Matthew Gaither – Page 15

Opportunities For Encouragement

October 5, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

I have a tendency to overlook the small things, to miss their importance in the grand scheme. I think I am fairly good at keeping the big picture in mind and I am definitely a goal oriented achiever but God is in the details; He says the minute by minute stuff matters and that each and every second of the day belongs to Him.

How does this effect my daily routine? When I take a break from my desk and make a trip to the water-cooler, for example, do I make it a point to smile and say something encouraging to the folks I pass along the way or am I completely focused on the reason for my trip (the goal of reaching the water-cooler) to the exclusion of the people around me?

Opportunities for encouragement seem like such a small thing but I am starting to believe that they make a tremendous difference to our Heavenly Father. The beginning of our mission here is to preach the gospel so that souls might be saved in Jesus’ name but the ongoing work is the teaching and the encouragement of those saved souls to continue to seek God’s face and God’s heart and to be like Jesus.

Even though we are saved we still have that natural man within us, that fleshly nature that unless we are taught differently, will continue to lead us astray and into sin. I need daily reminders to do good and to be good. We all do. Without the renewing of our hearts and minds by daily prayer and Bible study the saved children of God will not grow and will never become mature and Christlike. I need frequent reminders of this truth as I am sure you do as well.

Going back to the example above, if I have Christ’s love foremost in my heart and a smile on my face as I make my trip to the water-cooler then I can share that with others. Instead of receiving, at best, no regard from me whatsoever and at worst a frown and a negative attitude they get a small taste of God then that can make a large difference. God can take those seemingly small interactions and use them for great good because little is much when God is in it!

In this I am both the teacher and the student. It is my sincere hope and prayer that I encourage others so that they, in turn, can encourage someone else. I am the encourager and I hope to be the encouraged. I believe that this is how God wants us to treat one another; loving the lost in such a way that they see Jesus and loving the saved in such a way that they are motivated to do good works.

Opportunities for doing good and for being an encouragement are plentiful. Do I have eyes to see them? Do you?

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another – Thessalonians 5:11a (NASB)

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: encouragement, teaching, thessalonians 5:11

Going Is No Substitute For Growing

September 14, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

Impatience is and has been an unfortunate companion of mine for as long as I can remember. Once I have a picture of something in my mind, whether it is a goal, a place or a thing, the next thought that comes along is “how soon can I make this happen?” I suspect I am not alone in thinking this way.

When God called me to write and speak His truth I jumped in with both feet, full of enthusiasm and energy. I read several books on how to set up and maintain a blog and the associated software and I had grand visions of a high traffic website that inspired and encouraged people on a daily basis. I wanted to write as often as I could and when I wasn’t writing I wanted to tell people about the call that God had placed on my life so that we could rejoice and grow together.

Everything was possible, everything was exciting and I pushed myself to absorb as much knowledge and information as I possibly could for the task at hand. And it was fun!

As good and as noble as all of that was it didn’t take but about six months or so before I was beginning to feel exhausted and burnt out. Talk about a letdown! I went through a little bit of self loathing, a little bit of depression and a lot of anxiety over the fact that I might have been going about this all wrong.

I was spending so much time and energy trying to produce and create that I neglected the source of my creativity and the giver of all good things. I set unrealistic goals for myself based on standards that I created in my own mind. Instead of making my relationship with the Lord the number one thing in my life I made the task that He had given me my focus and that is where my time and energy went.

God given tasks are a blessing and a serious responsibility. I will never forget the day that God called me and how awesome (there is no other word for it) a moment that was. But it was awesome because of how close at hand God was to me. It was His presence, in almost a physical way, that made it so powerful. And now I see that there is nothing better, no greater blessing, than being in the presence of the Lord. It is what I was made for and it is satisfying and healing down to the depths of my very soul.

The work is important. I would not suggest otherwise. The mistake comes when we allow the work to interfere with our longing for and seeking of God’s presence. Only He can give us what we need to properly do His work and He gives it to us when we stay in close fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit, when we stay in the study of His Word and when we pray without ceasing.

