Good morning!

I am currently walking through a health struggle - spine related damage leading to serious pain that is hard to treat. As I find myself praying about this, I am finding peace in Jesus Christ, who is directing my thoughts to deepening my relationship with Him.

Part of this process is assessing my heart. Being in pain, not being able to do much else, actually provides lots of time, time that God is using to direct me in reflections on my faith.

When I think about my faith, those thoughts then often turn to assessing the state of my heart. The Bible has tons to say about our hearts – good and bad.

Do you ever stop and ask yourself what is happening in your heart?
 
Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
 
2 Corinthians 9:6-9
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
 
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”
 
Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
 
I would consider these two verses, when read, really being a challenge for me to consider where my heart is at. What is the state of my faith? What is the state of my relationship with God and my Savior? Do I surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to move in my heart? What is the state of my heart when it comes to others? To those I disagree with or to those who might even desire harm to me for what I believe?
 
I know everyone points to the news of late – the unrest, the division, the wild fires, the mass shootings, and assassination. I think that this redirection of our thoughts over these tragedies can be a good thing.

In these events, not that God caused them, He does give us an opportunity to respond. As His creation, we respond from the heart.
 
How and where is your heart at today?

It is critical that we understand where our heart is at, that we look in the mirror and assess out heart posture. Before we do anything else, we need to do this self assessment, seeing how we align with God's will.

If we are misaligned, before we take any action or respond to circumstances in the world, we need to turn to God, His Word and realign ourselves and our hearts to properly respond so that the Light of Jesus Christ is fruit of our response.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that we open our hearts fully to God’s Word, to His call for full surrender to You, Jesus Christ of our lives and that we cheerfully say yes to Him, letting the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts, words and actions. Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

GOOD MORNING!

HAVING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST PLACES US IN RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.

I THINK IT APPLIES TODAY.  I AM GREATLY GRIEVED BY THE EVENTS OF THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS AND MOURN - THE DEATH OF CHILDREN IN AN EVIL ACT AND THE DEATH - ANOTHER EVIL ACT - OF A PEACEFUL, FAITHFUL FOLLOWER OF JESUS, CHARLIE KIRK, WHO I BELIEVE USED HIS VOICE WELL TO SHARE HIS FAITH IN LOVE AND TRUTH, IN A WAY WE WHO ARE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS SHOULD LOOK TO AS AN EXAMPLE.

PONDERING MY WALK WITH GOD AS A CHRIST FOLLOWER IN THIS DAY AND AGE I WAS REMINDED OF THIS WHICH CAME TO ME IN PRAYER A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO…

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN SERVICE TO OTHERS
(PHILIPPIANS 2:3-7)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN PROCLAIMING JESUS CHRIST
(ROMANS 10:8-10)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN SHARING THE GOOD NEWS
(ACTS 1:8, MARK 16:15-16, MATTHEW 28::18-19)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN SUBMITTING MY LIFE TO KING JESUS
(LUKE 9:23-24, MATTHEW 16:24-25)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS
(1 JOHN 1:9, MATTHEW 5:23-24)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN OFFERING FORGIVENESS
(JOHN 20:23, MATTHEW 6:14-15)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN BOLDLY SHARING TRUTH AND LOVE WITH NEIGHBORS AND ENEMIES ALIKE
(LUKE 10:26-28, MATTHEW 5:43-44, LUKE 6:27-28,  1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN PRAYER TO MY GOD AND SAVIOR
(1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18, JAMES 5:16, LUKE 18:1)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN EXPRESSING MY HEARTS LOVE FOR GOD
(MATTHEW 22:37)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD…
EXCEPT IN PRAISING AND GLORIFYING GOD IN WORSHIP
(PSALM 150:1-3, ROMANS 15:5-7, 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20, AND MANY MORE)

I AM NOT A VOICE TO BE HEARD...
EXCEPT IN ....<fill in the blank> 

IN WHAT WAYS WOULD YOU HAVE GOD'S WORD SHAPE YOUR  VOICE AND ACTIONS IN THE WORLD?

