Hebrews 3:7-8 NIV

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…

The Holy Spirit has issued us a warning.  Don’t harden your heart to His voice.  There are things that we should harden our hearts to.  We should not allow the whispers of the enemy to enter our hearts.  We should harden our hearts to apathy and doubt.  We should harden our hearts to anything that contradicts the Word of God.  When thoughts from the enemy come to us we need to guard our hearts and harden them so that we are not infected with evil or anything that does not come from faith.  We should resist the devil everytime he tries to get near our hearts because we know that everything flows out of our hearts. 

Further down in that passage in Hebrews 3:12 it says, “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.”  When we harden our hearts to the Holy Spirit we will end up with a sinful and unbelieving heart. The Holy Spirit speaks life to our hearts and gives us directions so that we can walk in faith and live in holiness.  His voice will speak the Word of God and bring truth.  We know His voice and we have a choice to listen as He speaks to us and receive the life He offers us.  So today, when you hear His voice, don’t harden your heart.

Holy Spirit, speak to my heart today.  I am open and ready to receive, and I will obey the instructions You give me.  Your words bring me life and comfort and peace and I expect them to lead me right into Your blessings.  In Jesus’ Name…

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor

Matthew 9:20-22 New International Version

20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

This month we have talked about a clean heart, guarding your heart, having a happy heart, along with loving the Lord with your whole heart.  Today I want you to focus on the words, “Take heart”.  Our scripture today is about a woman of great faith. She had an idea so she said “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”  Remember that Luke 6:45 says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  So out of her heart she said these words.  The next thing we know, Jesus takes note of her, speaks to her and heals her.  He tells her that her faith has healed her, but before He says that He tells her to “Take heart.”

What does “take heart” mean?  It means to regain your courage.  It is an encouragement.  When Jesus told her to take heart, she did. In that moment she shook off the voices of doubt that were telling her she was crazy to believe touching Jesus’ clothes could heal her, and she held onto the faith she had that what she said would happen.  It was just a moment, but that’s all Jesus’ needed.  He used her faith to cause what was in her heart and what she said to happen at that moment.  Go back to Matthew 9 and read her story again and hear Jesus tell you to “take heart.”  He only needs a moment to change your life.

Lord, I believe!  I believe you have done everything you promised me and I will experience it all.  Thank You for encouraging me.  Thank You for healing me.  Thank You for restoring me. I receive your blessings now in Jesus’ Name…

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor

Proverbs 17:22 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Look at what else the Word says about your heart.  When your heart is happy, cheerful or merry it works like good medicine for your body.  The issues of life flow from your heart so much that what comes out of your heart can make a difference in your health.  A heart that is full of the joy of the Lord directs a body to be healthy and strong.  That’s the Word.  When you take the time everyday to put the Word in your heart you are also working on your health.  Begin to believe that your happy heart and cheerful mind are working healing exactly where you need.  Speak your healing and continuous health from the overflow of your happy heart.

And if you are broken hearted and have a broken spirit because of what you have experienced or what is going on in your life or in the world, don’t allow yourself to stay in that condition.  Talk to Jesus.  Tell him what’s broken and what hurts.  He said Himself in Luke 4:18 that the Spirit of the Lord was on Him and He was sent to heal the brokenhearted.  Your happy heart leads to healing, and Jesus is present to heal your broken heart.  There is joy and health for you in Christ today.  Make sure that you receive it all.

Thank You Lord for caring about the condition of my heart.  Thank You for all the times that it is happy and brings healing to my whole life, and Thank You for being present to heal everytime my heart is broken.  I believe You love me and provide joy and health for my life.  I receive it now in Jesus Name…

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor

Psalms 19:8 NIV

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 

If you can live with your heart filled with the fullness of God and your eyes opened to see His revelation you will find yourself living an abundant life.  First let's talk about abundant life so that you will know that you want to have it.  Jesus told us in John 10:10 that He came to give us life and to give it to us more abundantly or a full and satisfying life.  Remember in Psalms 91:16 when the Lord says, “I will satisfy him and show him my salvation?  This is it.  Jesus came so that at the end of our days on earth we will say “I’m satisfied” before we move on to Heaven.  That kind of life is enjoyed.  This is not someone barely tolerating life on earth surviving just to get to Heaven.  This is truly experiencing every good and perfect gift the Father has given us on this earth.  This is living without fear, anxiety, or need.  This is receiving everything Jesus died to give back to us.  This is abundant life.

