“‘But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.’” v.18-20 (NLT)
Words matter! With our words we can do much damage and we can also do much encouraging. Our words tend to reveal the things that are deep in our heart. There are times that we are more protective of the words we use than others, but over time, our words will reveal who we really are. Because of this, we have to resist the temptation to say one thing and do another. The only way this can happen is to allow Christ to transform us from the inside out starting with our heart and mind.
Today, will the words you choose to say reflect more about you and your heart, or will they reflect Christ and the heart of God?
“After sending them home, he (Jesus) went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.” v.23
This doesn’t seem like a very important verse among the things the Bible records in chapter 14. But the truth is, Jesus knew that nothing could be done without being in rich fellowship with the Father. Yes, He had the whole God thing going on, but He was displaying what a relationship with the Father looks like. 2000+ years later, people look at this and see that Jesus will was surrendered to the will of the Father. Seeking solitude was an important priority for Jesus. He made room in his busy schedule to be alone with the Father.
Spending time alone with God in prayer nurtures a vital relationship with him and equips us to meet life’s challenges and struggles. It helps us grow spiritually and become more and more like Christ!
Today, will you make time for Him? Try to spend just 30 minutes praying, listening and connecting with God.
“To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” v.12 (NLT)
There is an extreme difference between hearing and listening. We hear things everyday, but it doesn’t mean we are actually listening. Listening requires our attention, and moves us to action. Jesus says repeatedly in scriptures, “Those who have ears let them Hear!” Do you hear Him? The real question is, “Will you listen?
Today, will you spend time listening to Jesus? He want’s to speak directly to you!
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” v.30 (NLT)
Simply put, you either align your life with Christ or you don’t. There is no half in and half out when it comes to the Christian life. Jesus commands total surrender and allegiance to Him and Him alone. It doesn’t mean that we will be perfect or we wont have times where we stumble. It simply means that we understand our need for Him and desire to live in a way that pleases Him and not ourselves.
Today, will you stand with Him, or will you stand against Him?
Many of you have asked if I will continue doing the Bible Challenge since I am no longer at Grace Community Church? This is a great question, and tho I started reading in Matthew instead of John in 1.2 The Gospels, the answer is YES, I will continue to blog my daily readings here.
If you remember, we started the Bible Challenge as a push to engage people in reading scripture. We created a plan based on what I have found to work for me, a person who is not a big time reader, but who desire to be. The plan is simple, read one chapter a day 5 days a week. It’s not too much reading nor too little. And, if you get behind, you have two days to catch-up. This plan was not created as a check list for reading through the Bible, but a roadmap to help you develop the habit of spending time alone with God in His Word. The Bible Challenge isn’t something that I do, its transforming who I am! It will do the same for you if you will make the time a priority and open your Bible!
As my mentor use to say to me, God’s only a call away, His number is Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will teach you things you do not know.” I pray that you will begin/continue the journey with me, so we can experience the work of Christ in the surrender of our hearts and lives!
“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 (NLT)
“At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: ‘O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!’” v. 25-26
Is God hiding? Could there be more of Him than what you and I have experienced? The answer is Yes! The things of God are hidden to those who do not believe! If you don’t believe me check this out, “But people who aren’t spiritualcan’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NLT) When you believe and surrender your life to Christ the Bible says that the Holy Spirit comes to live in you heart. The Holy Spirit reveals the things of God to us. The more we surrender our lives to Christ, the more we learn about God and experience Him in our daily lives. On the day of your salvation, the day you
Admitted you were a sinner!
Believed Jesus died on a cross because of your sin and resurrected from the dead to offer the forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
Committed your life to Jesus by surrendering everything you are for everything He is.
you received all of the Holy Spirit. But in the everyday surrender of your heart, where you become more like Christ, is not you getting more of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit getting more of you! This is why it so important to be in the Word and Pray. Its our opportunity to give our life away, so we can gain a life we can’t produce on our own. And it all starts with a child like faith that believes Jesus is who He says He is and He will do what He has promised to do. So the question is, are you playing hide and seek with God, or are you Following the Leader?
Today, seek the Lord in a new way! Do something different that allows you to experience Him in a new way or causes you to grow deeper in Faith!
“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. 17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. 18 You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me.[e]19When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. 20 For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” v.16-20
Now let me help you understand some things here. Sheep are among the most helpless of all domesticated animals. They are also some of the most dumb and senseless animals on the planet. Harmless noises can send them into a frenzy, and when they face danger, they have no defense mechanism. All they can do is run, and unfortunately they are slow runners. So, the dumbest thing a sheep can do is to wander into a pack of wolves.
Basically, Jesus is telling His disciples to go into the danger! We don’t think like this. We say things like, “The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.” We think, If it’s dangerous, God must not be in it. If it’s risky, if it’s unsafe, if it’s costly, it must not be God’s will.
But what if these factors are actually the criteria by which we determine something is God’s Will? What if we began to look at the design of God as the most dangerous option before us? What if the center of God’s will is in reality the most unsafe place for us to be?
You see the real question is this: Are we willing, like the first disciples were, to be the first to go into danger and possibly even die there in order that those who come behind us might experience the fruit of our sacrifice? What if such sacrifice is exactly what it takes for many of the unreached people in the world who are presently hostile to the gospel to one day surrender their hearts to Jesus?
Today, will you go wherever Jesus tells you to go?
“For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” v 13 (NLT)
Pride is a dangerous thing. It causes us to think we are healthier and better than we really are. It’s a way that we can look good on the outside, and not deal with the insecurities, motives, hurt, sickness, … that is going on on the inside. However, there is real freedom when we are able to step outside of the pride that tries to hold us back. When we don’t fear what others might think and deal with our greatest needs and what truly makes us who we are, our pride begins to diminish and our humility begins to live. This is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of true inner strength and beauty.
Jesus says, that until we realize that we don’t have it all together, we will think that we have no need for Him. When we admit that we don’t have it all together, that the place were we can begin to see Jesus do is greatest work in our lives.
Today, has pride kept you from being honest with yourself? What areas do you need to turnover to Jesus so you can experience the victory found in Him through humility?
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” v13-14 (NLT)
Some believe there are many ways to heaven. They would say that we are all seeking the same God just in different ways. But the reality is, there is only One Kingdom, and One way to get there. It’s not found in being a good moral person, going to church, praying, being baptized, reading the Bible or other books claiming to lead to God, it’s not even found in being a religious person. The way to heaven is only found in the simple yet difficult surrender of our heart. Tho this list of things are good, and can help lead us to living more like Christ, they, in themselves, cannot remove our greatest problem … sin.
The only way to remove sin from our life is found in the confession, surrender, and repentance of our heart. It’s where we understand all that Christ has done for us and we surrender everything we are, so we can experience everything He is. Has there been a point in your life where you have surrendered everything to Him?
Today, have you surrendered everything to follow Jesus? If not, and you would like to, click here!
Dan Gould 