Heart Attack…

Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it determines the course of your life.”

Nowadays wherever we go there are people guarding things. Wether it’s the palace, the airport or the shopping centre. People are on guard and protecting whatever they think is valuable.

Proverbs says that you and I should, above everything else, be guarding our hearts. Our heart carries our desires, motivations, and intimate purposes. So, think for a moment about how much energy, finance and time is spent protecting other things while our hearts are left open to attack. We should be guarding it ABOVE ALL ELSE.

There’s very good reason why we do this. Our heart determines the course of our life. Matthew 12:35 says that a good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart. If our heart isn’t protected and healthy then we’ll become sick and eventually discover ourselves far from God’s course for our life.

So, if life is not heading where it should, then our heart is probably under attack. This can happen through gossip, offence, anger, competition or neglect to name a few. But our heart can be made well and restored when we guard it and action Gods Word in our lives.

This week let’s check in with our heart specialist: the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to tell us what’s up and how to rectify it. Before long our life’s course will be restored and we’ll be producing good things from the treasury of a good heart. Above all we must GUARD YOUR HEART!

The Tough Get Going…

James 1:12 “Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. The reward is life and more life for those who are loyally in love with God.”

Looking at a garden on a hot day reveals the plants that are up to a challenge and those that are not. Some plants wilt and quickly dry up never to be seen again. Others simply stand strong and stick out the heat. These are the ones that continue to have life.

Some people wilt like a plant in the heat whenever a challenge comes their way. Others rise up, meeting challenges head-on, sticking them out to the end. This verse calls them “mighty fortunate” and says they are rewarded with life and more life. Why? Simply because they got tough and rose to the challenge, sticking it out to the end.

There is only one-way to meet a challenge head-on: by being loyal and in love with God. As we do this, above everything else, we become equipped to succeed no matter how hot or desperate the battle becomes. When it’s over we get rewarded with so much more life than we had before.

Let’s meet our challenges head-on this week. Let’s not wilt and die but rather gain abundant life by simply obeying our verse. Remember the challenge is worth winning so that we receive our reward. Whenever we’re loyal to God and His Word, every challenge we meet head-on is sure to produce abundant life!

Summer

Above and Before…

Proverbs 4:7 “Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!”

The journey of life can become busy and overwhelming at times. People rush everywhere trying to do everything they possibly can. Often rapid-fire decisions are made with little forethought. These often prove to be big mistakes that carry a great cost.

In life we need to slow down! Our verse lets us know that God’s way to a successful life is to get His Wisdom above and before everything. This means that God’s Wisdom must come before our plans, desires and schedules and must be placed above our emotions, circumstances and feelings.

Whenever we disregard Wisdom we are heading towards disaster without knowing it.

We can never rush Wisdom; it takes time and energy to gain it. Our bible is chocked full of Wisdom for us to live by. It is there so we can successfully navigate every part of life. The key to getting Wisdom is to slow down and take our time to read, ponder and apply God’s Word to our lives before we do something, not after.

Whenever we prioritize God’s Word in our life we are prioritizing Wisdom in our lives.

This week put God’s Wisdom above and before our personal wisdom. Let’s SLOW DOWN and allow Wisdom to seep into the very depths of our hearts. Allow Wisdom to become the foundation of every decision made. Before long our lives will be flourishing and we will be a people of Wisdom.

Wisdom

A Word Hidden…

Psalm 119:11 “Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

Children love a game of hide and seek. As one child counts to 10 the others hide. Then the hunt begins to find them. There are often squeals and laughter as each child is found. The better hidden you are the less likely you are to lose the game.

Today’s verse gives us a very important key to building our future. It says we are to take the Word of God and store it in our heart. It is vital that God’s Word is the very center, the heart, of everything we do in life.

The more of God’s Word we store in our hearts means the less likely we are to sin. We will not miss, forfeit or lack the fullness that God has for us when we have His Word in our heart. It strengthens us to remain close to Him and ensures that we won’t easily be led astray.

Each week we post a fresh encouragement from the Bible. These are great words you can hide in your heart. You can visit this blog anytime and read our archives. Why not visit it whenever you feel you have a little extra room in your heart that needs to be filled by God’s Word.

Remember God instructs us because He loves us. Let’s respond to His love by taking His precious Word and storing it in our heart. It will allow our life to prosper like never before and ensure that we are equipped to win in our future!

Sounds Great…

Proverbs 10:11 “The mouth of a righteous person is a fountain of life”

Fountains are fascinating. People are drawn to their seemingly endless flow of water as it dances and spills around them. The many cascades create a peaceful atmosphere. Their calming sound attracts many who sit and relax on their edges.

Today’s verse says that our mouth, or more specifically the words we speak, can become a fountain of life. Stinking words produce a dead fountain that no one visits. Life giving words produce a beautiful fountain that everyone wants to be near.

Try picturing this in your imagination. See your life-giving words becoming a fountain of life as they dance and spill from your mouth. See their sound attracting people and creating a refreshingly peaceful atmosphere for others.

This week allow encouraging words to freely flow from your mouth. As you do this you’ll create a beautiful fountains of life that has an overflow of healthy waters. People will almost instantly be attracted by your words. When this happens allow more life-giving words to gush out and affect all those who come near. Before long lives will be changed, people refreshed and cascades of life will be flowing from you in every direction. It God’s Word so you know it will work!

