The Desire Of My Heart

I have always strugled with knowing and fulfilling the desires of my heart. I always seem to miss the mark. In Pslam 34 verse 7 David says," Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Instead I try to fill the deep down desires of my heart with things that are not always the healthiest for me. I try food, exercise, and before I became a christian it was drugs and alcohol. Which I still entertain the thought of these things when I am feeling down and out. But today I read in John Eldridge's book The Journey of Desire that," Only as we truly delight in God is it safe to give us our desires, for then they are not likely to become idols. ANd by our delighting in God, he heals our false desires as our souls come true in the light of their maker."

A Future Hope

A book I have been reading reminded me of a saying that used to be quite popular. It says," Life is not a dress rehearsal. Live it to the fullest." But I as a Christian know this is not true because I do believe in a heaven and all that it has to offer me. The trials and tribulations as well as all the joy that I get to experience are all preparing me for what is to come. Heaven is the finale for all that I experience here. In the end all will be restored to how it should be because all we see now is just a shadow, a distorted reflection, of what is to come when Christ returns and puts all things in order as to how it should be. Knowing this gives me hope for the future on those days that aren't going so great. And on those days I am doing well this shows me that those great days I experience here today will not even compare to what I will experience in heaven.

We Are At War

Dialy we are in a fight for our life, soul and spirit. The Devil wants to destroy us. Temptation surrounds us whether we like it or not. In Paul's second letter to Timothy he writes," But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue rightiousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.( 2 Timothy 6:11-12 NIV)" So there is a way we can fight the Devil and it is by pursuing rightiousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Be Transformed

It is so easy for me to get back into some of my old behaviors from before I was a Christian. Granted I have change the places I hang out and even the people I see event's I still pray for those that I used to party with. But my mind still seems to go into those places that I no longer want to go. So the question I ask myself how so I change this. Romans 12 verse 2 tells me," Do not conform to the pattern 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, pleasing and perfect will.(NIV)" So, what this tells me is that I need God's help in transforming and renewing my way of thinking. I also have to make a daily conscious decision to have my mind renewed by God because God isn't going to force me into a new way of thinking.

Pleasing God

At bible study last night I came across a verse that really spoke volumes to me. I speak to a lot of people that wonder how they are to please God and others in their life. Paul in Romans gives a very good answer to this question. The verses are Romans 14 verses 17-19 and they say," For the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with thisattitude, you will please God. And other people will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.(NLT)"

Take Heart

In John 16:33 Jesus states," Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." And how often I forget this verse. Instead I worry, get frustrated or even get anxious about day to day happenings. I become a worry wart. Instead I should have faith in what Jesus is saying here. He has overcome the world. What are some of the things that you are worried about and how can Jesus help. Have faith for the lord is with you and he as overcome the world.

Tested Faith

In the book of James verses 2-4 he says," Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes you way,let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endureance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance if fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.(NLT)" So then, if we are to grow ans christians full of character and ready for anything we need to have our faith tested. But as James says here we should consider the testing of our faith joyful because we become better christians. On the flip side of the coin if we are not being tested in our faith we are not growing the character that God so wants us to have. Think about some of the ways that your faith has been tested lately. My biggest test is taking care of some of the havoc i wrecked before I bacame a christians and reestablishing some of the broken relationships I caused with family and friends and allowing God to do the work with me stepping out in faith that it will all be resolved.

To Believe

In Mark 9:23 jesus tels us,"Everything is possible for him who believes." So why is it that I often sell my self short by saying that I can't do something eventhough God has placed the desire in my heart. I know this verse very well in my head but the problem is that it hasn't taken affect in my heart. So I pray along with paul in Ephesians that the eyes of my heart may understand the hope by which I am called. I guess the next step is to step out in faith and not worry about the consequences but believe that I can do it through Christ who strengthens me. Now I want to encourage you to step out in faith, believe and act on those desires that God has placed in your heart.

Passion

To hunger and thirst for rightiousness is for me to have the desire for the things that God wants me to have. This desire, passion, is one of the things that gets me by from day to day. It keeps me from settling for second best and forces me to keep on going until I have what God wants for me. Is it wrong for me to desire the best that God wants for me or to have passion for His desires of my life. Granted I may sometimes get dissappointed with some of the things I have passion for in the end I still continue to desire the things that are in my heart. This hunger and thirst gives me hope for my future. So, what are the things that you desire and have passion for?

Jesus' faith in me

I recently saw a movie named Constantine and there was a conversation from this film that has been sticking with me for the last couple of weeks. THe conversation goes with Constantine saying to the lead woman, I forgot her name, saying, "Do you believe in the Devil?" And she replies," No." His answer to her is," You should; because he believes in you." This short conversation has been in the back of my mind for some time now and I have decided to switch in Jesus for the Devil and wonder how much Jesus believes in me and how much I should believe in him? The answer to this is a lot because Jesus is the one that gave me the faith to believe in him in the first place.

Faith

What is this faith that everyone talks about and how do we get it? I have read in the bible that faith comes from hearing. So, I was wondering what you have heard lately that may have increased your faith in one way or another