Some of us are afraid to give our hearts to God, or at least our “whole heart.” We have this silly notion that our heart has compartments or pieces like a jig saw puzzle. Then we think “if I give my whole heart to God, what will I have left for my family?” or worse yet, “If I give my love away, and don’t get any back, then those compartments will be empty, and I’ll run out of love!” We picture our hearts like a puzzle with missing pieces, just giving parts of it here and there and never getting them back. Or perhaps we have had our hearts broken and feel like it has been shattered, and the broken shards are scattered to the wind. God showed me a wonderful picture today of my heart and the truth about my heart!
God said, “Give me your whole heart, and I will tear down all walls and dividers. No longer will your heart have compartments, it will be one big open vessel. Then I will pour in My Love! I will fill the vessel with MY LOVE. Then when you start loving others, not expecting anything in return, it stops being a vessel and becomes a SPRING! A spring that never runs dry! Then your love for others will be from this source and it will be more pure and strong than what you have now!”
If your heart has been broken, HE can put it back together, or even better, create a brand new heart for you. Accept HIS LOVE and HE will make your heart a Spring of Living Water. Why does God want our hearts? God said in Romans 2 “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” and in 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, and his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” When we accept God’s love and give it to others, we show the goodness of God! When we give Him our whole heart, holding nothing back, we accept more readily everything He has for us. He blesses our socks off, and then we can bless others! When we can love, whether they ever love us back, it shows God’s goodness! Give God your heart! HE LOVES YOU! He wants nothing less, is not satisfied with only part of us, He wants all of your heart.
Category Archives: Thoughts
End Days?
This was originally written for a family member several years ago that asked this question: What is your opinion of the days we are living in? And can you give me some scriptures. My Answer was: “I don’t just want to give you a bunch of scriptures to read that you may or may not understand. God says that unless you are from His Kingdom, you can’t understand His word. His Kingdom is His family, His Children. Everyone is not part of His family. Only those who have asked Jesus to come into their hearts and to be their Lord are His Children, He loves EVERYONE! But they are not all His. Believing in God isn’t enough to enter the Kingdom. The bible says that demons believe and tremble, but they are not His (and defiantly not part of His kingdom). So first I must ask if you have asked Jesus to be your Lord. You don’t have to do anything to earn it, just tell Him you need Him, that you are sorry for the wrong that you have done, against Him and others, and then simply ask Him for His love and forgiveness.
Now to answer the question, I do believe there isn’t too much time left on this earth. The Bible says that even Jesus doesn’t know the exact hour, but I believe we can know the “season”. By looking at everything that is going on in the world, I would have to say that we are in the season for Christ’s return. He will be coming back for His Family and we need to be ready. If it ends up being hundreds of days or hundreds of years, we live like He is coming NOW. There are literally hundreds of scriptures that talk about His return, the last days, and what will be happening in the end. I have chosen a few for you to read. Please look them up in the Bible and read the whole chapters. Some Bible’s have cross-references and they tell you where to look for the same subject. Some scriptures that talk about what will be going on in the world are: I Timothy 3:1, II Peter 3:3, Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah 58:10, and 60:2, Joel 2:31-32, Mica 7:8 Hebrews 1:2. It would benefit you to read the whole chapter of Matthew 24. My favorite “end times” verse is Revelation 3:10-12 “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” Then to give you even more hope and security read all of Psalms 23 and Psalms 91! God will take care of those that are His! He loves us more than we love our own children! and more than our parents love us. I hope this was helpful. Just remember one thing, the world may be bad and scary, but God is GOOD!”
Lessons from the Life of David
I love reading the Psalms. Many of which were written by David. His is a “Man after God’s own heart” according to God himself-mine too. David is real in his worship to the Lord. He isn’t perfect and tells us all about his faults, fears and sin. After committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband (along with several other soldiers) murdered, he writes Psalms 51, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love: according to your great compassion blot out my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” He remembers his days as a simple shepherd boy in Ps. 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, He makes me to lie down in green pastured; He leads me beside quiet waters.” David lets us know when things got tough for him, Ps. 69, “Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying, my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God,” and then David always hopes, expects and declares God’s salvation, “O God, in thy greatness of thy loving-kindness answer with thy saving truth.”
