Rain Rain

I think the maturity of the people on social media in Georgia have someway or another complained about the mass amounts of rain we have been given (including myself). A pastor in Florida said this about the rain, "Rain in the bible is said to be a 'Blessing.' God has been giving us a lot of blessings, the blessings are flowing through the streets, and His blessings are creating floods." God created everything, and has called each drop of water to fall from the sky to bless us. The question I find asking myself when I complain is, "Am  I letting my will come before God's holy, prefect, and unique will?"

The abundance of rain reminds me of Joseph and Pharaoh. Joseph is telling Pharaoh that he will have 7 years of abundance and the following 7 years of dry land. God told Joseph to prepare Egypt for the future. God has a unique purpose for the rain for the future. This is why we trust His will instead of our own. Our will only goes to the present, but God's will, sees into the future. Think about the limitations of your will in the midst of troubles. Then think about God's will in the midst of those troubles. Trust in the limitless will of God before you trust in your own.


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Last: Much Is Given

Much Is Given

Joy.

How convicting is it to see people work at a trash dump, not just working, but living there. Most of their possessions they have are peoples' trash; the money they receive a day is the price of a soda we pick up on the way home. What strikes me the most, is that these people have more joy and happiness than any other person. You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. (Psalm 4:7). David is speaking to God, thanking Him for joy rather than grain and wine that is in large amounts. A lot of people find joy in giving what God has given them, because God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). I leave you with some things to think about and a call to action.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. - John Piper

I'm not going to tell how you can have joy in Christ. I feel we all should find it for ourselves.


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Last: Pity vs. Compassion

Pity vs. Compassion

While on my trip to Honduras, we went to "The Dump." We gave out food and water to the people that are living there. We felt a lot of pity for them, and the conditions they are living in. One thing stuck out in my head was this question, "Are we here to temporally help them, or is there a bigger picture." Many teams go to "The Dump," to hand out food, then leave, and think more highly of themselves. Is this what Jesus wanted? For us to help peoples' temporary needs. By no means. Christ wants us to live life with them. Our pity turned to compassion, when we played soccer with the people there, no longer was it pity. Pity is taking care of temporary needs, when compassion is living life with them.

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HEART

 Your Heart

A big theme in the bible is the heart, it appears over 900 times in the bible, so it is very important. 

Everything comes out of the heart. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45). Your words, actions, thoughts, and motives are a reflection of your heart. For example, girls love clothes, they buy it, wear it, talk about it, and even brag about it (you can love Jesus, and still have a passion for clothes); By knowing what people do and say, you know what is in their hearts.

As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart (Prov. 27:19).

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (Prov. 4:23).

A person thinks their own ways are right (Proverbs 21:2). Why? Because we are prideful, we constantly try to justify our sin, we will even go to scripture and try to find a verse that justifies our sin. That’s why Romans 12:3 says, “We should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought, but with sober judgment.” When you take a sober look at our heart you will find that we all have fallen short of the Glory of God and no one is righteous. There is a way we can have our heart transformed by God.

God will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; He will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). In context, God promised to restore Israel not only physically, but spiritually. He wants the same for us, no matter how impure you are you can receive a new heart from God, and be a new creation, with new desires (2 Corinthians 5:17). Having a new heart you will receive a new spirit, and God will dwell in you.

With A New Heart You 

Become a new creation

Everyone has or is an old creation. When we were an old creation we were in constant rebellion against God, set apart from him because of sin. When Christ makes us a new creation, we turn completely around and go towards him.

Have new desires

Whatever we do comes from our desires. 

Romans 3:10-12 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

All of our desires before Christ are not good, not even one. With a new desire we are able to do good through Christ.

And the verse that summarizes the life we have through Christ.

Ephesians 2:3-10

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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Our heart was broken, God fixed it, He created new desires for us through Jesus.

Thanks for reading. Contact me Email, Follow on Twitter @JonSAdams. Your welcome to comment.