Heart Disease

The leading cause of death for men and women worldwide is heart disease.

And you may or may not know that what happens in the spiritual, manifests in the physical.

So, it may or may not shock you to hear me tell you that the leading cause of spiritual death is also... heart disease.

Proverbs 4:23 says,

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

Proverbs 27:19 says,

"As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart."

Everything we do or say is a DIRECT result of the state of our heart. Is our heart healthy and giving life to others? Are our words doing this? Our actions? Or is our heart diseased, and spewing negative talk and treating others miserably?

In Psalms 51:10, David implores God to create a NEW heart within him, one that is pure:

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

What does that new heart look like? The following verses tell us.

It accepts instruction/commands:

"The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin." Proverbs 10:8

It guards the Father's commands:

"My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity." Proverbs 3:1-2

It seeks after the Father, so that it won't stray from the Father's commands:

"I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands." Psalm 119:10

It praises the Father and learns His commands:

"I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws." Psalm 119:7

It serves Him entirely, walks in obedience, and keeps His commands:

"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul." Joshua 22:5

Paul tells the Romans that the Father placed His Holy Spirit in the hearts of the believers,

"And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5:5

Ezekiel 36:26-27 reiterates this idea of the Father giving us a NEW heart with a NEW spirit:

"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."

What does that new spirit in that new heart cause us to do, based on the passage above? Causes us to walk in His statutes and observe His ordinances (walk and observe His law).

This is how we know that we CAN do these things, because the Holy Spirit is the empowerment for us to be able to do them, based on the passage above.

Further, we see in Philippians 4:13, that through this Spirit that God has given us, we are strengthened to be able to do ALL things:

"I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me."

If all means all, this means we are also strengthened enough, by His Spirit, to walk in His commands.

In closing, the leading cause of death, in both the physical and the spiritual is heart disease. The Father requires us to submit to Him, so that He can circumcise our hearts. This leads to us walking in His Spirit, and therefore walking in His commands. All of these things together lead to... life.

"The LORD your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!" Deuteronomy 30:6

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 says it best:

"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Allow Him to cure your heart disease. Choose life that you may live, you and your descendants. <3

Two-Way Street

You know, I always see posts about how much God loves US, and everything He does for US. Which is fine, He does do SO MUCH for us, He HAS done so much for us. We should celebrate it, absolutely.

But, why is our relationship with Him a one-way street? Imagine your marriage relationship. If you were to show affection to your spouse, and they never reciprocated, or rarely reciprocated... wouldn't that be a terrible relationship? You'd probably become depressed and lonely, right? You may even think about divorce.

So, how do we show God we love Him? We can't come up with an arbitrary answer here. Think of that book - "The 5 Love Languages" - it talks about how every person has their own "love language" - how they feel loved. There is quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service and physical touch. You may find that you feel loved through more than one of those outlets, or simply one over the others. In any case, if your love language is words of affirmation, and your spouse doesn't typically provide you with those words of affirmation, you may find yourself feeling unloved.

So, let's then forego the arbitrary answer we *think* may be right and look to God's Word to let HIM tell us how He feels loved.

1 John 5:3 tells us pretty explicitly,

"To love God means that we obey his commandments. Obeying his commandments isn’t difficult."

Even Jesus tells us how we show our love for Him in John 14:15,

"If you love me, you will obey my commandments."

Many will say that our worship is an act of love, and I would agree with you. John 4:23-24 tells us that God is looking for those who worship Him properly,

"Indeed, the time is coming, and it is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for people like that to worship him. God is a spirit. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

We must worship Him in spirit AND in truth.

The word for "spirit" there is G4151 pneuma, which means by mental disposition. So, we must worship God by having our minds set on Him, maybe it's better to say our intent set on Him. We must intend on worshipping Him. But there's an important word after the word "spirit" - AND. We must worship God in Spirit AND in truth. Not one, not the other. BOTH.

The word for "truth" there is G225 aletheia, which means - well, truth. So we must worship God according to intent and according to FACTS. Where do we get the facts about God? His Word. His Word tells us the truth about Him. So, we are told that God's love language is obedience to His commandments. I would challenge us today to make sure we are in a TWO-way relationship with the Father, and not such a relationship where we reap all the benefit, but He is left in the dust. <3

Adultery

If I decided to have an affair and commit adultery, and my husband found out, we would likely need to go to counseling to heal some of those wounds. It would take a long time, but let's say that he forgave me. He gave up the anger and bitterness so that our relationship could be made whole.

