you text”? Maybe the family down the street could use a home cooked meal. Perhaps that co-worker who sits at her desk everyday at lunch might want to go out today.

Put “yourself” on the back burner if even for just a 30 second text.

You’ll be blessed.

And don’t take my word for it. Take HIS.

1 Peter 3:9

…bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

Have a blessed day.

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

"SACK THE SULK"

 

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Are you a “sulker” or are you a seeker?

What do I mean?

When life deals you a challenging circumstance; maybe a lost job, a family challenge, or perhaps something from your past decides to resurface and “crash the party” so to speak, how do you react?

Does anger win and you curse the challenge?

Does apathy win and you ignore the challenge?

Maybe bitterness reigns and you resent the challenge.

Perhaps fear takes center stage and you run from the challenge.

Or maybe you just stare at it and sulk.

“I can’t do anything”. “No one really wants to help me.” “This is all someone else’s doing, and I deserve a pity party”.

Ever do that? Sulk over situations until you are paralyzed?

I know I have.

But what good does sulking do?

It messes up our mood. It keeps us defeated. It clouds our creativity.

I am positive that “woe is me” was never on a sign in a locker room or a plaque in an executive’s office.

That is why I am encouraging you today to “sack the sulk” and instead “start to seek”!

Did you know that you have a winning solution to problems in your hip pocket at all times?

Romans 8:31

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:37

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

We are more than conquerors!

The solutions to life’s challenges are presented to us when we SEEK not sulk! When we trust not trivialize. When we believe not BLAME!

GOD doesn’t take a break when our lives get hard. He doesn’t pull His help from the table so He can watch us squirm. NOT AT ALL.

GOD is right there, in the mess ready to offer help, offer wisdom, offer strength, send us counsel, open doors, and send us expertise.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice.

So let’s be SEEKERS today and "sack the sulk"!

Have a blessed day.

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney