God's Redemption!

Dear friends,

The following is a condensed version of the devotions Lawrence and I had online via MSN Messenger last Saturday. I hope it gives some great food for thought.

Sincerely,
Brooke, co-moderator for Thoughts of the Heart ministry.

P.S. The Scripture for that day’s devotion was Psalm 18. Enjoy!

Lawrence:

Verses 1-3 show King David's trust in the Lord. He knew who God is to him, and he is sure that he has God's favour and intervention to help him and to see him through. There in verse 3, King David praised God for who He is, and has put his faith in His character and power. King David lived his life in a pleasing manner to God, and thus gained His favour. At the same time, let's shift the focus upon us. None of us are perfect. Yet we have the Lord's sacrifice for us, not because we deserved it, He wants us to claim that as His gift of love for us. Meaning regardless of how many flaws and sins we have, we can surrender it to God and accept His gift of salvation, and have God's favour. We have all we need from God, but we need to live in the Truth that He wants us to realize. That we are saved, and God will not remember our sins as long we repent and come back to Him. Furthermore, we cannot earn God's favour, nor His love with what we do. All these promises from God are true . . . that He will prove faithful, and He wants us to see what He has given us, and what we're entitled to now by His sacrifice. It just brings me back to the heart of salvation actually. God will be faithful, even though we're faithless. Our guilt doesn't change God's nature. His words are true and His nature will never change. God will save His people, He will hear us, regardless of our faith, but what God wants to see is our faith, our trust in Him, to see us living in the truth and to live in His ways, which are pleasing to Him.

Looking away from God, we shall see what the enemy wants us to see. But looking back to Him, we shall see how powerful and sovereign He is. Our focus should be God -ward, lest our faith shall falter. Peter looked away from the Lord, and he began to sink. But before that, he looked upon the Lord, and he walked on water. We should focus on what He can do, and what He can do through us, with His power, not on our own limitations. I've tried to get God’s love for me by doing things for Him before, but I kept feeling sad, feeling that I've never done enough, and I never felt the joy or fulfillment until I realized that God's love for me doesn't depend on my merits, but because He chooses to love me, regardless. He just wants me to see that. That I've been loved for who I am, and I'm clean through the Lord.

This Psalm may cause some people to think that they need to earn favor by doing what is pleasing to Him. But the truth is, God wants us to live the way He wants because He is concerned for us and only wants what is best for us. It's not about earning favor, it's just an act of loving obedience, and respect for the Lord. God is faithful and unchanging, regardless. He will intervene for His beloved children.

Brooke:

Amen. God’s concern came first, before our obedience.

For what I have to say, notice how in verse 24 David says God has rewarded him according to the cleanness of his hands in God’s sight. In the OT King David offered sacrifices to pay for his sin, therefore giving him the cleanness of hands in God's sight. It's not that he was claiming to be perfect, just saying he tried, and that he now saw himself as God did, clean due to the sacrifices. He didn't speak of his past sins because so far as God was concerned, they didn't exist. The OT animal sacrifices looked forward to Christ's sacrifice (meaning the symbolism and rituals all pointed to Christ's future sacrifice). King David knew that if God didn't see him as guilty anymore, that's what mattered. God's view is all that counts, and we can now say the same thanks to Christ's sacrifice for us, that we are holy in God's sight, made that way by Christ's sacrifice when we accepted His payment for our sins.

Lawrence:

We should live in the way of the Truth now. We've been released and are free, redeemed by the Lord, and we're His. We're given the privilege to be in His presence, the Holiest of Holies. The enemy is good at bombarding us with lies and burdens that will weigh us down. We're not immune to them, but we can choose to continue to claim His truth, and to see ourselves from His eyes, and to see our problems from His viewpoint.

Deep Web Fishing

Lately I've been thinking about the potential of using the internet as a means to draw unbelievers to Christ. To my surprise, I found I'm not the only one who's been thinking over these things. It turns out this is a vision God has given many people. In fact, there are several sites specifically dedicated to internet evangelism. I've listed some of the links on the right. Some are for training, others are simply great resources for anyone who wishes to witness to people in an online environment. Also, there are several blog authors who are also experiencing this same tug on their heartstrings. One in particular that comes to mind is Paul Dawn, author of Hill Country Thoughts. Paul is someone with a heart for reaching out to the outcast and to those whom many are afraid to associate with. He is also someone I'm blessed to have as a friend. In a recent comment, Paul wrote the following:

"The Lord has a lot of people in cyberspace that He wants to touch and use to reach others through writing, prayer, through e-mail... He is allowing us to take back cyberspace for Him and to cast forth His net on the internet."

How true! And the best part is, God can use any one of His people in bigger ways than we've even imagined. For instance, let's say you write a post for your blog, or a Christian site. A year later you decide that, just for fun, you should type the name of that post into Google and see what it pulls up. To your amazement, it brings up links on sites you've never heard of, and yet these people are linking to you. In denial that strangers would actually link to your stuff, you begin clicking through the Google results, checking to make absolutely sure it's you these folks have linked to. In the process, you find some great sites and click on other links from there and find a great article on just the subject you needed to hear about. In the end, God uses your thoughts to bless others, and their thoughts to bless you. Isn't God great? That said, let's take full advantage of this sea called the internet and invite God to make us (cyber)fishers of men!

Into His Presence!!

How awesome it is to be in the presence of the Lord!

That is what it was like Saturday evening when we gathered together at Bill and Paula's house for a home fellowship meeting.

It was all about the Lord. About worshiping and lifting Him up and focusing on Him. The presence of the Lord drew us into a time of intimacy, a time of heart preparation.

