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Issues of the Heart

The wise man said:

            Keep and guard your heart above all else for out of it flow the issues of life.

“Issues” actually refers to the boundary between two pieces of property – literally the “limit” of the property.

The thoughts of our heart (not mind) determine the limits of our lives.  Ninety percent of the people who fail are not actually defeated – they simply quit.  They accept limits.

It is true that whatever the mind can conceive, believe, it will find a way to achieve.

When you believe that what you want to achieve is possible, your brain will actually respond by helping you to accomplish that possibility.

Adidas once ran the following ad in a magazine:

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they have been given than to explore the power they have to change it.  Impossible is not a declaration – it’s a dare.  Impossible is potential.  Impossible is temporary.  Impossible is nothing.

Empowered By Hope

As an acrostic the word “HOPE” can mean ~

                        Heavenly

                        Optimism

                        Personally

                        Experienced

Hope is a virtue which the soul needs for energy and motivation. Hope is always necessary for the restoration of a wounded spirit.

We need hope to press on, to endure, to stay focused, and to see dreams fulfilled.

Hope has been called the energy and effort of faith.  It is the power to be cheerful in circumstances that we know to be desperate.

Hope fuels life with joy, peace and love.

Two words will help you cope when you run low on hope — Accept and Trust.

Accept the mystery of hardship, suffering, misfortune or mistreatment.  Don’t try to understand it or to explain it.  Accept it.  Move on.   Then trust God to protect you by His power from this very moment to the dawning of eternity.

God has an agenda for each of us.
Jeremiah 29:11 ~ For I know the plans (agenda) I have for you, declares the Lord…to give you a future and a hope.

God’s agenda for His people is that they never lose hope.

Most of all of us are in some sort of a holding pattern, trusting God for something we have prayed for, dreamed of.   I have good news; the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, who seek him.  You should know that God has chosen us to be on His team.  The Lord chooses us because He chooses to choose us.

What are we to hope in?  Our position, our wealth, our privilege or power? No! 

We are to hope in God.

• He commands and inspires hope. 
• He justifies and expects hope. 
• He approves and rewards hope.

There are three simple steps in order for us to experience Christian hope:

1.  In Believing: Doubt interferes with hope.  As you believe God’s Word, and His promises, hope begins to fill your life.
2. Joy: When you exercise faith that the blessings of His Word are indeed yours, joy will    flood your life.
3. Peace: When you trust God with your life, all of it, peace – tranquility of mind, produces hope.

Living a Make a Difference Life

Every person ever born on this earth has the potential to make a difference.

You can only make a difference if you believe in yourself and are willing to give yourself away to others.

You must come to believe that what you have to offer others can and will make a difference in their lives.

Mother Theresa said, “I can do what you can’t do, and you can do what I can’t do.  Together we can do great things.

People who truly make a difference in life are always committed to a cause which is bigger than they are.

Daniel spent his entire adult life in Babylon as a captive.  He lived in a perverse and twisted culture.

He was part of a system that threatened to grind him down with its evil ways.

Though the great Babylonian empire was bigger than he was, it was not bigger than the God he served.

Perhaps today your world is grinding away at your belief system, your faith, your commitment and you feel as though you’re being swallowed up in its attacks.

Our enemy today is a god-less cultural attack against our thinking, our tastes, and our very identity as believers.

When Daniel and his three friends were selected to be trained in the king’s court they were given a new diet, taught a new culture, and given a new name. Little by little this world is grinding away at our Judeo-Christian heritage.

When we allow the world to determine our diet, we will lose our taste for the things of God.

Daniel 1:8 – But Daniel determined in his heart that he would not defile himself by [eating his portion of] the king’s rich and dainty food or by [drinking] the wine which he drank.

Our own contribution to history depends on our answer to this question:

Am I living for the City of God and according to its code of conduct, or am I living by the by-laws of the city of destruction?

In the midst of every attack of the enemy against us there is a greater opportunity for God to manifest His Kingdom glory in our midst.   In adversity, God is setting you up for victory and promotion.

Reference Verse:

Daniel 2:47-49                                                                                                                                        ⁴⁷The king answered Daniel, Of a truth your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a Revealer of secret mysteries, seeing that you could reveal this secret mystery!

⁴⁸Then the king made Daniel great and gave him many great gifts, and he made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁴⁹And Daniel requested of the king and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained in the gate of the king [at the king’s court].

Are You Ready for Your Kingdom Moment?

Have you ever earnestly longed for, prayed for, believed for something so fervently that every fiber of your being waited in anticipation for it to happen, and then, suddenly – it happened – and things began moving so fast you could hardly keep up?

All those long years of waiting, praying, believing and then it happens!  Your time, your day, your hour has finally arrived.

Then as the reality sets in and you are staring in the face this huge open door of opportunity, the questions flood your mind.  Am I ready for this?  Can I handle this kind of responsibility? Am I spiritually mature enough to deal with all that goes with this kind of position?

Of course, God-opportunities never come to us unless He believes we are ready.

If you wait until you think you’re “ready enough” for your “kingdom moment” you will most likely not accomplish anything great for Christ because you’ll probably never really “feel” like you are ready.

After all you are not the best judge of your “kingdom readiness” – He is.

1 Corinthians 4:3:  Paul says, “I do not judge mine own self.”

We should judge ourselves in matters of discipline, but never judge ourselves “ready” or “not ready” for a great kingdom assignment.  If you let your emotions dictate your “readiness,” you will probably never achieve anything worthwhile in life.

Most likely, you won’t feel good enough, prepared enough, or mature enough to handle a great new assignment.  But when God thinks you are ready for a tremendous new leap of faith, He will provide the grace, power and miracles to make you ready.  He will mature you and equip you for the task.

One thing is sure – You are more than you have become and you can accomplish more than you have accomplished. 

God is a master at taking insignificant lives and making them significant.  When He calls us to do something, He also equips, provides, sustains, and empowers us to do more than we think or even imagine we can do.

God is always calling us to push beyond the limits of our lives into bigger and broader dreams and adventures.  You and I stand in the midst of a “kingdom moment” that will touch and change lives the world over.

Called to Encourage!

People tend to become what we think them to be.

As believers, you and I are called to be God’s construction crew in the world around us – not the devil’s demolition derby.

I Thessalonians 5:11 (MSG) - So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.

Encouragement creates an atmosphere of hope and hope energizes our lives.

You and I are called to encouragement.

“Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” -Hebrews 10: 24

That calls for us to be very aware, to be mindful of others around us.

As believers, we are always the community of faith regardless of where we are.

When we encourage one another, we show that we are “spirit filled.”

We are to daily focus on, take the initiative to, ENCOURAGE!

The Story of Easter…

This weekend, may we be reminded of Him and what He did for us!

Matthew 27:50-53  (MSG)

⁵⁰But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.

^51-53At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What’s more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)

Matthew 28:1-10  (MSG)

Risen from the Dead

^1-4 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn’t move.

^5-6The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

⁷“Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ That’s the message.”

^8-10The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. “Good morning!” he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, “You’re holding on to me for dear life! Don’t be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I’ll meet them there.”

1 Peter 1:3-5  (MSG)

A New Life

^3-5What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

Receive Axcess Here!

If you missed our Easter weekend, here’s a recap of the message!

Webster defines Access as an admittance, admission, liberty to approach.

An “All-Access” pass will get you backstage at a concert or play.  There you have the privilege of mingling with the “stars” of the show.

Throughout our lives, we experience disappointment because we are denied “access” to things, places and people.

The greatest aspect of the Easter message is that you and I are given an “All-Access” pass into the very presence of God.

In fact, the Bible unfolds, as a three act drama, man’s access to God.

• Act I opens in The Garden where man has full, complete, 24/7 access to God.
• Act II reveals how direct access was denied because of man’s sin in The Garden.
• Act III culminates in man being given an All-Access pass to live in God’s Kingdom as a privileged citizen.

Hebrews 10:19-21 (MSG) - So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of His sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is His body.

As we surrender our lives to Jesus and become obedient to His commands, He gives us an All-Access Pass into His Kingdom rule.

          Righteousness fills our lives.
          Joy overflows from within.
          Peace reigns in our hearts.
          Hope energizes our soul.
          We are over, not under.
          We are ahead, not behind.
          We are up, not down.
          We are victorious, not defeated.
          We are strong, not weak.

Man longs for success, but God offers Access.

No Limits- Week 2 Recap!

• What is it that you want to accomplish?
• What do you want to achieve and experience?
• What thing, person, fear is hindering or stopping you from living life without limits?

You will never get what you want in life until you decide what it is you want.

Then you must expect to accomplish, achieve, and experience those desires.

Whether or not you expect great things or small things in life, you will receive what you expect.

Expectations exist in everyone about everything all the time.  They show up in our attitudes, actions, and words.

Expectations affect our personal growth, spirituality, relationships, job performance, health, etc.  It involves anticipation, hope, and trust.

Expectations affect the outcome, positively or negatively.   Your optimism or your pessimism will be rewarded.

What you believe and how strongly you believe what you believe, will affect the outcome of any task.

Romans 12:2 — …Be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God…

Ephesians 4:23 — And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude].

Expectation is absolutely essential to a “No-Limits” Life.

If I expect to hit the golf ball well, then the outcome will meet my expectation!