Wanted Dead or Alive…

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit”

People like watching a good cowboy movie especially on a wet afternoon. As the good guys pursue the bad guys we often see a sign with the villains picture that says “Wanted Dead or Alive.” The good guys keep chasing him down until they have their man.

Our verse tells us exactly who the villain in our life is; it’s our tongue, or more practically, the words that we speak. Each time we open our mouth we have the choice to speak words that bring life or ones that produce death. If we speak words of life then we eat the fruit of a great life.

This week let’s be like the good guys in the movie and pursue our words. Let’s take time to listen to ourselves and catch any words of death. Don’t concern yourself with what others say just focus on yourself and your words. Other people will eat the fruit that comes from their own words.

When you hear yourself not speaking life then pause for a moment, think and then speak out fresh words of life. You will train yourself into an abundant life in no time. Areas that you have struggled in will start to change. Good stuff will begin to grow and flourish in your life as you tend them correctly with your words.

We love you – have the greatest week!

If you would like a FREE word study from the Bible about the words you speak then please click on the Wanted Poster.

Your Bag Drop…

Philippians 3:13 “…but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead”

Whenever we fly it’s always a great feeling to drop the heavy bags off at the check-in. Once this is done we are free to move around and focus on what we want to do next. We really don’t give our luggage a second thought – we have left it where it belongs.

In this verse Paul tells us exactly how he navigates life. He drops off all the baggage of his past and then forgets about it. Paul does one thing… he focuses on his future. The reality is that you and I cannot change our past but we can build a great future in Jesus.

In reality, it’s almost impossible to advance trying to carry all the heavy bags from our past. Bags of hurt, shame, error and abuse are too heavy for us to move. We must give them to Jesus and make Him the “baggage counter” of our life. As we leave our luggage with Him, and forget about it, we can move easily into our future.

This week why not go to Jesus and check-in all the heavy bags of your past. Then forget about them, they are where they belong. You will be free to look forward to a fantastic future. Set your focus on it and before long you’ll be experiencing a new freedom in Jesus like never before!

Cheerleaders…

1 Samuel 30:6 “But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord.”

We all love life when it’s going well. As people believe in and encourage us we advance easily. In these seasons we often feel that we could take on anything and win. On the other hand, when life is less encouraging, our progress can be a little more difficult to achieve.

David held a key to making progress through the less encouraging seasons of life. Our verse takes place when David was in distress and about to be stoned by his own people. It says that he “encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord.” In other words David became his own personal cheerleader of God in his life.

In some seasons we need to cheer ourselves on. Others may not notice what God has been doing for us but we do. These are the times when we open up our mouths and declare God’s goodness like David would. “Come on I know I can do it, I can overcome. God helped me slay the lion, slay the bear so now lets go slay this Goliath!”

We become a cheerleader of God in our life. As we cheer, others will start to join in. Before we know it there will be a whole team all cheering God together!

So take up the challenge and become your own personal cheerleader. Start declaring God’s goodness in your life. Keep cheering until a whole team of people surrounds you. You will be helping others as you help yourself. This is what the gospel is all about. Have the greatest week cheerleading yourself to success.

Time for a Change…

Malachi 3:6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change”

Everything changes! Change affects things we want it to as well as things we rather it didn’t. It does not matter if it’s a hairdo, car, house, friendship or a season everything changes. We must continually remind ourselves that change is a vital part of life.

Our verse shows us that only one thing exists that will never change, and that is God. He is stable, unchanging and solid. He is the firm foundation for us to anchor our life to. God will not change in any way. If something is going to change it will be us, not Him.

People often find change difficult to navigate but it shouldn’t be. God’s Word tells us how to live and adapt to change. The simplest key to winning is for us to obey God’s Word no matter what! In times of change always remember that God’s Word is His Word is His Word! Stick with it and you will discover that His perfect plan will brilliantly come forth and everything will be OK because of it.

This week don’t let change intimidate you. Instead, open your Bible and anchor yourself to God’s Word. Let it change you. God will be there and before you know it things will be getting better. You will train yourself to like change instead of fearing it. Get ready for a powerful week ahead – we love you!

You are You…

Matthew 5:5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”

As children we can all remember playing on the seesaw. At any given moment you would either be up in the air or down on the ground. If you stood carefully with a foot on each side of the center you could steadily balance the board and the ends of the seesaw became stable.

Balance is essential in life. Our days of blessing and contentment will offset the days of toil and labor. A balanced life is essential to our health but many things hinder it from happening. The ultimate solution to an unbalanced and unhappy life cannot be bought but it can be received.

Here is a key for a contented life. Simply accept who you are! Don’t act like someone else, think less of yourself or overestimate yourself. Just be you! After all you’re exactly what God wants! He wants to Bless your life.

So this week lets experience the presence of God by simply accepting ourselves. Let’s stop striving or underachieving and just be who we are. As we accept ourselves we receive a life that is a haven of contentment, peace, health and well-being. It will produce a life well beyond what we could ever afford. Today, join us in this challenge and obtain this beautiful promise over your life.