Is My Heart Too Crowded?????

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Is It Possible You Practice Idolatry? by Rick Warren

The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. Mark 4:18-19 (NLT) "Now, listen carefully, when something crowds God out of my heart, you know what it's called? It's called an idol." As we discussed yesterday, God wants more than just a little piece of your heart. He wants your whole heart. Jesus talked about how easy it is to let your heart become so overcrowded that you have no room for God. He says there are those who hear God's word, but they become overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get, and eventually the stress strangles what they heard - so nothing comes of it. This is why some people can go to church week-after-week and year-after-year and yet there is little change in their lives. The seed that is planted through the Word on the weekend isn't able to grow because there is no room in the heart. Now, listen carefully, when something crowds God out of my heart, you know what it's called? It's called an idol. An idol is anything that takes the place of God in my heart. And the Bible says there should be no idols in our hearts. Idolatry doesn't mean you have a little statue that you kneel before and pray. An idol can be your career. An idol can be your boyfriend. An idol can be making money. An idol can be a dream. An idol with can be your marriage. Anything that is more important to you than God is an idol. The Bible says, "Be still, and know that I am God!" (Psalms 46:10 NLT) Here's a rough translation: sit down and calm down. You can resign as the general manager of the universe and it's not going to fall apart. You may be so busy putting irons in the fire, that you're about to put the fire out. Jesus is telling us to get rid of the clutter in our hearts and make room for his pervasive presence in our lives.

Pay The Ultimate Gift Forward! :)

It has been a eye-opening week for me in many ways. Although many of my weeks lately have been busy with the vacation to Missouri, followed by the move of my Mother, etc. This week was to be just as busy. Instead I have laid at home flat on my back with the worst case of the flu and bronchitis I have had in several years. I guess it has given me some time to reflect again. Oh Oh!! :) To begin with, I began getting ill Saturday afternoon, but I had wrapping and baking to do and Mom was here, so I took a few pills and made it through the eve. Sunday Am...I was not quite myself, but HAD to go to church because Anita and I needed to take care of the benevolence business of obtaining more money for the gifts we needed for extra kids that were being added on a daily basis! We began with 10 kids, then 12, and now was up to 17 with seven families to buy for. We wondered, and were a bit concerned, as to where the extra funds would come from for so many kids that needed some gifts from Santa. So....why do we even bother wondering???? Why do we worry??? God had it all under control....he just did not reveal that to us until worship began. A family from our church who had been helped earlier in the year in a time of trials, wanted to "Pay It Forward" and return the generosity shown to them. They walked up to Anita and handed her a large check that more than took care of the funding needed to finish the job ahead of us. I just had to say, "Thank you God!" And as I thanked the couple, I also had to shed a few tears. I then drove home and went straight to bed. Needless to say I have not been a great deal of help this week getting the additional clothes, toys, etc that were needed, but others have stepped in and taken care of it. Tonight, I am also missing a Christmas dinner and the wrapping of these gifts, but I suppose God is still in control and telling me that I need to be getting a bit more rest. My fever has stopped today though, so I hope to help Santa deliver the gifts and food to these families on Christmas Eve. :) I want to praise the family that cared enough to "Pay It Forward." Their action in doing this gave us the opportunity to serve others better. The real meaning of Christmas is all about LOVE, GRACE and GIVING and their action reminded me once again of what the real meaning is all about. Another thing I am reminded of this week is that Life will go on without me in it. I felt VERY bad about being sick during a busy week at work and a busy week prior to Christmas, etc. but life did go on and the work is getting done and I am getting rest! (or trying to, with all the coughing) Some think this is God's way of knocking me in the head to slow me down.....as I said a 2x4 would have been easier and less painful....but I got the message regardless. So, in ending, never doubt God's design, his power and his management of things in our lives. I am reminded often of his control and this week was no different. :) He always comes through, just as he did over 2000 years ago with the birth and the sacrifice of his SON. He gave us the ultimate gift.......now are we willing to "Pay It Forward" also??? I have to ask myself, what more can I be doing to "Pay it Forward," so that God's gift (the really vital GIFT) is shared with many more. I have not been doing enough! So, as we all sit down and open all those gifts, we really could do without this year, I hope each of us will think to Pay Forward and share the priceless gift that God gave us 2000 plus years ago. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Craziness In My Life Helps Me To Appreciate The Gifts More! :)

