Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: love

A Transformed Heart

Encouragement

‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ‘ Ezekiel 36:26

Your attitude towards God comes directly from your heart. At the moment of salvation when the Holy Spirit comes into your life, your heart is permanently transformed. God’s greatest desire is to see that His people love Him with all of their hearts.

Apart from the cleaning work of the Holy Spirit of God, our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). In Psalm 51, David prayed that God would cleanse him and create in him a clean heart (Psalm 51:10). Jesus said we are blessed when our hearts are made pure (Matthew 5:8).

We know that sin hardens our heart the more we sin. The longer we hold on to unconfessed sin the harder our hearts become. Even to the point when people around us can tell a difference in our demeanor.

Sometimes we go through seasons when our hearts grow cold and we become desensitized to the important things of God. Much of the time we have a feeling of despair or “I don’t care”. The good news is that the Holy Spirit can change our hearts and soften our heart of stone.

Make sure to check your heart’s condition today. If your love for God and others is not what it should be then you should ask Him to renew your heart and restore your devotion to Him.

Pray

Lord, there are things that are not right in my heart and I need Your help. Change my heart and help me to love like You love. Set my heart on fire for the things that are important to You.

We Need Each Other

Encouragement, Faith

‘And the Lord God said, “ It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ‘
Genesis 2:18

God designed us to function best as a community. Even before sin entered the garden of Eden, God said something wasn’t good about His perfect creation. God noticed that something was missing. Adam had good fellowship with God but he needed someone to do life with on his level. God said it wasn’t good for him to be alone.

God knows that isolation is not good for mankind. God’s instruction to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply. The reason is because we are made for community. Community encourages us to communicate and fellowship with one another.

There is power in community. In the New Testament we see people establishing churches for the sole basis of community of faith in Christ. God can accomplish a great work through people who are connected together and serving each other in love.

Perhaps the best joy comes from fellowship around the table while sharing a meal. Jesus never missed an opportunity to share a meal with people he loved. Jesus encouraged people to fellowship with one another. If it be a large group of people or a just a couple of friends, Jesus knew how to bring people together in love.

Just know that you need to be around other people. Especially other Christ-minded people. We each need to soak in Christian fellowship and we need to give ourselves to those who are in need of fellowship. You can make a difference just by inviting someone to lunch or dinner.

Pray

Lord, thank You for giving us the people in our lives. Let us appreciate our friends and neighbors who are surrounding us. Show me how I can share love and joy with someone near me.

Victory Over Sin

Salvation, Trust

‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.’
Psalms 32:1

God has the power to forgive and forget our sin. The Bible makes it clear that the first step in receiving forgiveness is repentance. Jesus’ first mandate in His earthly ministry was repentance. Repent and be baptized.

When we try to hide our sin or justify why we sin, we fall into a trap of the Devil. The enemy doesn’t want us in fellowship with God and free from sin. Instead he entangles us into being bound up by the consequences and shame of sin.

There is power in the life of the Believer who is forgiven and set free. As we see in today’s verse, “Blessed is he whose sin is forgiven.” This is true on the day of salvation when we repented of our sinful life and it is true every time we confess our faults to God.

Great blessings await those who confess and repent of their sin. Fellowship with God is restored and we experience the love of Jesus that was shown toward us when He died on the cross.

If you find yourself falling into sinful habits and not grieving over them or confessing them to God, this indicates that you are not abiding in Christ. Return to Him in repentance; restore your fellowship with Him, and you will experience the victory over your sin.

Pray

Lord, I confess and repent of my sins. Restore my relationship and fellowship with You. Renew the joy of thy salvation in my heart. Cleanse me and make me new.