READ THE REFERENCED SCRIPTURE OR DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.

THE HOLY SPIRIT OFTEN CONVICTS ME THAT I CAN BE AT TIMES A NOISY GONG AND CLANGING CYMBAL (1 CORINTHIANS 13:1).

AS I LOOK INTO THE WORLD THESE DAYS IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MANY HAVE GIVEN INTO THE TEMPTATION OF RAISING THEIR VOICES TO BE HEARD ABOVE ALL OTHERS, EVEN THAT OF GOD’S VOICE, HIS WORD.

LORD JESUS, MY PRAYER FOR EACH OF US AS WE ENTER THIS WEEKEND IS THAT WE FIND WAYS TO BE QUIET AND TRUE TO YOU, LORD JESUS, IN OUR WALK WITH YOU, EXCEPT AS YOU CALL US OTHERWISE! AMEN! 
​
HAVE A WEEKEND FILLED WITH THE PEACE THAT COMES FROM KNOWING OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, 
 
PATRICK
​

Good morning!

Do you have a life list? I had a chance to uncover a list I made in August 2019 and it spurred me on to think further about the idea of what are my core values. 
 
Here is the list I made back in August 2019 - I actually did this on my wife’s birthday that year. How does this apply to my daily life and maybe to yours?…
 
My Life List:

1. Time spent with Jesus –
   1. every morning;
   2. every evening;
   3. everyday
2. Best effort in everything I do - not perfection
3. Be a Philippians 2:1-8 person – live in service to others:
   1. Wife / family
   2. Neighbors
   3. Friends
   4. Strangers
   5. Enemies – or those very different from me
4. Turn to Christ in all circumstances
5. By generous – God has provided all I have – hold it with open hands – both time, talent and money
6. Walk in Christ in all interactions with others…

 
I think a life list, if properly captured can be an outpouring of how I might effectively live out my core values.

​I believe this quote by John Maxwell gets to how core values apply to daily living - “Your core values are the deeply held beliefs that authentically describe your soul.” – this applies to individuals as well as organizations…and I think this speaks to understanding how we live in Christ.

When I think about core values, I believe they come from God - He, through His word, help us understand who and what we should value. I read a daily devotional email from someone I admire and he has done an amazing job documenting his core values, giving himself guide posts to live by.

As i think about my life list above, although I think it is a good start, I feel the need to revisit my core values and then take time to re-assess my life list to make sure it supports living out my core values.

I sense/hear Jesus Christ calling out to me to pause and take the time to walk through this exercise as a way to draw near to Him in my daily walk with Him (see James 4:8, Hebrews 4:16; 7:19, 25; 10:1, 22, 25; 11:16). The word “anchor” comes to mind – Jesus Christ is our anchor. He has provided us the way to connect ourselves to Him as our anchor, through Him, now, if believers, as children of God, the veil has been torn open (Matthew 27:51). When we accept the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ offered to us, we are casting off the chains of the anchor of the world – and in our acceptance of the gift, in the surrender of our lives to Christ, we are chaining ourselves to the One sure anchor in life.
 
Knowing our core values as anchored (Hebrews 6:19) in our faith in Jesus Christ is like building our house on the rock and not the sand (Matthew 7:23-25).

​I am glad that the Holy Spirit resurfaced the life list I had produced several years ago moving it back to the forefront for me. I pray that I keep this piece of meditating in Him out front. I look forward to spending time in God's Word in order to let God set the core values that drive my life list. And that this represents and authentically describes my heart and soul in Jesus Christ.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that each of us finds a way in the coming days, weeks, months and years, to keep You, Lord Jesus centered in our lives, that we see the framework God has provided for us to live in You, for His glory! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

What is your understanding of your relationship with Christ – from the standpoint of understanding the depth of what has been done for you, for us?
 
I am sharing this today because of how rich and frequent the assurances and promises provided by God are - and when we see that, it impacts our understanding of what He has done on our behalf.

None of this is possible through our own self-reliance. And this just scratches the surface of His love for us, shown through His Son, Jesus Christ.
 
