The divided heart of man

Ezekiel 11:19 says "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"

I read this over and over and eventually I realized that I was so engulfed with what God was going to give that that I didn't pay attention to the reason why He had to give it to us. I learnt that man’s heart is divided and that why God had to replace it with an undivided heart. 

One of the problems with us is that sometimes we want to eat our cake and still have it. We want to serve the world and God at the same time but the word says to choose who we will serve cause we CANNOT serve two masters (Matthew 6:24) 

Especially in these times we live in and everyone is being cautioned to pick a side- the word says if we are not for God then we are against Him. So we can't please our flesh and God! 

Yes, yes I know! We like to think we are all so sanctimonious and don't sin but put God first every time but let me ask you a question what is your motive when you do something good for another person? If your motive isn't truly in line with God then it is of the flesh. I myself am guilty of  doing good acts with wrong motives, and i try daily to be honest with myself because i feel God can't help me if i don't admit i have a problem.

Now let me give an example of such a situation. Let’s say for example you go serve homeless people in a shelter, and you tell everyone you know how you are sacrificing time out of your day to go serve them then it means you are looking for attention or affirmation from others. The bible says when we do good we shouldn't go telling everyone because that affirmation that we get will be our final reward. But if we do what we do between us and God then He will honor our acts and reward us justly (Matthew 6:1-4)

This all reflects back to how divided our hearts are because when we do these things with wrong motives it means we are doing it for ourselves and not to glorify God. Whereas if God had all of our hearts everything we do would be centered on Him and NOT ourselves.

Trust me we ALL have to ask ourselves these tough questions sometimes reason being that one’s heart can be so obviously divided, and yet their vision is so clouded that they don't even realize they have a problem.  Personally I try my best to reflect on myself and my relationship with God regularly because I don't want to be so blinded that when the trumpet sounds I am found wanting and I don't pray it happens to any of you either. So take time out today to do a "heart check" and ask God to show you what your real motives are. Tell Him to help you to give all your heart to Him sincerely, and pray for me saints as I pray for you also that God will open our eyes to a greater understanding of His will for us Amen!

Choices!!!!

I would love to share a testimony before I proceed with this message. When I wrote this I thought I was only writing just to write. But when I went to church the following Sunday, lo and behold the Lord showed up right on time as I began to question if He was the one speaking to me. Our Pastor preached about "Choices" basically summing up exactly what I wrote about. Talk about confirmation huh? It blew my mind, and all I can say is that God is good!

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The thing about choices is that the consequences rest on the person who makes them. Just like how God has given us the choice to pick to serve Him or the world. As human beings we often don't think before we act rather we react based on our current emotion. But the thing about emotions is that, it’s a thing of the mind. It’s usually the state of our flesh at a particular moment, and it will pretty much deceive us. We have a choice however to either react based on our flesh or act as Jesus would. 

Sadly we often pick our flesh because it’s almost like an immediate response to situations. You might ask, but why do we do that? Well it’s because we have become so use to acting off the first emotion to pops to our heads. When we aren't always operating in our spirit man we are usually in our flesh man mode, this causes us to respond to situations like we are a part of this world. Romans 12:2 says to not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

This relates to choices in the sense that if we are constantly operating in our spirit man our thoughts would be occupied with the things of the spirit. Take for example when you hang around someone all the time, you begin to act and think alike consciously or subconsciously. If we are constantly operating in our spirit man we would begin to function just as the spirit man would. Our first reaction when situations then arise wouldn't be based on our flesh but based on the spirit man which is the Holy Spirit. Remember that God the father, the son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit are one!  

I have learnt that as human beings we like to make excuses and blame everyone else for the way we act and not take any responsibility. But truth is no one can force you to do anything without you giving your consent. So I challenge us as the body of Christ to not feed into our emotions but our Spirit man. To be able to operate in the spirit man mode we have to read our word, be in constant communication with God, and ask Him to help us make a consistent CHOICE to die to our flesh daily. If we don't do these things it will be easier to suppress/ignore the voice of our spirit man, and when faced with situations which require us to make a choice we will make it based of the first emotion which isn't always in accordance with the spirit (lets’ be honest) and/or our flesh. Whatever we expose ourselves to the most will influence our behavior, so rather than regret our decision later lets follow just as the Spirit leads.