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: God's presence, Holy Spirit

In Search Of The Best Thing Ever

September 7, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

Lately, I haven’t had as much of the Lord’s presence as I want. The fault in this is entirely mine. God’s Word says that we have not because we ask not and as long as we are asking in Jesus’s name and in the Father’s will, it will be granted to us.

I had to stop and do a self inventory. Have I been seeking Him with my whole heart? Have I been lifting my heart and soul in praise to Him? Have I let any sin come between Him and I?

In this I can only bow my head and ask for the Spirit’s help. I know that in my flesh there is nothing good and that part of me wants to do what God hates. Left to my own devices I will stray and seek after the things of the world rather than God’s righteousness. But God’s Spirit that lives in me desires fellowship and oneness with the Father and whispers to me in that still small voice when I being to turn aside.

There is such mighty power in sincere prayer that seeks the very heart of God. There is literally nothing that God would not do for us to see His will done through us. Yes, he desires to use us as His hands and feet and yes, we are to be ministers of the gospel in this world but before that God wants our hearts perfectly aligned with His in sweet fellowship and companionship.

Before we can minister to the world we must be ministered to by His Spirit. Before we can proclaim His greatness among the nations we must be proclaimed to by His Spirit. And before we can be usable vessels we must be filled with His Spirit and emptied of the things of this world that crowd Him out of our lives.

Whether we realize it or not, we are all vessels. We are containers that God crafted individually and with great care to hold not only the spark of life but also His Spirit, God in us. Apart from Him we feel that emptiness and try to fill ourselves with everything else that this world offers only to find that nothing truly satisfies and nothing really lasts. Except God.

Our worship persists because He persists. Our works for Him have eternal significance because He is eternal. And our relationship with Him grows from day to day onto forever because He is forever and He never fails.

If I have less of Him than I want it is only because His Spirit is prompting me to seek Him above all else and to focus on Him to the exclusion of everything else. As important as our jobs, families, schools, churches and friends are, busyness can be our enemy and our enemy will use our busyness to separate us from God. Don’t let him.

Today I am taking some extra time to just stop and be still with God. I want to worship and I want to listen to what He has to say. My prayer for you and I is that we would be filled with His Holy Spirit and His presence would surround us as we go. Would you pray the same prayer for those you know?

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: God's presence, Holy Spirit

Happiness, Joy And Eternal Life In Isaiah 55

August 24, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

What brings you joy? What brightens your day and lifts your spirits? What has the power to encourage and move you above and beyond the place where you are now? I want you to really think about what’s important to you and where the foundation for your happiness lies. It’s an important question if we are to truly seek that which is eternal rather than that which eventually fades and leaves us empty.

Certainly there are worthy things on this earth that can bring us joy such as our families and cherished friends. At times we may even find joy due to a special occasion and the shared warmth and camaraderie that it brings. Joy may also catch us by surprise as we listen to a powerful piece of music or experience the splendor of a sunrise painted across the morning sky. All of these and many more are good things.

But they are also temporary. They fade away, sometimes in mere moments.

Because of this some of us spend inordinate amounts of time chasing joy. We know what joy feels like and we want to be joyful again so we try to repeat the actions, thoughts or occasions that originally made us joyful. But it’s never quite the same the second time around. So on we go looking for other things, other people or other ideas that might bring us joy again. And as we invest time and energy into those things, people or ideas and we don’t find the joy we are looking for we become disillusioned and cynical. We become hard and broken and we give up on the idea that life could ever be more than it is right now.

That idea, however, is a lie. Don’t believe it.

I am here to tell to you as humbly and as boldly as I can that there is real joy to be found in this life and it is an eternal and abiding joy! How do I know this? Because, with God’s help and provision, I am living it.

Consider Isaiah chapter 55:1-2 (NKJV)

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
²Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Even though this was written thousands of years ago it sounds like God might be talking to us and about us right here, today. We spend so much time and effort buying and chasing things that don’t really satisfy us as they should and then going and looking for other things to satisfy us because the first things didn’t and so on and so forth. It becomes a cycle that will quite literally kill us and damage everyone around us in the process.