So many Christians don’t have this and instead of figuring out how to get it, we have condemned people who have.  We’ve called them worldly or ungodly.  Yet, they are living abundantly and there’s nothing more godly than receiving salvation and everything that comes with it.  Are you living in the fullness of that abundant life that Jesus said He came to give us?  If you aren't there are two things you can work on.  Your heart and your eyes.  In Psalm 19, David tells us that the Word of God has exactly what we need to unlock our access to abundant life.  The precepts of the Lord, that’s the Word, that will take care of our hearts.  Fill your heart with the Word of God.  Read it, listen to it, sing it, memorize it, declare it.  Why should you do all of that? Because it will fill your heart with God kinds of things so that you can live a God kind of life.  And then, that same Word will open your eyes to God’s way of doing things.  You will be able to see what is of God and where God is moving.  This all starts with the Word.  All the secrets to abundant life are right there!

Lord, I want to claim the abundant life You have for me.  Give me an insatiable hunger for Your Word.  Change my desires so that I desire Your Word.  Open my understanding to Your Word, and lead me to abundant life through Your Word. In Jesus’ Name…

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor

Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Today, as we start a new week and wrap up this month, let’s pray.  Let’s begin our work and school week praying the Word.  Your assignment is to pray this scripture for yourself.  Ask the Lord to do this for you.  When you pray simply say, “Lord strengthen me with your power through Your Spirit in my inner being so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith.”  Continue to personalize this prayer for yourself.  Everything you see in this prayer is something God wants for you.  He wants you to be rooted and established in love.  He wants you  to know the love of Christ.  He wants you to be filled with the measure that says, “all the fullness of God.” 

If this is what God wants, then ask for it and expect to see it happen in your life.  And after you have prayed in faith for yourself, pray this for someone else.  Pray and expect exceeding abundantly above for them also.  I believe that today we are going to experience the power of God working within us because we are praying according to His will!  To Him be the glory! Amen!  (Now take the time and pray the Word.)

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor

Deuteronomy 6:5  New International Version

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Have you ever wondered how you’re supposed to do this?  How exactly do you love the Lord with all your heart?  How do you measure or evaluate yourself to see if you’ve done this?  What exactly is God looking for when He checks for loving the Lord with all your heart?  We know why the heart is so important.  We know that the issues of life flow out of it.  We know that a pure heart can see God.  We know that the peace of God will guard our hearts, but do we know how to love the LORD with all of our hearts?  

So I looked it up and what I found was the definition of the word love.  In the Hebrew, the word is ahab.  It’s important to understand the Hebrew word because Deuteronomy was written in Hebrew.  This is the word that was used when Moses gave the commandment. Ahab has several different meanings including delight in and be fond of.  The one that really captured my attention is  “having a strong emotional attachment for” and “wanting to be in the presence of”.  So when you love the LORD with all your heart you have a strong emotional attachment to Him and you want to be in His presence.  Imagine a small child that cries when her mother or father leaves her presence.  She loves them and she wants to be with them.  That’s how God wants us to act with Him.  He doesn’t want us to be cold or unemotional.  He doesn’t want us to play it cool.  He wants us to want Him.  He wants us to love Him so much that our hearts want to be with Him and we don’t care who knows.  When you love the LORD with your whole heart it changes how you act in public and in private.  This is not rational or logical. This is whole heart love.  

Lord, I want to love You with all my heart.  Show me where I’m holding back and keeping some of my heart from You.  I want to have that excitement for You the way a small child has.  Fill me with Your love so that I can love You with all that I am.  Change me with Your love.  In Jesus’ Name…

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor

Philippians 4:7 NIV

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Let’s just think about scripture today.  We know that Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” And we know that in John 14:27 Jesus says,“My peace I give to you”.   So we are told to guard our hearts because everything we need to live flows out of our heart and then Jesus gives us His peace.  Here in Philippians 4, Paul tells us that the peace of God will guard our hearts.  If you ever wonder about God’s provision, just look at this verse for proof.  The Word gives us instructions so that we can get the best out of life- “guard your heart”.  And then the Word tells us what we have been given as a result of the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ- the peace of Jesus.  And on top of that the Word explains the application of the gift. The peace of Jesus will do the work for us.  It will guard our hearts.

We don’t need to worry about anything.  The Lord has thought of everything!  He knows what we need to do to access abundant life.  He provides what we need, and causes His provision to do the work for us.  Why wouldn’t we serve this God!  I encourage you to search the Word for the ways God has provided for you to access life.  Jesus didn’t come to make it hard to live this life. He came to empower us to do it.   2 Peter 1:3 says that He’s given us everything we need for a godly life.  We need to take that literally.  It’s time to take inventory.  What has God given you?  How is it supposed to work to bless your life?  Don’t overlook what you’ve been given.  Receive everything the Lord has given you and live an abundant life.

Thank You Lord for the gift of life and every blessing You’ve given me to live it abundantly.  Help me seek Your Word for what You have for me.  Open the eyes of my understanding so that I can see the directions You’re giving me.  In Jesus’ Name…

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor

John 14:27 New King James Version

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Jesus knew as He was giving the disciples these final instructions in John 14 that they needed to keep a clean heart.  Their hearts could not be filled with anything that would keep them from being filled with the Holy Spirit and His power to change the world.  The disciples didn’t know their destinies, but Jesus knew why He chose them, and He knew how they were going to impact the world.  But they could not do that if they didn’t have a heart to receive.

It’s easy to overlook what Jesus is telling them.  He’s talking to them about the gift of the Holy Spirit and He tells them that He’s leaving peace with them.  We know from Galatians 5 that peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Peace can only be present when the Holy Spirit is there.  The disciples are given the peace to calm them and anchor them for what they are about to experience. And Jesus tells them to take care of their hearts.  “Let not your heart be troubled.”  He tells them they have the power to keep trouble out of their hearts.  They are in control and they need to guard their hearts from trouble and fear even though the next few days would be like nothing they had ever imagined.  This is not just for the disciples.  This is for us.  He has given us the gift of His Spirit, and if we will receive His Presence when we are in a rough time we will have that peace.  It’s our job to guard our hearts.  To keep the peace inside of us and to refuse to let trouble and fear fill up our hearts.  We have a choice.  Peace or trouble.  What are you receiving in your heart?

Thank You Lord for being my peace.  Thank You for giving me Your Spirit and restoring my life and making it whole.  Help me today to let not my heart be troubled.  Help me to resist trouble and fear and keep my heart clean for You to fill.  In Jesus’ Name…

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 

As we think about the work of hiding the Word in our hearts, here’s a great verse to start with.  These are instructions on how we should think.  What we think about affects how we live, and we know that how we live flows out of our hearts.  So being selective about what we think about  is one way we can guard our hearts. 

So what should we think about?  Paul says to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.  If what’s passing through your mind does not fall into these categories, then you should not spend time thinking about it.  We have the ability to ponder and meditate on things and we have the ability to put things out of our minds.  Thinking on what’s excellent or praiseworthy keeps us from dwelling on what’s negative, depressing, and fearful.  So guard your heart by choosing to think about the good things.

Thank You Lord for the ability to choose what I think about.  Help me to filter my thoughts through Your Word so that I can guard my heart.  Remind me Holy Spirit to check my thoughts.  In Jesus’ Name…

Deidra B. Johnson, PhD

Pastor