David may have begun his life as a simple seventh son of a shepherd, but his heart of thanksgiving, his desire to see God, his determination to magnify the Lore, were all things that God could use. Was David perfect? Obviously no, ask his multiple wives, his concubines, his children…but God used David mightily. He wrote songs and praises to his God. He conquered the enemies of God as a mighty warrior, and he ruled as King over God’s people for 40 years.
Another lesson to learn from David, he didn’t work his way to the top. He humbly watched his father’s sheep and when asked came and sat at the feet of Saul, who was tormented by evil spirits, to play his harp and bring relief to his king. Before he fought his first real battle, if you disregard the lion, bear and the Giant, Goliath, God anointed the simple shepherd boy with the heart of worship as King. Even after Samuel anointed David, he was content to wait for God to place him on the throne. He steadfastly refused to harm Saul in any way, contrary to the advice of his own men. He repeatedly said, “Touch not God’s anointed” and even killed the messenger who came to proclaim the death of Saul and take credit for his undoing.
We are all human, including the great men and women of faith that we find in Scriptures. They feared, sinned, got weary and sad. They lost heart, friends, family and some even their lives. But like David, they loved God, and were willing to be used by him. So to me, the most important lesson to be learned from David is to keep your passion for the Lord white hot, fan the flames of love that is in your heart by praising Him, even when things aren’t going as planned or as hoped for. Wouldn’t you want to hear the Lord say, “That’s a man after my own heart” about you?
God Cares About the Little Things
Originally written July 2010
God is so “involved” in my life. He proves it again and again. Yesterday I was looking for the lyrics to some songs I had written years ago, and instead found a prophecy for myself and one for my daughter from 1995. I typed them into my new computer and printed off copies for us both. Mine talked about pretty much everything I’ve gone through physically, since that day and God’s promise to deliver me from it all! At Church, the next week, Apostle Bill preached about prophecy. One thing he said was, “We fight our warfare by the prophecies that have gone out before us!” No coincidence there! If I had not put the 1995 prophecy away, (I had kept it somewhere obvious for a long time, but eventually it got stuck away in a notebook) had I studied it and pondered it in my heart, I never would have lost hope a few months ago, the way that I did. God gives us what we need! He truly does! We just have to be faithful! I have several old prophecies on tape and some more recent ones on CD. I’m gonna hunt them all down and type them up, and “rehearse them” until they are stuck in my heart! Yesterday morning I woke up with heart racing and stomach sick, I did not have the strength to fight, I went through the motions of rebuking and confessing, but my heart was not in it. I drifted back to sleep and when I woke up I remembered a message from a few weeks ago about prophesying over myself. I got out of bed, came downstairs and started praying in tongues, next I started shouting, (yes the first 30 seconds felt stupid, and I was thankful that my window were shut), but then something just welled up in me! I did business with my flesh! I did business with the devil, and I loved on God! I did some groaning and weeping in the Holy Spirit and when all was said and done, I had peace like a blanket over me. Then last night at Church when asked “who wants to prophecy” I couldn’t sit still! I had just experienced it, that day in such a great way in my own life! I did not have some great word, for the man I spoke over, but I was obedient! Man did that feel good! What has God been speaking over you? What did he promise in the past? Maybe you’ve never had a personal prophecy over yourself…well open your Bible, find some promises of God, and DECLARE them over your life! What do you want changed in your life? Rom 4:17-18 NKJV “in the presence of Him whom he believed — God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;” We need to call into existence what we need! Don’t speak about your debt, call forth finances! God said, “wealth and riches are in my house!” Don’t complain about your physical symptoms! Call forth Divine Health! God says, “By the stripes of Jesus’ back I have been healed!” Call forth what IS NOT, as though IT IS! Let’s be honest, we don’t have that much more time left on this earth, we need everything God has for us to be a light unto a dying world, to walk in the abundance God wants for us so that we can help the needy, and to stand and having done all to STAND THEREFORE! I’m still learning, thank God! Every day He brings me up higher and higher! Won’t you allow Him to do the same for you?