But God says that we can “eat what is good” and then “let your soul delight itself in abundance”. God offers us joy that does not fade and what he provides will always satisfy our deepest longings.

How do we get there? Isaiah 55:3a (NKJV) gives us the first direction that we should follow:

Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;

Listening requires us to be quiet and to be still. We have to focus on the person who is doing the talking and forget ourselves for a few moments to really hear what is being said. This is the beginning of the Lord’s invitation to us. To simply listen and hear what He has to say.

What else? Isaiah 55:6-7 (NKJV) shows the way:

Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
⁷Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

One of the most amazing things about the Lord is that He wants to show mercy to us. Although He always allows us to choose our own path (and by extension, the consequences of our decisions) He is always watching and waiting for us to come to Him. He loves us so much that He has a standing offer of eternal, abundant life. His Word, the Bible, through study and prayer, can bring us that eternal life and that abiding joy, if we choose to base our life on it.

Isaiah 55: 10-11 says this about God’s Word:

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
¹¹So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

What a promise! God says that His Word will accomplish and prosper that which He purposes. And there is nothing in this world that He loves more than you! Will you let His Word do it’s work in you? Will you let real joy abide in your heart as you listen and learn from His Word? If you will, watch what God will do for you as written in Isaiah 55: 12 (NKJV)

“For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

The result of a life that is lived according to God’s Word is joy and peace! The picture we are shown in verse 12 is creation itself singing and clapping as you go. In other words, the world itself rejoices in the life of a believer who seeks after God and listens to His voice. That does not mean that life will be easy, we still live in a sinful, fallen state. But God Himself has alleviated our sin problem and has provided a way for us to overcome death and break the bonds of the sin that once defined our lives.

Herein lies true joy, constant and eternal. This is the free gift of God to all who our willing. If you’ve lived up until this point chasing after everything else and you can’t seem to find peace and you’ve forgotten what joy really feels like then I invite you to turn to God. Give your life over to Him, seek His presence and listen to His Words. I promise, if you do, that you will never be the same and that His joy will never leave you.

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: eternal life, Isaiah 55, joy

When All You Can Do Is Pray That Love Wins

August 17, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

At times it is difficult to pin down a single topic or theme for a blog post. The desire to write is there and the impetus to tell of God and His glory remains constant and strong but the specific direction is unclear. So I’m just going to tell you what’s on my heart at this moment.

What I know is this: God is real. God is good. God is still working and changing lives.

I know God is real because of the way that He has touched me personally and changed me as well as the evidence I see of Him in other lives around me. I know God is good because, limited though I am, I see His handiwork and the evidence of His greatness every day. And I know God is still working and changing lives because of the testimony of other believers who are not afraid to show up and speak out about their love for Jesus.

Even though I know God and see Him working I am still in this world and just like everyone else, I have problems and obstacles in my life. My heart is broken and has been broken these last few weeks over the separation and estrangement of two people that I know and love very much. I see what they are going through and I hurt for both of them as does all of their family and friends. My prayer for them is, and has been since the beginning, that love would win and that healing and reconciliation take place.

The thing is, only God can do something like that. Only God can take the pile of ashes that we so often create with our best efforts and turn them and us into something beautiful and worthwhile. Apart from God we are broken and miserable but with God we are healed and we are changed.

What is the key to this healing and this great change? Faith and repentance. By faith we believe that God is the only one who can change us and when we throw everything we have and everything we are at His feet and cry out to God with our whole heart, then and only then, can He begin to make us new. He will absolutely turn a life around 180 degrees from ruin to righteousness and from destruction to deliverance.

Will God intervene in the situation that I have described between these two estranged loved ones? I believe that He desires to and I believe that He certainly is able. How it all comes to pass will depend on the hearts and wills of those involved. Sometimes we realize we are in trouble rather quickly and turn it over to the Lord and sometimes we run for many years before we realize that it is all in vain if God’s hand isn’t in it.

My prayer is that somewhere down the road, in God’s perfect timing, I will be able to look in to the eyes of these folks and see lives that have been changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. I look forward to that day.