Now, I would (hopefully) not turn around a year later and do the exact same thing I had received forgiveness for, correct?

Our Father, through His Son Jesus, has done the exact same thing. We sinned against Him, by breaking His law, because sin is transgression of the law.

"Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law." 1 John 3:4

The Bible tells us that we committed adultery against Him, among other things. He then sent Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice to pay the debt that existed as a result of our sins. The debt is gone. It is forgiven. Do we then turn around and continue to sin by breaking His law, since our debt has been paid?

I'll let you answer that yourself, but I would hope you would answer with a resounding NO. Paul in Romans even tells us that we are to choose to be a slave to obedience not a slave to sin:

"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification." Romans 6:15-19

Remember that 1 John 3:4 from above tells us that sin is defined as transgression (breaking) of the law.

1 John is estimated to have been written around 85 AD. After the cross. Sin was still being defined as transgression of the law at this point.

This begs the question - well - transgression of what law? Some will say Jesus' "law of love" which comes from Matthew 22 (bolded words are references directly from the Old Testament):

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

There are two things to note here - the first is that Jesus' last point says that on those two commandments depend the whole law and the Prophets. This means that all the Law and Prophets culminate in those two works. Be obedient in the little things of the law and you will be obedient in the big things (Luke 16:10).

The second thing to note is this - Jesus said those two were the greatest of the commandments. He never, at any point, says these are the only two commandments. He says they are greater than the others, which implies there are others that are lesser, or least, in His eyes. In fact, in Matthew 5, he lays out that whoever teaches against even the least of the commandments will be found least in the Kingdom. He even goes so far as to tell us that none are abolished so long as Heaven and Earth remain:

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Paul tells us the law is not nullified in Romans 3:

"Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law."

So let's go back to what Law? Sin is transgression of what Law? Jesus is telling us right here that there are more commandments that exist rather than the two He has just mentioned (which by the way are taken directly from Leviticus 19 - this is why they are IN ALL CAPS in the New Testament, showing that it is a direct reference from the Old Testament).

If those two commandments didn't pass away from the Old Testament law, it can be safely assumed that the others didn't either. The Law that John is speaking of is the Old Testament law. The Law from the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy).

I'm just going to leave this passage from Hebrews here (bolded words are direct quotes from the OT):

"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

It says the Lord will judge his people. That means that the believers out there will be judged. According to what standard?

"For all who have sinned without the Law (non-believers) will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law (believers) will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified." Romans 2:12-13

We will be judged according to God's standard - His Law. Now is the time to practice walking it out, friends.

If I Were the Enemy...

I just want to posit a theory on Proverbs 22:6.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it."

If this is true, then the opposite would likely be true as well - training up a child in the way he should NOT go. Then even when he is old, he will not depart from it. I bet the enemy knows this scripture. If I were the enemy, I would know the Bible in and out, so I could twist and distort it as much as possible.

And you know that he knows that if he wants to fully deceive God's children, he's got to get them when they're young.

Because when I was young, I was taught that all I had to do was pray the sinner's prayer and that "once I was saved" I was "always saved."

The Cross plus nothing.

It sounds wonderful and hopeful and fantastic, and you rely on those preachers and teachers because "they went to seminary" and you didn't, so you trust them and their knowledge.

But then, if you're like me, you open up your Bible and start to read it more because "that's what I should be doing" and then you start to say, "Hey, wait a second... I thought..." and then you dig around some more, and there's another passage and another passage and suddenly, you're thinking.... "Nahhhh, it's all in my head. My pastor's right."

What I'm getting at is this: if God promises that if we train our kids in the way they should go - HIS WAY - they won't depart from it as adults. The alternative to that is true as well. If they're raised (like you and I were) with inconsistent doctrine and fallacies that are explained by having to twist the scriptures into poetry and excuses that don't even come from scripture (like that pesky Sabbath business - what are we? JEWS? Come on. That all ended at the Cross!), then when they're older, they won't depart from it either.

Open your hearts. Open your minds. Open your eyes. TEST EVERYTHING. ♥

Golf and Fertility Goddesses

So, last night I was watching David Feherty's interview with Phil Mickelson.