Do you ever ponder, in moments of reflection, the depth of God’s love? Do you ever think about what it really meant for Jesus Christ to take the walk to the Cross? Is it possible to understand how much God wants us to come home to Him? Read these verses below – what do you hear God sharing with you? After each set of verses I give a thought or two…
 
1 Timothy 1:14-15 “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
 
Here Paul is sharing how rich the gift he received acknowledging that this is a gift he did not deserve. Paul considered himself the worst when it came to being a sinner. He is clear though that God’s grace, through love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the reason we have salvation – Jesus came to save sinners – and I am one of those sinners He came to save…wow!
 
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
 
Again, we get God’s confirmation of the reason Jesus was sent – to save the world through Him. But not only that we hear the depth of His love – He so loved the world, He gave his only son. Amen. And the love continues – if we believe – we do not die, we live. In eternity. With Him – all of Him – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
 
Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
 
Jesus Christ came not to be King in our worldly conception of that idea. He came to serve us. And that service was special almost beyond belief (I say almost, because I believe)…He gave His life for many, He paid for me, He paid for my sins, He loves me so much, He is saying I am worth it – I am priceless. And, that is not all. As He is seated at the right hand of the Father, He continues to serve us, to serve me – as an intercessor on our, on my behalf!
 
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”
 
Here we get an understanding of what Jesus did for us, why He did it and what / how He did it… why – for our sins (which only He could atone for); what / how – He died, a terrible death on the cross, isolated from the Father, nailing our sins to the cross, only to be raised on the third day to the right hand of the Father finishing the work that makes our salvation possible. Would we sacrifice ourselves for one person, let alone many, so that they could live? How deep is our live for others?
 
Isaiah 53:5-6 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
 
In this prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, God through the prophet Isaiah, clearly shares the pain of what Jesus will take on our behalf – if you doubt God’s love just consider this passage which also includes the promise of our healing through Jesus Christ.
 
1 Peter 2:24 ““He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.””
 
With a reference to Isaiah regarding our healing we see both the depth of His love for us and the promise of healing.
 
Galatians 3:13-14 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
 
Over and over we see, hear and read about what Jesus did for us, the depth of the love. If that doesn’t cause you pause, to think about the path God is painstakingly creating for our way home to Him then maybe we need to read scripture some more, spend time with faithful friends, spend time in prayer and quiet reflection. If it does give you pause and joy sing in praise to God, for He has truly blessed you!
 
Ephesians 2:4-7 “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. 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.”
 
Such rich truths – His great love for us, makes us alive in Jesus (when we come to know Him), despite our sinful pasts, showing God’s mercy and grace, giving us salvation, so we can join Him and Jesus Christ in heaven…
 
Romans 6:22-23 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
 
More truth and promises – we are set free from sin, we get the benefits in this of holiness and eternal life – not by ourselves – that would be of little value J - but to live in the presence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit…
 
2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
 
This one is interesting – Jesus' perfection, required to provide the saving sacrifice, takes on our sin which allows us to become the righteousness of God. Me interpreting here – but I think our salvation through Jesus, glorifies God (which is how I read become the righteousness of God) – our surrender, our accepting/receiving of the gift of salvation – glorifies God.
 
Romans 8:1-2 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
 
We are no longer condemned but are made right before God through Jesus Christ. We are free – not in the way the world understands free – but free from the dark, to live in the light.
 
1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.”
 
Did you get a sense for your answers to these questions?

“Do you ever ponder in moments of reflection the depth of God’s love? Do you ever think about what it really meant for Jesus Christ to take the walk to the Cross? Is it possible to understand how much God wants us to come home to Him?”
 
These references just underline the significance of the what Jesus did for us (there are so many more) – His life, death and resurrection made us right with God and alive again, through the Holy Spirit when we knelt down and accepted Him as our Savior.
 
Love, sacrifice,
       longing for us to come home.
               To Him.
                         Forever.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that in our quiet times of reflection each of us might find God’s truth in the presence of His love in our life, gaining a complete understanding that through Your sacrifice Lord Jesus Christ, God is showing His deep desire for each one of us to come home to Him.
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick