Heart Store

Heart Store
Revelation 3: ¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
 
“This is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the origin of all that God has created. ¹⁵ I know what you have done; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth! ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich and well off; I have all I need.’ But you do not know how miserable and pitiful you are! You are poor, naked, and blind. ¹⁸ I advise you, then, to buy gold from me, pure gold, in order to be rich. Buy also white clothing to dress yourself and cover up your shameful nakedness. Buy also some ointment to put on your eyes, so that you may see. ¹⁹ I rebuke and punish all whom I love. Be in earnest, then, and turn from your sins. ²⁰ Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me. ²¹ To those who win the victory I will give the right to sit beside me on my throne, just as I have been victorious and now sit by my Father on his throne.
 
²² “If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!”

 

============

 

Looking at the weather, I decided to miss going to the group. It was raining that day. The next time to meet it was too nice to be sitting around with a group so I missed it to continue to enjoy the nice weather. “Do you want to come over and watch the game?” was the statement that easily took me away from going to the group the next time.

 

• I was not vested in the group.
• I was not for the group or against the group.
• I figured the group would be alright because there were a lot of people, so they would not miss me.

 

John, the disciple JESUS loved, quoted JESUS when writing about Laodicea. This stern warning was about lukewarmness. At one point Laodicea was on fire. But along the way, they became proud of their size, programs and human success. JESUS rebuked their human wealth and told them to exchange it for HIS wealth.

 

My Observations:

• GOD sees my heart and wants it to be rich with HIS love.
• GOD wants to come into my heart so I cannot have it filled with the lust of the world.
• What is valuable to GOD should be valuable to me.

 

I may get what I want but not want what I get. I mean, GOD seems gracious enough to me to allow me to get things I want that are not good for me. This strange love can be costly to me. If I choose to brag and boast about what “I” have accomplished and label it as GOD, HE could be upset at what seems to be “success.”

 

GOD wants me to check to see if I have fallen each day. HE corrects me when I stay and humbles me when I boast. GOD is willing to heal me when I ask HIM into my heart.

 

Challenge

• Why does JESUS seem to focus on money?
• Have you tried to measure GOD’s success by human wealth standards?
• Will you allow GOD into your heart so HE can correct any wrong and guide you to win the victory?

Honor and Thanks

 Honor and Thanks

Romans 1: 19 God punishes them, because what can be known about God is plain to them, for God himself made it plain. 20 Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! 21 They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness. 22 They say they are wise, but they are fools; 23 instead of worshiping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortals or birds or animals or reptiles.

============

When my peer was made my boss I really could not believe it. To me, he was slippery, sneaky and conniving. I refused to recognize him as the leader of the department. I would attend the meetings, but my mind was not present because I was trying to think of a way out.

• There have been leaders I refused to follow,
• There have been leaders I did not respect or believe in.
• There have been leaders I wanted to leave even though the person was clearly in charge.

Paul continues writing his letter. He states that evil people try to prevent the truth, JESUS, from being known. He implies that steering people away from the truth brings on GOD’s punishment, for GOD showed HIS eternal power and divine nature which can be seen in the things HE made.

Instead of giving GOD credit for what HE has created, the wise fools worship things that can be bought.

• GOD wants me to give HIM honor by recognizing what HE has done and is doing in my life.
• GOD wants me to thank HIM more and more for what HE provides each day.
• GOD wants me to speak the truth, namely JESUS is the creator and Savior of the world.

Admiring GOD brings honor to HIM. I mean, HE created everything and loved me enough to die for me. When I honor HIM I can recognize what HE is doing in my life, even when things seem to be going wrong. HE pours out HIS grace on me daily. I am thankful for all GOD has done and is doing.

• Are you ignoring GOD and worshipping humans?
• Do you disrespect JESUS by not recognizing HIM as GOD?
• Will you turn your thoughts to GOD and give HIM honor and thanks today?

Philosophically Speaking

Philosophically Speaking

Acts 17: ¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” ²¹ (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

============

Having bought into the philosophy, I immersed myself deeply. I spoke day and night about the views and opinions that mattered most for the group. I found myself leaving my family to bow down to the group’s symbols. Work had become my god and prominent figures had become my idols.

• It was easy for me to fall into a philosophical hole.
• It was easy for me to follow a group that seemed to reward me.
• It was easy for me to become something that satisfied my need for pleasure, affirmation and assurance.

Paul faced a difficult group of philosophers in Athens. They followed prominent figures like Epicurus or aligned with stoic beliefs. Fighting against hedonistic, mental rating, knowledge seeking people would be a challenge. They laughed at Paul because he spoke about JESUS saying he was a babbler. But Paul spoke anyway.

• GOD wants me to speak about HIS SON anyway.
• GOD wants me to follow HIS way as the only philosophy.
• GOD wants me to value HIS word as the thing I need to worship.

So many human philosophies come and go. BUT GOD remains the same. HE wants me to value HIS love for humanity by telling people JESUS died for my sins and is now alive. I can place my trust in HIM to provide and protect. I am grateful for JESUS, in whom I place my trust.

• Are you fighting for a certain philosophy that comes from humans?
• Do you doubt certain aspects you hear about GOD?
• Will you seek GOD and learn about HIM so you will have an everlasting purpose?

Hidden Messages

Matthew 11: ²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

============

“You are so smart” was the compliment I loved to hear. This meant “I” was special. I worked hard to hear those words again and again. Finally, I reached a point where I was with the top people in my class. “Why are you hanging out with ‘those’ people?” they questioned me. “What people?” I replied. “The ones who will not get into college.” Hmm, is this the right crowd for me?

• There were some very smart people I admired.
• There were some very clever people I followed.
• There were some very intellectual people I tried to emulate only to find it was yet another class trying to exclude.

“Those people” meant it was them against “us.” It felt kind of good for a minute; I mean being hated by the troglodytes who slumped through the hallways. Unfortunately for me, GOD was hiding HIS message from me.

• GOD wanted me to see “People” not “Those people.”
• GOD wanted me to know “The smarter I got, the dumber I got spiritually.”
• GOD wanted me to understand that HIS power is infinite, confusing to humans and shown only to those HE chooses.

It took a while for me to stop worshipping the next genius that came along and start focusing on GOD’s power. Instead of trying to emulate them, I was bound to follow the examples of JESUS. The stuff that HE had me doing did not make sense. Soon I had gone to countries around the world, spreading HIS message of salvation.

While this did not make sense to the intellectual community, it made sense to GOD and that is what matters most!

• Are you trying to be noticed by your intellectual prowess?
• Have you lowered GOD into a thing “those” ignorant people worship?
• Can you open your eyes to GOD’s infinite power to create and sustain human life?
• Will you seek the hidden messages from GOD today?