******If you want to read about more about the Holy Trinity (God the father. Son, and Holy spirit) and/or what the Holy spirit is meant to do please reference these verses:

Matthew 28:19

Romans 8:14-16

Galatians 4:6-7

A reason to live

Just a little something i wrote a while back, and i thought to share :)

Do you ever feel like everything cannot go right for too long?

Just as its all good, one problem or the other arises

If that’s you then permit me to speak a word

The devil is crafty

He’ll make those voices whisper into your ears

He’ll ask “Why do you proclaim God loves you?”

“If He did love you, you would be healthy, you wouldn't owe everyone, your friends wouldn't leave, you would have peace, favor, you wouldn't be single or lonely, and everyone else wouldn't be moving forward while your life sits stagnant” He mocks

For a split second you might let his words get to you,

You might even start to wonder what is actually going right in your life.

You start to question “Lord why am I in bondage?”

“Did I sin?” “Is this my punishment?”

I urge you NOT to let the devil adulterate your mind

Just as you hear the thoughts coming into your mind

SPEAK to it immediately!

Let the devil know whose image and likeness you have been created in

Tell him

“Don’t you know I AM A CHILD OF THE MOST HIGH?”

The Word says:

I am the head and not the tail

I shall live and not die

I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me

I am more than a conqueror

By His stripes I have been healed

Greater is He that is in me than you that is in the world

Everything works out for the good of those that love the Lord

Even with faith as small as a mustard seed I shall command the mountain to move and it shall obey

Hence I command you in the name of Jesus to seize defiling my thoughts

Be encouraged my brothers and sisters our God is unchangeable

The same God we serve is the same that parted the sea,

That sent His only son to die for us

That gave Jesus the power to overcome death

In whom all powers on earth and in heaven belong to

It doesn't seem right because we are thinking with our worldly minds

The word says “for lack of knowledge my people perish”

The ambiance of bondage might seem to overtake your blessings

But I tell you it’s a thing of the mind

We give the devil so much power over our lives

But the truth is he has no power over us

We have to make up our minds that we will no longer live in bondage

We will no longer put God in a box, but cast our burdens onto Him

And let Him give us peace that surpasses all understanding

If you were looking for a good reason why bearing all the trials is worth it here you go

God loves you, and has something greater than you can imagine waiting on the other side

We wouldn't know what being free was if we were never in bondage

Old Ghost's reappearing

We live in a society that would much rather shove things to the side and pretend that they have dealt with their "issues" than honestly face it. Now this title got me thinking, so I decided to do some self-evaluation. After much reflection I finally came to an honest conclusion that I hadn't really "let go" of some things that I knew were holding me back. What I did like most others was attempt to make my heart believe that I was over the heartbreaks, anger, desires that didn't please God, and I had forgiven the people that had hurt me. I was so blinded I couldn't see that these issues I hadn't dealt with became "ghosts" which lived in my apparent reality. I use the word ghost, because we cannot see these issues but they hide in a corner of our hearts and hinder us from moving forward.

Let me back track for a minute, so how do you know if you’re living with a "Ghost"? Well let’s say for example someone offends you, and you say you have forgiven. If when you think of that person or whatever situation transpired, and it gets you upset then you unfortunately haven't let go. The bible says in the book of Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive others their sins, Your father will not forgive your sins"

When we hold on to these “ghosts” we unknowingly put a halt on not only our relationship with God, but allow ourselves to be held bondage in our minds. That thing or person that we let rule our minds could very well have even moved on but we for some reason chose to let that issue define us. Hence, when these old issues such as anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, and hatred that we thought we dealt with reappear, it just means that the "ghosts" never left. One thing that these Ghosts will NOT do is give you peace, so you holding on means you have CHOSEN to be in captivity. The blood of Jesus has given us the ability to walk in freedom, but why do we chose to be in slavery to "ghosts" of this world?

Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good and perfect will."

I know it’s hard, but we serve a God that is bigger than any issue. If only we would go Him in prayer and sincerely ask Him to change our hearts. The word of God says in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart of man is desperately wicked, and no one can understand it. God however created us so He knows why we act the way we do, because He is the only one that can search a man's heart. As people of God we need to do whatever it takes, especially in these times where the signs are clear that Christ is soon to come. If it takes praying every day for God to strengthen us to overcome our sinful nature, then let’s do it! I don't know about you but I’m glad I serve a God who can look beyond my nature to hold on to things that I clearly know won't prosper me. He loves us, and He is willing to help us be free as long as we are willing to come into His presence with a sincere heart.