Heartbeat

Weigh Station

A weigh station is a checkpoint along a highway equipped with large scales to inspect the weight of trucks. This is to ensure it’s not overweight and is compliant with state laws and safety guidelines.
God’s Word, the Bible, is a checkpoint along life’s highway to inspect the weight of your mind, body, spirit, and soul. Life is often metaphorically described as a long-distance race and Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “strip off every weight that slows us down.”
So, what are you carrying around with you that’s heavy and cumbersome? What’s slowing you down? Allow the encouragement of scripture to show you what you need to let go of and leave behind.

The Mighty Oak Tree

Think about the difference between the mighty oak tree and a quickly growing plant like a tomato. The oak tree grows slowly, it sends roots deep into the soil that will enable it to withstand strong storms, hot summers and cold winters. It eventually provides shade and a habitat for wildlife. However, the tomato plant grows quickly but doesn’t even last through the winter.
Our faith is much like the oak tree. It takes time. It takes life lived to grow a deeper understanding of who God is in your life and it takes time to learn His voice. As your roots grow deeper into the things of God, you too become stronger and more resilient to the storms in life.
 

Good Enough

A friend of mine’s grandmother passed away recently. And sadly, in one of the last conversations he had with her she stated that she just hoped she’d been good enough to get into heaven.
What does “good enough” even look like?
The comedian, Mike Atkinson once said,
“If you can get through the day without coffee, if you can always be cheerful, if you can resist complaining, if you have never lied; well, my friend, then you’re almost as good as your dog.”
In Mark, chapter seven, Jesus talks about what’s inside a person’s heart that makes them clean or unclean. Not outward performance. As a new creation in Christ, our behavior should transform because we are allowing the holy spirit to shape our minds to be more like Jesus. No one is simply “good enough” to not need His undeserved Grace.
 

Keep it Clean

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing someone littering. When I see someone throwing trash out of a car window, it drives me crazy to see someone disrespecting the environment like that.
God gave us this beautiful planet, and He wants us to be good stewards over it.
We find ourselves asking God for things we desire, but if He can’t trust us with taking care of what He’s already given us, why should we expect more?
God knows our needs, and it’s His good pleasure to meet our needs (and even some of our wants) according to His will. But let’s be gracious and thankful for what He’s already given us by taking care of this beautiful garden called planet earth.

No Place Like Home

Rather than focusing on scientific details of the origin of life, the book of Genesis focuses on sharing the world’s purpose and how it’s meant to function.
The author, John Walton, says that the book of Genesis is telling us how God turned this house into a home.
When you go to a friend’s house, you aren’t concerned with how the foundation was poured or the layout of the plumbing. You’re more interested in how this space is used to bring loved ones together. In other words, you’re less focused on the “how” and more focused on the “why” of the house.
The book of Genesis is not a science textbook. It’s the first in a collection that share the story of God and His people.
 

Authentic Worship

Matthew, chapter six verse six says:
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
These are important words from Jesus. He’s about halfway through His most famous message we now know as the sermon on the mount- and had spoken clearly on the kind of behavior and heart of a person that makes someone blessed.
When you pray publicly for the attention and respect of people… you get what you pray for.
God wants people to worship him authentically. No pretense, just spirit and truth. Private prayer with no audience but God is about as authentic as it gets.

Have You Lost Your Mind?

As Jesus was doing the will of His Father; gathering His disciples, renaming some of them, healing the sick, ministering to the poor, preaching to the crowds…
Mark chapter three says that when His friends heard of this, they tried to hold him back because they thought he had lost his mind. Kingdom living often looks quite strange to the rest of the world.
What has God called you to do, that you’ve dared to do, that isn’t making you popular among your friends? Maybe you’re the one who’s quick to forgive, to lend a helping hand, to see the good and not the bad.
Whatever it is, remember, Jesus didn't let His critics stop Him and either should you.

Remember Me

In Luke, chapter 22, Jesus is breaking bread with his disciples for the last time. After he gives thanks for the meal, he says to them, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me”.
Now this has become a beautiful sacramental expression of faith in the Christian Church, The Lord’s Supper. A sacred moment as we gather for a meal to pause and remember Christ. However, this doesn’t have to be the only sacred moment in your day. When we’re at our best, we should see all of life as a sacrament. When something is sacred, you recognize its connection with God. A walk-through nature, time with your spouse, or your kids.
How do you recognize and remember Christ throughout your day?
 
 

Delayed Blessings

Have you ever been in that place where you have to choose between what God has instructed you to do and what you think you should do? Maybe it’s how you WANT to react to someone who has mistreated you. The human reaction and the Godly reaction are quite different.
If you’ve been in this place before, don’t feel bad, me too. You either appear weak in someone else’s eyes, or you walk in complete obedience to God.
Keep in mind, that God knows the plans He has for you.  His instructions at this moment and in this season are for a reason. What has God asked you to do that you are yet to do? Could you be delaying your blessing or your breakthrough?
Choose wisely in this season and watch what our Father will do for you.

Faith and Fear

Fear is a natural, chemical reaction in our brains. The amygdala is a part of the brain that activates when we sense a threat and causes the body to have a physical response. However, the hippocampus is a part of our brain that then helps our brains interpret the threat. So, if we were to see a T Rex coming towards us, we may instinctively be afraid, but, that fear is tempered by us knowing it’s just a movie.
This tempering of fear is the job of our faith. It’s a filter through which we view our world, fearful events and circumstances- reminding us that no matter what we see, God is in control.