Good morning!
 
So I am pondering the heart, specifically my heart today. Actually, I have been pondering my heart often over the years since Jesus Christ called me.
 
Where is your heart today? We know ultimately, we will be judged by what is in our hearts. There is so much in scripture around our hearts (over 800 references).
 
Here is just a little bit of the scripture around the heart:

• Matthew 5:7-9, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
• Matthew 6:19-23, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
• Matthew 12:34, “You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
• Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

 
Reading these verse, leaves me asking myself where is my heart at? Often, sitting in reflection, more often than not after some interaction where I am questioning my side of the interaction, the focus is on what is going on in my heart. Do you ever look inside and ask that question.
 
Are there specific circumstances that cause you to pause and take inventory of your heart? I believe I need to do this more frequently than I do – maybe this should be a daily assessment looking to God to speak to me about the state of my heart...
 
For me, it seems that when my heart is in the right place, centered in the love of Christ, there is more peace, more productivity and more positive interactions, even in the most difficult of situations.
 
These scripture versus speak directly to this idea –

• Seeing God, our Creator, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, becomes possible with a pure heart. (A pure heart might be defined like this - Philippians 4:8 - 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.)
• Our hearts are seen in what we value, hold close and treasure. It is so worth stepping back and reflecting on what things or people mean the most to us. We might find we hold something or someone in this life in a higher position than Jesus Christ our Lord.
• When our hearts are right in Christ, “abundance” comes from our mouth – abundance of appreciation, abundance of support for others, abundance of wisdom through the Holy Spirit, abundance of love as shown to us through Christ…and…if we are conscious and intentional (vigilant) in keeping our hearts focused on and in Christ.
• Proverbs says that the springs of life will flow from our heart…springs – I am not sure about the word springs but would suggest two meanings are worth consideration – spring as in the time of year – time for new birth, new growth, new relationships, new gifts, new generosity, new love or… springs of water – as Christ promised the eternal water of life, again the abundance of growth, gifts and generous acts..

 
Our hearts then it seems are part of or the source of Christ’s life in our lives, the light that others might see. Harkening back to my days at Feed My Starving Children, the light of hearts is that of hearts focused in Christ to feed His children - and was seen clearly every day in the work each and every employee did (does) – from their hearts!
 
Where is heart today? Is your heart emanating Christ’s Light?
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer is that we each go into this weekend taking time to ask God to recharge, refill and ready our hearts for His work, in whatever work or activities that we do – so from abundant hearts God has given us through You, Jesus, that we are shining Your light glorifying God to those around us. Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning,

I am teaching a class on worldview at church for a group of young adults. One of the sections we are covering is on four relationships - upward (with God), inward (with self), outward (with others) and downward (with creation).

These relationships were "right" when God created us (Gen 1:31 - And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.)

When we sinned and fell (see Gen 3). All of these relationships were broken. 

When Jesus Christ went to the Cross for us and was resurrected from the dead he opened the door to redemption. Jesus now redeems those who answer His call, receive Him, now believe, repent and proclaim His Lordship. 

This perfect sacrifice by Lord Jesus started the process of restoration of these relationships. The most important relationship being our upward relationship with God.

I was pondering redemption of the upward relationship this morning. God put the following passage on my heart:

Matthew 27:50-54 - 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son[i] of God!”

Why is this important? Originally, before mankind broke it's relationship with the Creator, we were able to walk with Him, be in His presence. After mankind's fall, that upward relationship was damaged and for most of mankind, except for a few exceptions we see in the Old Testament, we needed an intercessor to go to God on our behalf, to seek forgiveness of our sins.

The curtain referenced above represented the barrier in the Temple that prevented normal people access to the "Most Holy Place" - where God would receive sacrifices from the High Priest (intercessor for the people). 

This curtain was actually a very thick barrier (Josephus, a secular Jewish historian, tells us that the veil was four inches thick and that horses tied to each side could not pull the veil apart.). 

So the significance of this curtain being ripped top to bottom is that it represents the initiation of both the redemptive work of Jesus Christ but also that Jesus initiated the restoration process (Rev 21:5 -And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”).

We now have direct access to God through Jesus Christ - the "Most Holy Place" is no longer off limits for you and I because Jesus is renewing our relationship with God. 

So our most important relationship is our relationship with God. Without that relationship being right (and it is made right by Jesus Christ) no other relationship can be made right.

