Dirty Bible, Clean Heart

  " And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever He chose ." -Hebrews 2:4 Have you ever asked God for something big in your life? Maybe financial freedom, bodily healing, or the dream of having a child. The prayers that seem biggest to us are truly nothing for God. But many times we forget that. In the midst of our tear-filled prayers, we act as if our requests are too hard, complex, or big for even God Himself. And if this line of thinking is prolonged, our doubts will fool us into believing that perhaps God does not want to answer our prayers...that miracles are a thing of ages past. But the record of Scripture shows a different picture. All throughout God's Word we see a God who brings water from a rock (Ex 17:5-6), fights against our enemies (2 Kings 19:35), and heals those fighting illnesses and in bondage to evil spirits (Matt 8:16). We, through our own weakness and unbelief, oftentimes place G...

  "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all-- how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?" Maybe no one knows or perhaps everyone does but God knows. In fact, it's become your number one prayer request. And even if you haven't mentioned it that much, deep inside you want to. You desperately want to ask God to do this one thing for you but perhaps you don't because it's so precious that should you ask and not receive it, the disappointment would be overwhelming. After much wishing and praying the day comes when God gives you His word that He will do it!  He is going to fulfill that desire of your heart. Tears of joy run down your face as you wonder in awe at God's love and kindness that He should give you such a wonderful promise. Faith fills your heart and thanksgiving your lips. But what you may not realize in that moment of ecstasy is that between God giving you a promise and Him actually fulfilling it is a four-...

  "If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people"- Charles Spurgeon I think there are few things in life as frustrating as waiting. Whether it be something small such as waiting for food at a restaurant to major things like waiting for test results from your doctor's office. Waiting is hard. Yet the life of the Christian will undoubtedly include seasons of waiting (a fact that most Old and New Testament saints can attest to). Waiting is not a class we pass and  move on from. On the contrary, waiting is similar to your math courses in high school...there are several, each one a step above the last. When we complete a season of waiting, be assured that another one lies in the future. Simply ...

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader.  “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” -Mark 5:35  Has God ever given you a specific promise for your life? For some that might mean a new business venture, or a baby, perhaps a spouse, or maybe even a ministry. These are some of the things that many of us desire and that (I believe) God wants to freely give us (Rom 8:32). All throughout the Bible, we see God making promises with His chosen people. And because Hebrews 13:8 declares that God "is the same yesterday, today, and forever" we can rest assured that if God fulfilled promises to His people then, He will do so today as well. But what if the promise God made you is taking longer than expected? In fact, what if between the time that God spoke that promise over your life and now, things have actually grown worse?!  What do we do then? The Bible has plenty to say about waitin...

"When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples  to ask him, “ Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else ?”  Jesus replied,  “ Go back and report to John what you hear and see:   The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.  Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me ." -Matthew 11:2-6 I cannot imagine what John must have felt. His circumstances had changed quite drastically. Before his imprisonment, he had led a flourishing and vibrant ministry but now sat in a dark and dirty prison. And as the days, weeks, and even months drew on, John never expected to experience the doubts and questions that he did. Was Jesus really  the  Messiah? All the signs pointed towards a resounding  yes!  Yet as he sat in that prison, John wondered...had h...

"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt , because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."  James 1:6-7 I recently heard a podcast interview between a well-known psychologist and his patient. The patient struggled with binge-eating disorder and this counselor sought to help the woman overcome her addiction. As I listened to the conversation, I was struck by a statement that the psychologist frequently uses with his patients- " feelings aren't facts !" The counselor had the woman repeat this phrase out loud several times and then instructed her to say it (but more importantly internalize it) whenever she felt the urge to binge. This mantra, said he, was one of the slogans that helped him differentiate between what was true and what was a lie which in turn helped him defeat his previous food addiction. Listening to this conversation made me realize ho...