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: reconciliation, redemption, repentance

The Why and How of the Here and Now

August 3, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

I wish for a life without sin. I think about what that might be like and how much good I could do and I long for it. With this wish also comes a realization: only Jesus Christ is capable of doing what I wish for.

I know this because He, Jesus, has already done it. He did it for you and for me so that by identifying with Him and his death, burial and resurrection, we might be made alive to God. We are freed from sin’s power over us through the Spirit of God that now resides in our hearts. The barrier between God and man has been removed through Jesus Christ and the doorway between this fallen Earth and God’s perfect heaven now stands open ready to receive all who would come.

As glorious and wonderful as this is I have often wondered why God chooses to “save” us but then leave us in these imperfect bodies of flesh that still seem to crave sin. Why do I, a born again, blood-washed believer still want to do things that God hates? Why do any of us?

The answer, I believe, lies in the heart of God and His desire for the redemption of all mankind. Consider the following verse:

Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’ (Ezekiel 33:11) NASB

In Ezekiel 33:11 God is pleading with his chosen people to turn from their wicked ways and back to God. Imagine God the Father, God the Creator of All and the one to whom all power and all Glory belongs on His hands and knees crying and weeping for those He loves, His precious creation, to turn from their sin and live. God is laying his heart bare but notice how He is delivering His message. See the first three words of the verse? “Say to them”.

Who is God talking to? Ezekiel the man. God entrusts his message of love through His chosen speaker Ezekiel who must then go and tell his countrymen what God has said. Quite simply and much to my amazement God chooses to use us as His messengers in exactly the same way!

He does this both for our benefit and so that we might be living examples of His redemption to those around us. The unsaved, the world around us, can see that we are still human, just like them. They can identify with us, with our weaknesses and the tough situations that we face but if we are living the way that we should live then they should also be able to see God in us.

We are the same and yet we are different. We have been changed in such a way that the world has no answer for. They might try to explain it away because they, at times, do not want to face the fact that God is real and powerful but in their hearts they will know the truth of God’s work and be without excuse before Him. They can look at us and see a visible, walking and talking testimony to God’s grace and His desire to save the whole world.

The time for me to live without sin will come. One day God will call me home and give me a new body that does not know sin or imperfection. I look forward to that day with great anticipation. But for now I need to be here so that God can use me as His messenger. I need to be weak so that His strength can show perfectly through me and I need to live in such a way that the Gospel is played out in my life every single day.

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: Ezekiel 33:11, life's purpose

God Changes Us For The Good

July 27, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

Fresh out of bed and still bleary-eyed I stumbled into the bathroom to start my morning routine. I would need to leave for work within the hour and I did not want to be late so I was already starting my mental checklist.

I glanced out the window at the early morning light that glowed and defined the tall pines and old oaks of the forest that began at the edge of our yard. As I did so I was struck by the need to just be still and raise my hands towards heaven. I began to praise God for His goodness and His love and I thanked Him for His grace and mercy and for including me in His redemption plan.

All of a sudden I was filled with an overwhelming sense of love and peace and I knew that just for a moment, I had touched the heart of God and that He had touched me in return. I began that day with a smile on my face and a song in my heart that stayed with me and colored every moment and every interaction with joy.

Practicing gratitude and looking for opportunities to be thankful can open our eyes to moments like this. A year or two ago I am quite sure that I would have missed the Spirit’s tug on my heart so soon after tumbling out of bed. I would have been too focused on “me” and my needs and my dull spiritual receptors would not have tuned in to the call to praise.

The great news is, things are changing. Rather, God is changing me and I am encouraged by His work!

I’m still not perfected, this is a process and a work in progress. I still miss Him, sometimes, when He shows up and I am distracted and the flesh in me is in control. That makes a moment like my spontaneous praise and worship all the more precious because it shows me that God is not through with me yet. It is proof that He is changing me from the old man that I was into the new, holy child of the King that I want to be.

