Personal Evaluation. Part 3

"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."  

                                           Proverbs 4:23   NKJV

What is the spiritual condition of your heart? We've looked at this area just lately and the state of it is very important. It can't be overlooked for: 'out of it spring the issues of life.'

IS YOUR HEART BEATING IN STEP WITH GOD?

What occupies the attention of your heart? If we pollute our heart with sin it becomes like an infection and spreads to other areas. Our minds become embraced with what the heart is pouring out and without attention, this will quickly lead to an unhealthy appetite and possible shame. From thereon, the words we speak confirm that we are not flowing in God. 

In order to promote themselves, some people may use flattery towards others: 'They speak idly everyone with his neighbour; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak' Psalm 12:2. They do this to make themselves look like people of God that no church should be without. They are always eager to please and get into prominent positions within a church. Their intentions may be genuine but their hearts are promoting themselves and not Jesus. 

At the other end of the spectrum, we ourselves may be living two different lives - one life set aside for God and all that goes with this and, the other life, living hypocritically - praising God one minute and getting involved in things we shouldn't, the next. This can take the form of gossiping about people in the church, criticising them and finding nothing good to say about most things. Jesus Himself, addressed this in Matthew 12:34-37: 'For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgement. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.'

These are very strong words that Jesus uses. He is telling us straight; we can't say we didn't know about this. It is written down in His blood, the blood He shed for all of us, on the cross. We need to get it right - NOW! It'll be too late when we are standing before Him.

Why not join me in prayer: 'Lord Jesus, please forgive me for all of the idle words that I have spoken about someone; all of the gossip that I have spread and all of the criticism I have been involved in too. And Lord for the times that I have been unworthy of you by my actions and deeds. I am sorry. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

And if you don't know Jesus or have fell away, here is a prayer for you:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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Personal Evaluation. Part 2

 "Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart." 

                                                   Proverbs 4:21  NKJV

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

As we give attention to the Word of God by listening properly to what is being said, remember our eyes too. Our eyes can tend to skim over some of the text so that, we only read a part of it. Also, we can be tempted to only read the parts that apply to ourselves. The devil likes to do this seeing what he wants to see and changing what he doesn't like; in other words twisting the truth. He tried this in the wilderness with Jesus but, Jesus was too full of the power of God that He beat the devil on every count.

When we read scripture, it can be helpful to see the things that other people need to be aware of. However, when we are challenged by scripture, we can pretend that it doesn't apply to us and move on quickly. Don't do this. Jesus talks to us for a reason. He will always flag up areas that are not useful for us. But, do we take notice?

Take an average day. It starts off well; we go to work or address the chores that need doing at home. Let's assume you are at home. After clearing this and that up and spending a quick time doing your daily bible study, you sit down for a coffee. Flicking through the pages of your iPad or laptop, you see some sexually explicit images - the sort that would be on any daily newspaper. You find yourself mesmerised by this image and this may lead you to find some more revealing ones. After a short time, you shut the iPad down and move on, feeling rather ashamed that you did this. But, the next day at the same time, you are tempted to have a 'quick look' again. This time you linger longer, enjoying what you see. Before too long, you are addicted to this and the craving will continue. Look at what James says: 'But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.'  James 1:14-15.

Can you see what is happening? The devil has found a weak spot within you and, you have fallen for it. Now, it is difficult to break that because your flesh is screeching out for more.  Nip it in the bud before it completely takes over; pray and give this to Jesus but, you must want to give it to Him and leave it there. Otherwise, you will hang on to it and continue to be a slave to this sin.

This all started with your eyes and what you look at. Refuse to look any longer and look at wholesome things. We all have these weaknesses, whatever they are, you're not alone. But, it depends on what you do about them. Teach yourself to look at Jesus. Picture Him in the gospels, see what He is doing and ask Him to help you. He will, in fact He is waiting for you to do this now.