Wednesday, December 08, 2010
You Obey God by Trusting God
by Tom Holladay



"There are two ways you can live your life. You can live feeling like God owes you an explanation or you can live realizing God has given you great gifts."

Some people are good at the immediate. They can jump right into anything, but they are not good at 'keeping on keeping on.' And other people are good at lasting, but it takes them a long time to get there.

To live the exciting life of faith that God has planned for you, you need to be good at both the immediate and the lasting. And both of those require that you keep on trusting.

Joseph didn't understand what it meant for Jesus to have a virgin birth; he didn't understand Jesus would be God in human flesh. But he knew what God told him to do and so Joseph kept on trusting. He was a newlywed who didn't get a honeymoon, and his new marriage was not anything like he planned, but he still kept trusting.

What are you going to do when life doesn't work out like you planned or wanted?

I am always encouraged by what the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8, "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don't know why things happen as they do, but we don't give up and quit" (LB).

I don't know why some people are diagnosed with terminal cancer. I don't know why some children rebel so strongly against their parents. I don't know why so many things happen that don't make sense. So it's encouraging to hear one of the greatest men of faith say, "I don't know why thing happen as they do, but I still choose to not give up."

It's good to know that we can trust God and that he knows things we don't. He has promised that one day he will set everything right. One day he will bring everyone who trusts in him together.

Until then there are two ways you can live your life. You can live feeling like God owes you an explanation or you can live realizing God has given you great gifts.

If you live life feeling like God owes you an explanation, you will only wind up in a constant state of bitterness because God doesn't owe you anything.

But even though he doesn't owe you anything, he has given you everything. He gave you his own Son. He gave you the gift of eternal life. He gave you the promise of being together with him forever. Those are great gifts.

Accept Responsibilty And Grow!

An excerpt from
The Power of Discipline
by Brian Tracy

Your ability and willingness to discipline yourself to accept personal responsibility for your life is essential to happiness, health, success, achievement and personal leadership. Accepting responsibility is one of the hardest of all disciplines, but without it, success is impossible.

The failure to accept responsibility and the attempt to foist responsibility onto others has dire consequences. It completely distorts cause and effect, undermines our character, weakens our resolve, and diminishes our humanity.

When I was twenty-one, I was living in a tiny apartment and working as a construction laborer. I had to get up at 5 a.m. so I could take three buses to work to be there on time. I didn't get home until 7 p.m., usually exhausted. I was making just enough money to get by, with no car, almost no savings, and just enough clothing for my needs. I had no radio or television. In the evenings, if I had enough energy, I would sit in my small apartment at my little table in my kitchen nook and read.

It was the middle of a cold winter, with the temperature at 35 degrees below Fahrenheit.

One evening, sitting there by myself at the table, it suddenly dawned on me that, "This is my life."

It was like a flashbulb going off in front of my face. I looked at myself and my small apartment, and considered the fact that I had not graduated from high school. The only work I was qualified to do was menial jobs. I earned enough money to pay my basic expenses, but little more. I had very little left over at the end of the month.

It suddenly dawned on me that unless I changed, nothing else was going to change. No one else was going to do it for me. In reality, no one cared.

I realized at that moment I was completely responsible for my life, and for everything that happened to me, from that day forward. I was responsible.

I could no longer blame my situation on my difficult childhood, or mistakes that I had made in the past. I was in charge. I was in the driver's seat. This was my life, and if I didn't do something to change it, it would go on like this indefinitely, by the simple process of inertia.

This revelation changed my life. I was never the same again. From that moment forward, I accepted more and more responsibility for my life.