(This is a golf thing, but if you don't know who they are or just don't care about golf, keep reading, because it's not really about golf).

And at one point Feherty asks Phil if he believes in the powers of the fertility goddess in Hawaii. To which Phil responds something to the effect of, "Oh, you don't know the story, do you?"

And then Phil goes on to explain how he and his wife, Amy, struggled with infertility, and shortly before going on fertility medication for their first child, they traveled to Hawaii. While there, someone told them to "ask the fertility goddess to help them get pregnant." So, they go to this statue of this fertility goddess, rub it, and then they get pregnant with their first child without medication.

And for their second child, they did the same thing. Were told they'd need medication, and instead rubbed this Hawaiian fertility goddess statue.

Now, while Phil is telling this whole story, he and Feherty are laughing it off, and ultimately Phil caps the story by saying something like, "So yeah, we believe in the Hawaiian fertility goddess."

And you know, a few years ago I would've laughed it off too.

"Hahaha, silly fertility goddess... hahaha..."

Except, scripture tells us that these gods and goddesses that are not of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob actually DO have power, and that people have worshipped them (knowingly or unknowingly) throughout history.

"The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs [Asherah is the fertility goddess of the Canaanites]." Judges 3:7

We are told that the god of this world (Satan) will perform miracles and wonders that will deceive many, because they have been blinded to the spiritual war that is occurring all around us.

"Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12

There is a spiritual battle occurring all around us. And just because we can't see it happening directly, does not negate that it IS happening.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." Ephesians 6:10-13

Finally, you may be saying, what's the big deal? Why does it matter if they rubbed a fertility statue and got pregnant?

It matters because we are told to have NO other gods before YHWH (Yahweh, our God). In fact, this is repeated multiple times throughout the scriptures.

"You shall have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20:3

"You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves." Exodus 20:23

"-- for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--" Exodus 34:14

"You shall have no other gods before Me." Deuteronomy 5:7

"You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you..." Deuteronomy 6:14

"...with whom the LORD made a covenant and commanded them, saying, "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down yourselves to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them." 2 Kings 17:35

"Let there be no strange god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god." Psalm 81:9

"I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images." Isaiah 42:8

"Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known..." Jeremiah 7:9

So, now you may be saying, "Well, rubbing a statue and hoping you get pregnant doesn't mean I am worshipping another god instead of our God."

And you know, a few years ago, I would've argued that exact same thing. The problem with that line of thought is that when we put our faith (even half-heartedly) into ANYTHING or ANYONE besides our God, we ARE directing our worship and putting our faith into something ELSE besides our God.

Even joking about it is serious stuff, y'all. God considers it adultery, and it's exactly why He exiled the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel. In fact, the Northern Kingdom was SO awful about putting their faith into the gods of the world, that the Father divorced them. That bad.

"During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord." Jeremiah 3:6-10

I share these thoughts with you all because I want us all (myself included) to be more careful with our words and our actions. To make sure we are pure and set apart for the Father.

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Corinthians 7:1 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 "Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." 2 Timothy 2:20-21

Does Truth Change?

Let's try this from another angle, literally. I created this schematic:

The original church (taught by the apostles who walked with Jesus) knew Jesus' ministry far better than anyone else. They learned directly from Him. And Jesus taught according to the Father's will. Therefore, the apostles knew without a doubt what the Father's will was.

So, the original church and the Truth existed in the same plane of time. They were one and the same. The Truth never changes, so it is represented by a flat line that remains unchanged in direction.

Let's say that the church (over time) deviated just one single degree from the Truth that was relayed to the apostles. That one degree separated them from the Truth, even if only a measly degree. Over time, the separation becomes more noticeable. Maybe this results in many denominations... did you know there were an estimated 43,000 Christian denominations as of 2012?? In the year 1900, there were "only" 1,600. Still a far cry from the ONE denomination that existed at Christ's ministry.

So, then you and I were born somewhere after this seemingly minute deviation occurred, and we're used to the deviation because it existed before we were even born. To us, it's truth. But it's not really, because it has deviated from the Truth that Christ taught 2 millennia ago. And then you have the church today, 1984 years after Christ taught. And that single measly degree has suddenly become a vast separation from the Truth that never changed.

For the church today to remain dogmatic that it KNOWS the Truth... you have to ask yourself - how did one denomination turn into 43,000?