Friday, February 4, 2011

HEART CONDITION: DO YOU HAVE A STONY HEART OR A HEART OF FLESH


The heart is the center of all activity in the body-mental, physical, and most importantly spiritual. The heart is the place where beliefs take shape and thoughts become a reality, "for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." Proverbs 23:7 While the heart seems like a wonderful place to most of us, the word says that the heart is a terrible place, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to every man according  to the fruit of his doings" Jeremiah 17:9-10

The heart is the place that sin originates from,


"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart: and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Matthew 15:18

Many of us suffer from a heart condition and unaware that we have any issues, it's called a stony heart. I didn't know I had one until I came to Christ and even now I am still susceptible to it. The more you ignore the statutes of the Lord, and resist his voice your heart begins to harden but as you submit yourself to him your condition will improve. He will give you a heart transplant and remove that old, no good stinking heart and replace it with a heart that is soft and tender towards God,

"And they shall come thither and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the LORD" Ezekiel 11:18-21

Idol worship (detestable things and abominations) and a blatant disregard for the word of God are the leading cause of a stony heart. Give yourself a heart examination today, what do you hold before God, what has he called you to do that you are not doing, what sin are you still practicing openly, privately, or holding onto in your heart?

If you're looking for a surgeon turn to Jesus ask him to do the work for you by simply praying the word back to him:

          Psalm 19:12-14, Who can understand his errors (my errors)? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sis; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer

God Bless You


Thursday, February 3, 2011

A THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY

When People Look At You, Whose Wisdom Do They See?

Beloved, I have been busy throughout this week-- I am so sorry that I didn't post anything for Wisdom Wednesday and in lieu that post I have A Thought for Thursday.

Where does wisdom come from? From God. How are we able to attain wisdom? Through our faith in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten son. Now, how do we shew forth that wisdom. People should see us and recognize that we are wise by the way that we live our lives.
"Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom." James 3:13 

Not only will the wisdom of God cause you to do good works but you will also do it meekly and humbly, not boasting, as did Jesus. After he healed someone he didn't walk around proclaiming and glorifying himself; he glorified the Father who used him to do the work. The wisdom of God flowing through you should bring peace to those around you,

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peacable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." James 3:18

How do you make people feel when they're in your presence, what kind of fruits are you bearing, are you riled up easy, are you quick to forgive? If your answer to any of these is no,then the wisdom and the works that you have shewing forth is from the devil,

"But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth [stop patting yourself on the back and stop lying. if you're not living right you're not serving right] This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." James 3:14-16

This Thursday, think on this: When people look at you, whose wisdom do they see?

FURTHER READING: James 3:13-18

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

TESTIMONY TUESDAYS: MY LABOUR IS NOT IN VAIN

Praise the Lord, all ye people for He is good!

God is sooo good! We are only three days into the week and God has already shown me his glory in action that I must to tell of his goodness.

On Sunday one of my co-workers came to my church and during the devotional hour he testified that this was the first time that he had been to church in years. I praise God that I had an opportunity to witness the power of the word and how Jesus was able to just draw him back into the fold.

That moment really proved to me that it is so worthwhile to do the work of the Lord. You never know who is listening and who isn't and now is just not the time to grow weary in well doing. Instead, now is the time to be, "stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58.

Then today during our advisory period the Lord just revealed me to how he is working in the hearts of my students. My school is preparing to introduce a student-centered advisory period in which the students select the topic of the advisory they would like to be placed in and two of my students suggested that we create a Bible Study advisory. Now, you try and tell me that the word isn't powerful, that my God isn't able, that my labour is in vain. If you try to you'd just be wasting your time because I know that my labour in the Lord in not in vain.


GOD BLESS YOU!

THE CARPENTER'S HOUSE IS ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR TESTIMONY TUESDAYS. SUBMISSIOS MUST BE BETWEEN 100-300 WORDS MAX. PLEASE SEND IT AS AN ATTACHMENT IN MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENT TO divinetutors@yahoo.com