It was the Lord wooing us, bidding us to come, to know Him, to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.

So many things happen when we come into His presence. He desires to hear your voice.

To hear your whispers of love, of obedience. In this time of worship we are set free from the bonds of the day, as we focus and release it all to Him.

It is during this time we learn to rest in His love!

This evening was life changing, hope building, allowing the Lord to write upon our hearts and to see with the eye of the Spirit.

Indeed it is all about Him, about our Lord and Saviour. About the life changing work that He performs in us when we fellowship together. As we share the wonders of who He is.

In fellowship, in breaking bread together. In the sharing of the heart, we build one another up in the Lord. We are made strong, one together, in heart, in mind as we worship Him!

Till later,

Paul



*Note - The above post was originally published on Saturday, August 6, by Paul Dawn, Jr. on his blog, Hill Country Thoughts. He kindly gave permission to copy and paste it into this blog as well. Thanks, Paul! Your ministry in all of its facets is greatly appreciated.

Why This Blog? A Driving Passion:

Since the creation of this blog, there's been quite a bit of interest in it by many who are excited about this ministry of bringing Christians together. Others, however, have remained strangely silent on the issue, perhaps pondering over questions they're afraid to ask. In this post I'll try to answer some of those questions and help you understand the driving force behind Thoughts Of The Heart.

Question 1: "Why would anyone create a blog with the primary purpose of letting others fill it?"

Answer: Somebody needs to do it, so why not me? The driving force behind this blog is a calling God placed within me several months ago to minister to others via the internet. In addition, I've seen many Christians who have found the support they desperately needed via the posts and devotions written by fellow believers around the globe, not to mention the incredible blessing of email (think of the saved time, as well as postage!).

Question #2: If believers have already found the support they need, why create this blog? After all, there are plenty of Christian blogs out there, as we all know, so why this one?

Answer: While I agree the internet has been useful to many Christians (myself included), I also believe its biggest potential has been left largely untapped. That potential lies in the fact that many Christian believers love God, but don't speak English. Even if they do, they may not feel comfortable enough with their ability to write it to post their thoughts or begin a blog of their own. My hope is to recruit capable volunteers who would be willing to help translate, confidentially when requested, the thoughts of overseas Christians from their native language (or a mixture of that language and English) into a post that most people with only a basic knowledge of English could understand. This way every Christian has equal opportunity to share what God has laid upon their hearts regarding matters of life, living, and love for God, as well as how all three are connected and how they cannot separated from each other.

Question #3: Okay, that sounds nice, but how can you be sure others will understand the posts?

Answer: The average American Christian (myself included) has developed the habit of using "Christianese" terms that are difficult for unbelievers or new Christians to understand. Even those who speak English as their native tongue struggle with some of the words commonly heard in churches. Thus, an essential requirement for posts on this blog would be to cut out those terms that aren't easily understood by others with only a basic ability to understand English. This is a place where anyone with a God-given passion for ministry may post about it. It's also a place for those with a vision for new ministry may test the waters with other Christians who are on the cutting edge of what God is doing in His church and around the globe. It is a place where those who post can expect honest and constructive feedback from brothers and sisters around the world. All posts will be backed by Scripture, either in the post itself or by emailing those who help to administer the blog. If anything is felt to be unscriptural, let us know; we'll pray about it and do our best to work things out in accordance to God's will as written in His Word, the Bible.

Ultimately, each person must seek God's will for him/herself regarding involvement in this ministry. If any of you have thoughts you'd like to have posted about any aspect of the Christian life, feel free to email them to me or leave them in a comment to any recent post. Also, any suggestions or feedback about this ministry would be greatly appreciated. I'm just getting started with this and can use all the godly advice I can get. If any of you have further questions about this ministry, please email me and I'll be glad to post the answers. Also, short devotionals will be coming soon, as a few things are already in the works. However, it is my desire to see a majority of posts on this blog written by other Christians. So step right up, there's no need to fear. I've already taken the first step, so as I've heard my pastor say in asking questions to a shy congregation, "Who wants to be second?" *Grin* God bless you all, and have a great week.

With love in our Lord,
Brooke

Welcome! Guidelines and Theme:

Hello, and welcome to Thoughts Of The Heart! This is a place where people can discuss openly the thoughts or statements God lays on their hearts. This blog is a ministry God has led me to start, and there's more to come. Posts will be written by a good friend of mine and wonderful brother in Christ, Lawrence, as well as others who submit material for the blog. To submit material for this blog, either leave a comment on one of the posts or email me privately with your request. More details for that below. Also, comments left on the Writer's Heart main blog that create food for thought may be requested for pasting into the main posts on this blog, with the author's permission, of course. Feel free to stop by to read comments on a variety of subjects, written by ordinary Christian folks with varied opinions on different matters. Please note that the rules for posting must adhere to the guidelines found in Galations 5:22-26, copied below out of the NIV translation:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

If you have something you think would be a blessing for others (original works only, please), and that agrees with the above stated guidelines, feel free to leave it in a comment or email it to me, and I will pray about posting it. This blog is not a place where perfect writing is required, it is a place for the average Christian to share whatever God has laid upon his or her heart regarding matters of faith and life in general. Please pray that God will grant guidance, wisdom, and maturity to all involved in the development of this blog, that the world may know and recognize the awesome love we have received and now share freely with others. Jesus' words rang true when He said:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." -John 13:34-35 (NIV)

Let us love each other as God loves us, and let us allow Him to use us in accordance with His will, in Jesus' name.

Until next time,
Brooke