If you are not born again and want to be, here I’ll below is a prayer of salvation:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle  

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Personal Evaluation. Part 1

"My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to My sayings"  

                            Proverbs 4:20   NKJV 

Over the next few days, let us take a look at ourselves - our own personal evaluation. People see us, listen to us but, what actually is their opinion of us. Do they like what they see and hear, as coming from God, or do they walk away thinking that they're not sure about us? So therefore, let us take this study in stages starting with:

DO WE LISTEN PROPERLY?

Solomon directs us to give attention to his words. In this busy world with things going on around us at great speed, it is easy to miss certain things that are being said. For instance, in an interview, counselling session or general meeting, we need to pay attention to what we are being told or asked. We tend to want to do all of the talking but, when we do this we are at risk of missing what is being said. One of Mark Twain's famous quotes was 'If we were meant to talk more than listen, we would have two mouths and one ear.' And it is true.

Therefore, paying attention to what is being said is very important. In a counselling situation, you may find the counsellor leaning forward very slightly and then reflecting back part of what you have said; hence 'incline your ears to my sayings.' This serves two purposes, it shows you that you are being listened to properly and, the counsellor is empathising with you. In many conversations we have, we are tempted to look out of the window when someone walks by, answer our mobile if it rings (I must take this). Look at our watch and generally showing the other person that you are not really listening to them.

So, Solomon insists that we 'give attention' to what you are hearing. We can tend to only hear a fraction of what is being said and then, when we walk away, turn round to someone who was with us and say, 'What did they say?' If there is no-one with you then you have missed out on something that may have been important. A good example of this was Eve in the garden. When challenged by the serpent about the fruit on the tree, she added to what God had said and told the serpent that they couldn't even touch the fruit, which was not true. She hadn't listened properly and it is likely that Adam hadn't either because, don't forget he was there with her as well.

It is vitally important that we sharpen up our listening skills and also, limit what we are hearing, such as malicious gossip, course jokes and change what comes out of our mouths Ephesian 4:29

If you are not born again and want to be, here I’ll below is a prayer of salvation:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle  

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

 

How do you make your plans?

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."   

                                                    Proverbs 16:3  NIV 

Woody Allen, once said, 'If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans.' This is quite an amusing comment but, there may be an element of truth in it. We may be tempted to go off and do our own thing. The Prodigal Son in Luke 15 did this and look what he made of it all. God gives us free will, He will never stop us from trying to go our own way. But, when we do and, it goes wrong, He is there to pick up the pieces. One thing that He will never say is, 'I told you so, you'll never learn, will you?' Our parents or friends may say this to us and it never really helps. We know when we have messed up, we don't need a running commentary on it. Look how the Prodigal's father handled things, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him - For this son of mine was dead and is alive again.' (Lk. 15:22-24).

Yes, we do make mistakes and, many of them come from dashing into things without, first, checking it out with God. The old saying, 'Fools rush in' by Alexander Pope, comes to mind here. It is foolish to make hasty decisions without first thinking it through and counting the cost. This is why God wants us to commit our plans to Him. Why? Because He knows the future; He can see the pitfalls. He knows if it is the right thing to do. But what do we do about this. Quite simply, we talk to God about it. King Hezekiah heard disturbing comments against him and the Lord and decided to take it to the Lord for direction. "Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.'  Isaiah 37:14.

The term, 'Spread it out before the Lord' is a good description of committing things to God. Sometimes, when we are under pressure, we tend to stutter our words before God and therefore, miss the point. It's not that God doesn't understand what is happening, He does. But, He wants us to be specific and spreading it out before Him, describes a way that we can tell Him about what is happening and, enquire if the plans we have are adequate. Note that our text today says, 'Commit to the Lord whatever you do'.  Doing this helps us to ensure that we aren't missing anything out and, prevents us from making a hasty decision. Don't forget that we are told to: 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.'   Proverbs 3:5-6

If you are not born again and want to be, here I’ll below is a prayer of salvation:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle  

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2