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For You have been my stronghold
And a refuge in the day of my distress. (Psalm 59:16) NASB

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: gratitude, Holy Spirit, praise, thankfulness

How to Overcome the Negative, Nasty and Nervous

July 20, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

Question: What sneaks up on you more quietly than a whisper, is more infectious than the the flu and will taint your mind and attitude if left unchecked? Furthermore, everyone is vulnerable to its attack and no one is immune to its effects regardless of race, background, wealth, intelligence, age or status.

The answer is Complaint. Not complaint as in a singular fault or flaw but Complaint with a capital “C” that is a pervasive mindset and the opposite of gratitude. A complaint may be valid and presented in a positive way. Complaint (which I will refer to from now on with the capital “C”) is always ugly and self-centered. There is generally very little love and very little in the way of Godliness in Complaint and for Christ followers who need to be a positive witness to the world that is a big problem.

Complaint infects for a variety of reasons but those reasons are almost always circumstantial. As Christians we are to base our outlook and our attitude on our position in Christ which is eternal, unchanging and assured. Circumstances are the opposite of that. They are temporary, seasonal and constantly changing.

Unfortunately in the scheme of things we tend to forget or downplay our position in Christ and focus more on our circumstances than we probably should and in turn that gives our circumstances more power than they should have. Those circumstances come to dictate our feelings to some degree and Complaint begins to grow.

Our attitude becomes one of pessimism (“they are out to get me!” “what next will go wrong?”), selfishness (“I don’t have enough as is, how can I give to someone else?”) and hopelessness (focusing on the bad instead of the good and basing one’s outlook on that). When we are pessimistic, selfish and without hope we discourage those around us and miss chances to bless others and be blessed ourselves.

Worse still, Complaint is contagious. So much so that it effects entire families, workplaces, teams and even the body of Christ, the church. With very few exceptions once one person gives in to Complaint there will be others who begin to show the symptoms of negative thinking and negative speech.

How do we fight Complaint? How can we defend against it?

Quite simply, we must practice and model thankfulness. We need to be consistent with our praise to God and we to be visible and vocal about how we do it. We need to be sharing with one another frequently about all the ways that God is blessing and has blessed our lives. We must be encouragers to one another and we must be lifting our brothers and sisters in Christ up in prayer daily that they might be strengthened and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Living a life of gratitude requires discipline and conscious choices. We can choose to give God our praise and thanksgiving even in the midst of tough times and difficult circumstances. Circumstances will change and trials will come and go but our God remains and His goodness and faithfulness is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Let us choose to be thankful. Let us choose to be grateful and to share our blessings with those around us in such a way that Complaint has no chance of taking root.

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: complaint, hebrews 13:15, thankfulness

The Introverts Struggle to Serve

July 6, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

I am an introvert. I like quiet places and value solitude and tranquility. Above and beyond that, however, I love the Lord and His people.

At times, this creates tension. I honestly believe that God has called every single believer into ministry in some way. We have all been given gifts that we are asked to use to glorify God and assist His people. We have also been given the great commission which makes it clear that the responsibility for spreading the gospel belongs to all of us, without exception.

I enjoy reading. I enjoy watching a movie or a good TV show with my wife while snuggled up on the couch together. I spend a lot of time on my computer or my Playstation playing games. Generally these are solo games or games with one or two other people that I know very well and am friends with.

I also enjoy a spirited drive on a curvy back road with the windows down and the sunroof open to better enjoy God’s creation. The juxtaposition of wild woods, grassy fields and a huge blue sky being experienced through the windshield and sunroof of a sleek and sonorous automobile is one that I value. And perhaps there is some irony there as well; I’m outside enjoying God’s canvas but I’m sitting in a man-made cocoon that is protected and somewhat insulated from the very thing that I have come to enjoy.

Come to think of it, that sounds a little bit like my life. God has called me out. He has chosen me and He has put His mark on me. I’ve been asked to write and speak His truth and to teach and educate His people. And yet I find it a struggle to consistently stay out of my self-created bubble of introversion and unchanging solitude.

Is it really supposed to be this way? Wouldn’t it be easier if I were an extrovert overflowing with energy and enthusiasm? A type-A personality who was a confident go-getter would assuredly be more useful to God, right? Sometimes I think this way.