So even though this passage in Matthew is about the death on the Cross of our Savior, it is the beginning of the Good News for us and all who get a chance to hear and respond to it. 

As we move through these days leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, let us treasure the work of our Lord Jesus by leaning in to live out the redeeming and restorative work of a renewed relationship with our God.

Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that we seek the fruit of Your work, Lord Jesus in our having access to a redeemed relationship with God! Amen!

Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!
 
Have you ever spent time trying to understand how the Holy Spirit is moving in your life? These are some of my thoughts in this area. Last night during prayer I had the following come to mind:
 
Our Lord Jesus not only made himself low to serve us, He also made Himself low to suffer for us – and – He made Himself low knowing we would abuse Him – ultimately sending Him to the Cross.
 
I get goose bumps in awe of how completely Jesus gave of Himself for our benefit…our ultimate salvation.
 
Because of deep gratitude (fruit of the Holy Spirit) for the work of my Savior, Jesus Christ, I am driven to live my life different than the world would have me live it…so even now with all that is going on…I press forward leaning into / on Jesus Christ…do I always live my life differently, no, but a spark that has turned into an ember, and maybe now a flame is present – hopefully someday, I will be a light, a bright light to this world…rightly reflecting all Jesus Christ is and did for us
 
Holy week, Holy Thursday, Good Friday are a few weeks away and will be here before we know it…and Resurrection Day, the day victory was won by God when His Son was resurrected from the grave. Our lives have been purchased with His blood.
 
That should be something that creates a spark in you…for that becomes the reason to strain forward as Paul shares in this Philippians passage:
 
Philippians 3:12-14 – “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers (and sisters), I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
 
As Resurrection Day approaches, a quickening grasps hold of my heart…a growing desire to know, really know my Savior, my Lord, Jesus Christ…
 
How about you?
 
After I finished writing this, these words from a Jeremy Camp song came my way – about lifting up God’s faithfulness (you can see video here). They remind me of why I want to know my Lord:
Whatever I face
Whatever the fear
whatever the cost
You always draw near
 
Whatever the pain
Whatever may come
Whatever may fall
Your love overcomes
 
I will call
I will call upon you
Whatever I face you are with me
I will fall I will fall on my knees
For every heartbreak you will hold me
 
Every wall will break
All the darkness shake
All the joy will be renewed
 
So every knee let’s bow
And raise a victory shout
For the king will make things new
 
Every mountain moved
Every lie be loosed
For your banner we’re lifting high
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that each of us continues to find peace in You, Lord Jesus Christ. And as Resurrection Day comes near this year, that we look with anticipation and quickening desire to deeply know the one who’s blood gives us that peace, You, our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning,

How rich are you? Do you think about richness in terms of money? In terms of blessings here on earth? Material things? The following scripture references point to richness that comes through Jesus Christ.

• Ephesians 2:6-7 “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

• Ephesians 2:4-5, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.”

• Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

• Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

• Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

  
I know Kathy and I express gratitude to God for His blessings here on earth. Our children and grandchildren, a roof over our heads, health and healthcare, transportation, meaningful opportunities to contribute in retirement, service opportunities that allow us to serve God, loving communities that we belong to and more…

I know Kathy and I sometimes struggle when we experience painful situations, difficulties and loss. Maybe we should acknowledge God as the source of all of this…what we call “good” and “bad”. It is all shaping who we are in Christ. Praise Him in good circumstances – and in bad? 
 
Yes! Count our riches, not as the world counts riches…but as God counts riches.
 
All that we have here, experience here, if we remain centered on Christ in our lives, in how we live with each other, this really leads to true richness in heaven when we meet our Creator. We even experience part of that richness here on earth when we receive God’s mercy and grace in giving our lives to Christ, through rebirth.
 
So what are some of God’s riches provided to us? These riches we receive now and/or in eternity include:
 

• God raised us up with Christ – our salvation
• Gave us riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Jesus Christ
• God – who greatly loves us, is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ
• Provided forgiveness of sin – us dead in transgressions --by grace we have been saved
• God blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ
• Peace with God – a personal relationship
• God will meet all our needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus

 
These verses shared today just struck a note in thinking about how the world can twist the idea of what being rich means. We - each of us in Christ - we are rich – now – and eternally – in the riches only God can provide – the only riches that matter.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we enter this weekend is that we live according to your words in Matthew 6:19-20 - 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Amen!

​Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick