Break our Hearts

Lord, grant us grace to desire You with our whole heart; that in desiring we will seek You; in seeking we will find You; in finding You we may love You; and in loving You, we may hate those sins from which You have redeemed us.  May our hearts break over what breaks Yours.

Honor

Honor protects, submits, is willing to yield, and is quick to listen.  Our reaction to instruction reveals our understanding of honor.  We lack honor if we grumble and complain or just outright do not follow instructions because we think we have a "better way."

We are called to honor both God and man. Living a life of honor is God's way. Without it we are clearly in disobedience to His Word. 

"Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12

"In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered." 1 Peter 3:7

"Elders who do their work well should be honored and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching." 1 Timothy 5:17

"Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." 1 Peter 2:17

"Honor the Lord with your substance." Proverbs 3:9

"Remind people to be submissive to [their] magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be prepared and willing to do any upright and honorable work, to slander or abuse or speak evil of no one, to avoid being contentious, to be forbearing (yielding, gentle), and to show unqualified courtesy toward everybody." Titus 3:1-2

Dishonor is a seed for tragedy and loss.  When we choose a  life of dishonor, failure will be our harvest.  Marriages will fail, relationships are damaged, careers are lost, our relationship with God is hindered.  

The little foxes spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15)... It's the little things that destroy.  A practical example: A wife asks her husband to put the toilet seat down or a husband requests that his wife not allow the children to get into his toolbox. When the spouse disregards the request over and over again because they find it unimportant, their lack of honor opens the marriage up to growing resentment.  Over time, this "little fox" can be the cause of a total breakdown in the marriage. 

Dishonoring is never worth the loss it brings.  Start planting seeds of honor for a harvest of blessing from the Father! :)

"If anyone serves Me, he must continue to follow Me, to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying] and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves (honors) Me, the Father will honor him." John 12:26

Do You Love Him?

"Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."

It is an amazing concept that whatever we do to others, good or bad, we are doing to Jesus Himself.  Our love and our commitment to God is demonstrated in how we treat others! 

Are we kind  or sharp tongued? Do we take time to listen to the hurts of others or do we tune them out?  Are we willing to lay down our agenda to lend a helping hand or do we find doing for others to be an interruption to our lives?  Do we have a cheerful heart when we serve others or do we grumble and complain when we aren't recognized for our deeds?  Are we quick to give when there is a need or do we hoard what we have rather than seeing that we are blessed to be a blessing?

The Scriptures are clear that God takes account of everything - down to EVERY idle word we speak! 

Our actions mirror our hearts.  Is there enough evidence in how we treat others to convict us of being true lovers of Jesus?

(Matthew 25:31-45, Matthew 12:36, Genesis 12:1-3, 2 Cor 9:8-12, 1 Cor 13, Prov 12:25, Prov 19:17, Prov 25:11, Eph 4:32)

Reputation vs Character

Our reputation is determined by what men see.  It's the opinion of man from what is outwardly demonstrated.  Man's opinion of you is not always truth.  We all have mastered putting on a "front" and wearing a mask for the occasion.

Why spend our whole lives maintaining a reputation that is a false facade of who we really are? It is amazing what we as humans are capable of doing in order to be accepted or in order to get "ahead."  As Christians we are called to a different way of living. 

God is concerned with our character. Our character is what we are when no one else is looking. It's the hidden man of the heart.  I like this definition of Godly character:

"The ability to discern God's right way from the wrong, and to voluntarily surrender one's will to do what is right in God's sight and, with the promised supernatural help, to resist the wrong even under pressure and temptation." 

In order to be a people of character - we must: Guard our hearts at all cost, be wise in who is allowed into our inner circle, and be careful in the voices we allow to speak into our lives.  We must keep a heavenly mindset so that our focus does not shift from the things of the Spirit to merely keeping up with the "Jones'."  

Lord, maintaining an image for others is vanity and pointless. Help us to always remember that it is YOU that we will stand and give account to.  We want to be a people who demonstrate to the world who You intended Your followers to be.  May You be well pleased with our representation of You and Your ways.

(Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 13:20, 1 Cor. 15:33, Romans 12:2, Philippians 3:2, 1 Timothy 6:10, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, Galatians 5:16, Ephesians 5:8, Ephesians 5:15-16, 1 John 2:6)

Beauty

We take notice of the beauty of a butterfly, yet we forget the process of change it had to go through to achieve that beauty...

May you come out of your “cocoon” beautiful and ready to face the world with all that God has for you!  Remember, it's in the dark times our true character is tested and formed…  Allow what you are going through to be your catapult! :)

In Your Assignment

Jesus yells to the disciples, "Have you caught any fish?"  "No," they answered. "Throw your net on the other side of the boat!"

What advice could a Carpenter possibly offer to professional fishermen on how and where to fish?  And yet the Bible says they didn't have enough room in their net for the abundant catch!

We may feel we are masters in areas of our life, but only THE Master knows all. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  Let Him direct your steps.  They will always lead you in the direction of your assignment.  He will fill the nets of those who obey and trust Him at His Word.

"PROVISION IS CONFIRMATION YOU ARE IN THE PLACE OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT." ~ Mike Murdock

(John 21:1-9, Isaiah 55:8-9)

Work in Progress

We are a work in progress.  The "cracks" in the sidewalk of our life can become a fertile place of growth if we turn our perspective around. The person we are, the circumstances we face, are all part of our journey.  It's human nature to get frustrated when our life appears to be producing more weeds than flowers.  We need to rejoice in the growth rather than get discouraged that we are not yet in full bloom.  :)

Father, You are the Master Gardener.  We give You ourselves. We submit to the pruning process so that we can bear the fruit that You desire to see in our lives... Amen.