just a reminder, guard your hearts

Just a humble reminder:                                                                Thursday, October 10, 2013

Guarding your heart is NOT “putting up walls of self preservation”, it is wrapping yourself in God's Great Powerful Love.  Guarding our heart involves “taking off and putting on”.  It is the taking off our “old garments” and allowing Him to dress us every day in the “garments” that our Savior paid a very very high price to give us.

But Guard your hearts!  Guard them against anything that gets your focus off of our Sweet Faithful Friend Jesus.

Jesus called us FRIENDS!  He didn't purchase our adoption so that we would become some kind of second class son or daughter.  Jesus personally loves each one of us and calls us His friend.  He purchased our adoption to be full joint heirs with Him.  This kind of love is AMAZING!!  [Focus on that love.  Wrap yourselves in it.  Let a deeper revelation of this relentless powerful Love soak into your mind, soul and spirit.]*

We must guard ourselves against anything that would take the focus of our thoughts, and the focus of our passions off of our Savior, Redeemer, and Almighty God; who is making war on our behalf, and on behalf of all; and who is calling US to worship and war with Him in our Worship, for our redemption, and for the redemption of all. 

Listen to my hearts cry. Listen to the desperate warning of your Pastors who love you very much. ANYTHING that gets our focus off of God must be stripped away.  Lack of understanding, misunderstanding, feelings of inadequacy, frustrations, other delightful pleasures, concerns and/or worries over real needs, feeling unappreciated, feelings of insignificance, disagreements, irritations differences in style or personality, fears of the unknown and know; all of these things and more MUST be stripped off.  But we can’t stop there, must also put on LOVE. 

The Apostle Paul said it this way,  (and this is a bit long, but it is also the Word of God so let it soak into you) 

"strip off the old unregenerate self with its evil practices,"  ...  "And have [clothe] yourselves with the new spiritual self, which is ever in the process of being renewed and remolded into fuller and more perfect knowledge upon knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it.  ...  Clothe yourselves therefore, as God's own chosen ones (His own picked representatives), who are purified and holy and well-beloved by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, and patience which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper.  Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has freely forgiven you, so must you also forgive.  And above all these put on love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony.  And let the peace (soul harmony) which comes from Christ rule and act as umpire continually in your hearts deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state to which as members of Christ's one body you were also called to live. And be thankful (appreciative), giving praise to God always.  Let the word spoken Christ have its home in your hearts and minds and dwell in you in all its richness, as you […] sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with His grace in your hearts.  And whatever you, do no matter what it is, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in dependence upon His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him." (Col 3:9b-10, Col 3:12-17 AMP)
 “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord, be empowered through your union with Him; draw your strength from Him, that strength which His boundless might provides.  Put on God’s whole armor, the armor of a heavy-armed soldier, which God supplies, that you may be able successfully to stand up against all the strategies and the deceits of the devil. “ (Eph 6:10-11 AMP)

So I say, tear down your walls of self preservation and wrap yourself in the Perfect Love of God (which is in you and pouring out through you).  Do this and your heart will be safe inside the strong walls of His Love that does not fail.  Enter this place of His Love through the gates of Thanksgiving and Praise, and you will find refuge, rest, strength and restoration in our Great God.   


[PRAYER:  Holy Father God, Sweet Savior Jesus, and Beloved Holy Spirit; please draw us by Your Love, wash us with your Word, help us to see quickly when things take the center of our focus off of You and on to other things.  Help us in our weakness, to "flesh this out", to walk in step with Your Spirit, so that with eyes wide open, with sincerity (no falsehood), we can see our circumstances and still have You as our focus.  Pour in us again.  Refresh to overflowing the abundance of Your Love into our minds and hearts.  We know that Perfect Love (Your Love) casts out all fear.  We know your Love is why we are here, why we have life (eternal), why you made each of us different and yet designed to be one, as you, God, are one (three and one).

Help us!  Help us to see Your Love more clearly; and stretch our revelation and knowledge of it. Help us to cast off the things ... what ever they are ... (selah) ... and to put on the likeness of You.

Jesus by obedience to the Father You purchased for us white garments of Your righteousness and gave them as gifts to us (we didn't and don't "deserve" it, but You gave).  In and by Your Great Love, You gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit, and through abiding in Your Spirit we will bear Your fruit, clothing ourselves in likeness of You.  Father stir the Spirit within us that we would never forget to put on Your Love and Righteousness and the FULL armor of God everyday.

I pray that we would be hungry for you and daily feast on Your Word.  That we would wash "our faces" in the poured out refreshed presence of the Holy Spirit, night and day, and day and night.

Thank you for the unity of the body of Christ!  Thank you that this is Your Good work and therefore we can stand confidently knowing you will complete it.

Touch us!  Change us!  Perfect our uniqueness!  Perfect our unity!  Perfect Your Love and Fruit in us!  OH!  How we love you!  Thank you for Your Great Love!

In the name and by the authority of Jesus Christ,  AMEN ]*




* text within [ ] added for emphasis 10-11-2013