It isn’t that I expect God to turn me in to an extrovert. I believe that God created us unique as individuals and I am who I am for a reason and a purpose. But I also know that I shouldn’t use my proclivity for quiet times and quiet spaces to hamper God’s work. That would be a very grave mistake.

So I find myself at a point in my life where I am praying for clarification and direction from the Lord. I want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and do what He asks me to do and go where He asks me to go. Writing this blog and teaching for youth and adults at my church are part of that. But I would be dishonest if I didn’t admit that there were opportunities for meeting with God’s people that I intentionally do not attend because I’m exhausted and would rather be doing something else that is quiet and solitary.

I feel guilty for not going but when I do go I’m usually yawning while my mind wanders and my body slumps as I try to find a comfortable position where I can both stay awake and pay attention. I feel like a bad Christian but I also know that guilt does not come from God and that there is an accuser who is trying to make me focus on my weakness instead of God’s provision. Instead I’d rather focus on how great and awesome my God is, how much He loves me and how He is my constant companion and friend.

But the struggle remains and I will continue to pray and ask for guidance and the strength to do what God would have me to do.

Sometimes there are problems that aren’t easily solved by human intervention and that don’t have neat and tidy solutions. I’m ok with that because my hope and trust remains secure in the Lord and I know that He will guide me in all things as I stay submitted to Him.

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: christian service, introvert, ministry

The Unleashed Heart

June 22, 2015 by Matthew Gaither

Let me ask you a question: Where is your heart? I hope you can stop, take a few minutes and honestly answer that question. The location and direction of the heart is of utmost importance. If you know where your heart is and what it is striving towards then you can very easily discern what is most important to you.

The heart is fickle. It can easily change direction and because our heart is the very center of our being when it changes direction our thoughts and actions will soon follow it. An unguarded heart is at danger for chasing any passion or idea that it comes across. With no anchor and no solid foundation the unleashed heart will stray into troublesome waters every time the wind changes direction.

When we follow any and every whim of the heart we open ourselves up to addiction, depression, infidelity, lying, cheating, anxiety, indebtedness violence and foolishness on a grand scale. Why is this? Why is it that our hearts can so easily get us into trouble? God’s Word says:

The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9 NASB)

Not even the wise prophet Jeremiah could understand his own heart. He rightly identified the heart as “desperately sick” and “deceitful” and we can trace that sickness back to one word. That word is “Sin”, with a capital S. Sin is the infection that we chose when the first of our kind (Adam and Eve) decided to rebel against God and try to do things in our own way. Instead of embracing God’s protection, love, blessings and fellowship we chose “I”. We chose selfishness. We decided that we knew better than God and would henceforth make our own decisions apart from Him. And because God values our free will He let us make that decision and the consequences that followed it.

One of the hardest things about the gospel message is that the bad news comes before the good news. Many have rejected the good news of the gospel because they just couldn’t get past the first part, the bad news, that we all are sick with Sin and that our hearts are desperately wicked. No one wants to hear that. But deep down, we know it to be true and those who desire to overcome that sickness and be cured from Sin’s grasp must cry out to Jesus as savior and Lord. In other words we must undo, each of us individually, the decision that Adam and Eve made. Instead of running from God and deciding to go our own way we must run to God and acknowledge that He is the only way.

We must decide to leash our hearts to God. We must choose Him. Although He seeks each and every one of us out individually, by name, He will never force us to choose Him. He calls, He waits, He is patient and kind and His mercy endures. But if, at the end of our lives, we have not chosen Him then we will be lost forever and eternally separated from Him in a place reserved for the Devil and his angels.

What you have chosen? Where is your heart and what direction is it headed? Is loving God and living a life based on His Word and His truth foremost in your life or have you chosen the god of “self” instead? If you are reading this then it is not too late to change direction. It is not too late for you to decide to leash your heart to the God who loves you and has the best possible plan for your life. Choose love. Choose freedom. Choose wisdom and peace. Choose the Lord God Almighty.

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: heart, Jeremiah 17:9, selfishness