Yes, No, Wait
God answers prayer. Always. But not always the way we want or in the time we want. When we ask God and He gives a “YES” we get real excited! When we get a “NO” it is a little harder to hear, but we know we can change our plans and count on His Faithfulness to carry us through. (As long as we trust His answer and don’t run to ten people to get their advice, really looking for a pretend “yes” from our fellow human beings). Now on the other hand, none of us like hearing “WAIT” or in my case, silence, no “yes”, no “no”, just silence. After several mistakes I have learned that silence in these situations for me, usually means “wait”. I have lost patience, jumped the gun, and even gave up on getting an answer. I have begged for the yes, then even begged for a no, only to seemingly, not get an answer, or to be told to “wait.” Waiting wasn’t easy for me most of the time, and I still struggle now and again. But God gave us free will, and he allowed me to go my own way. It doesn’t take long to figure out when you are not in his perfect will! That is called the school of hard knocks, or a “wandering in the desert experience”. Ever had one of those? Sometimes God says “yes” but we never totally trust Him. Like those other ones who wandered for forty years in their desert experience. Sometimes we ask God the wrong questions, we ask for the plan of our whole lives, and He just wants to give us our next step. Ask Him a question that can be answered by a “yes”, “no”, or “wait”. Now, due to the fact that I have been told to “wait” several times, I do it much better. I am more confident in God. He knows what’s best for me. I’ve screwed it up enough on my own to know that His way is always better, no matter how hard it may seem, or how long it takes to see the fruit.
Jesus My Everything
Jesus, I thank you for your shed blood.
When I needed redemption, you were the Sacrifice in my place.
Jesus, I thank you for your love.
When I was unloved and lonely, you were the Lover of my soul.
You were the bridegroom and your Father chose me as your bride.
Jesus, I thank you for your strength.
When I was weak and weary, you were the Mighty Warrior King,
Captain of the host of heaven, and you rescued me.
Jesus, I thank you for your Word.
When I was lost and living in darkness, you were the Light that brightened my day and enlightened my future.
Jesus, I thank you for your peace.
When I was tossed on every wave, you stilled the storm and calmed my heart.
Jesus, I thank you for your forgiveness.
When I stumbled and fell, you picked me up, and were a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
Jesus, I thank you for your gentleness.
When I came to you broken and bent, you were the Master Potter who remade me into a vessel of honor.
Jayde, from “Mr. Topper’s Fabulous Funtown” (a work in progress)
Jayde loved her training at the Academy, even the book learning. She knew how to read and write, figure her sums, and how to fill out all of the forms that go along with being an officer of the law. But her favorite part of the day was when they got to tag along with the Elite Squad, the full fledged, ticket writing, crowd controlling, and crime stopping police. True, there wasn’t a lot of crime taking place in Funtown, which she attributed to the fine job of the Elite Squad, but there were always tickets to write, missing children to locate, gates to guard and famous people to escort. Sometimes, rarely, they got to chase! Once they had to chase a runaway clockwork dog from the “Sprocket’s Stupendous Mechanical Menagerie”. It had shot out of the practice wring and onto the boardwalk before Sprocket could get his hands on it. Jayde and her Sr. Officer took off after it, arms pumping and skates click clacking on the wooden slats. It was the most fun she had ever had. Of course the poor thing wound down before they got very far, but she had gone full speed, in town, dodging people, jumping over waste baskets and blowing her whistle with what little air she had to spare.