In the scriptures (2 Samuel 11), King David walked to his window and saw Bathsheba taking a bath.  His first look motivated him to go and take a second look.  After his second look, his mind took over to begin coveting after having Bathsheba for himself; even though she was a married woman!  David’s heart then “wanted what it wanted”, and he set out to have her.  He conspired to have Bathsheba’s husband killed in war and then David made her his own wife.  However, God did not take too well with David’s thoughts & actions of coveting, so God created some terrible consequences for David & Bathsheba – their firstborn child died.  Agony & distress filled David’s soul, to the point of him becoming totally dysfunctional.  In the end, King David had to live with the guilt & shame of committed lying, cheating, stealing & murder.  What a forever epitaph for David; he will always have that ugly stigma attached to his name.

But what about us, are we disposed to Coveting as David did?
I would suggest that we are just as capable of doing it as David did; and today, we justify why it is ok for us to do it!  However, we all had better realize that it is NOT OK with God, and there WILL BE repercussions that will hurt; guilt & shame that could last throughout our entire lives!

Imagine a peaceful, sunny, day; all is warm & comfortable. Then suddenly the sky turns grey, and the wind begins to howl. You look to the horizon and see a horrific sight – a tornado bearing down on your house. Tornado warning sirens start screaming, and your soul sinks to what you believe is its lowest level. The tornado hits your home with power and no care for your life! After the twister passes, you climb out of the rubble with just your life – your house and everything is gone! Now your soul finds a new low level, that it had never known before! This is a trauma that anyone would have a hard time coping with! This scenario has happened numerous times to people, and the survivors tell of a harrowing experience, that caused them to pray & call out to God for help. No doubt, in the middle of the storm God watched over them – for they emerged with their life! Can we say that any good came out of this storm? It’s possible… if we will look closely, we might discover two new paths or trajectory shifts, that were not evident while we were in shock – i.e. 1) that there really are great/good neighbors who come to the rescue and totally care for us, and 2) that we found ourselves “leaning on God” in the middle of the storm – which gives us the great opportunity to draw the survivors closer to God; closer than they may never have been before. Getting that close to God, can result in the salvation of our soul – Yes, the lifting of our soul from the depths where the storm tossed it, to raising it to the heights of heaven where God Himself resides. That kind of trajectory-shift, is one that is invaluable & very eternal. Thru these traumatic-storms, we really learn to “lean on God”, and to “trust Him exclusively”!

In this message, you will find that I speak about: not allowing piranhas to be put into your tropical fish tank – that’s not good for your peaceful fish!  Also, I asked: who purposely puts viruses on their computer – another bad thing to allow into your clean computer.  But likewise, I now ask: shouldn’t we do the same for our heart, and NOT allow viruses or piranhas to get in and pollute it? Listen, all that we are, is directed from out of our heart and whatever content is in it. Our mouth speaks, but it is actually what all is in our heart that is speaking! Having a pure heart before God and others, allows us to live a good life of peace, joy, love, kindness, etc.  Truthfully, stress, shame, guilt, anger, hatred & violence has to flee the heart that is filled with God, versus filled with the world.  Nevertheless, whatever gets into your heart, only got there because “YOU” allowed it to get into you and change your spirit!  Shouldn’t that be enough truth, that makes us want to strongly guard & secure our heart from the world’s pollutants?  I certainly hope so!  Your heart is always being trained, therefore be on guard to NOT let everything get in and have its way with you – because everything of this world, is NOT beneficial to you!

Is perfection an illusion; something that we just cannot seem to obtain in our broken world?  Maybe it is kind of like those crazy mirrors at the circus; you see your reflection, but it is all distorted & disfigured.  Try as you might, you shift yourself left & right in the mirror, but you cannot make the imagine get any better!  That is pretty much how “our” perfection looks in this chaotic, sin-broken, world.  But “God” on the other hand, is the One who embodies True Perfection – there is no distortion in Him!  All that He is, and all that He does, is done with precise Perfection!  He is sufficiently able to do more than we could ever imagine or think!  So, as we turn to Him (and receive Him as our Savior & Lord), His Perfection becomes us – iow: as He moves into our heart, His Perfection alters our imperfect heart – and we thus become Perfect in His sight!  Truly then, it does not matter what others think about us, or see in us – it only matters that God sees His reflection (Jesus’ reflection) in us!  Jesus Christ living in us, is all the Perfection that we will ever need, or want, in our life and in our eternal life to come.  Jesus truly is our Sufficiency – all that we ever need!

Rage is a powerful emotion, capable of severe violence.  It finds its roots in an angry soul, that is void of peace!  Anger left unchecked will spiral down into a deeper resolve, that brings on depression, sadness, restlessness (no peace), frustration, anxiety, agitation & hostility, in the soul.  It is a soul that lacks Jesus Christ, and the Peace, Joy, Hope & Love, that only He can put there!  Why live life, filled with sadness, chaos & pain?  Jesus died on the cross to free us from the devastation of soul-chaos, and to see us thru (walk us safely thru) the evils of this world.  God’s Help is found in His True Word which says, “Whoever calls upon the Name of The Lord, shall be saved!”  Will you call upon His Name, and receive Peace With God?

Who doesn’t leave their home on the beach, after they are warned of a major hurricane that is about to land?  Who doesn’t head for cover, after they are warned of a tornado that is about to hit?  The consequences of NOT heeding the warnings, will certainly be the difference between life & death.  Likewise, NOT heeding God’s warnings of Woe, that is telling you that you are doing wrong, will have devastating consequences that could last for eternity.  God gives us a sense of Woe to warn us of His Wrath to come, so that we will Repent (or, Turn from our sinful ways).  If God warns us of impending eternal doom, because we are disobeying Him, who wouldn’t turn to God and seek forgiveness & restoration?  Only a foolish person, would blow off God’s warnings to stop sinning and get their life straightened out!

Many people refuse to believe in the existence of spirits, whether they are Good or evil in nature. People tend to NOT believe in spirits, because they cannot “SEE” them. Yet, seeing does not always have to be the only way of believing! For instance: can you “SEE” phone calls or text messages going in & out of your cellphone? No! Well then, using the logic that we just spoke of (that they are NOT real, because we cannot SEE them): cellphone calls and text messages are NOT real, since you cannot “SEE” them! But, the fact that they DO go in & out of your phone, means they ARE real. We cannot explain HOW calls & messages secretly enter your phone – but they do! We all say that we are getting radiated by tons of “invisible” cellphone & satellite signals – and we all believe that! So, why can’t we believe in “invisible spirits” that float around us, messing with our brains? I would like to contend that: it IS possible for Good or evil spirits to enter us without our knowledge! And, the only way that we “KNOW” if they are Good or evil inside of us, is by the thoughts they pump into our heads, or the actions they cause us to do! It has been said, “By our love, the world will KNOW that we are Christians”. Well, I say the reverse too, “By our hate, the world will KNOW that we are evil”. Bottomline: We are have a CHOICE, as to which spirit we ALLOW within us – have you examined your soul, to KNOW which one resides in YOU?

Have you ever felt so tired, that you craved Energy?  Many people drink Monster-drinks & Mountain-Dew, just to try and replenish their energy.  Without Energy, we will not get far in accomplishing anything; much less, to keep things going!  Energy-less, struggle to keep our important life-ventures going – like our: marriages, businesses, finances, and so much more.  Without energy, we just Quit on our endeavors, and Shift our focus elsewhere.  But, God has the Power (is the Power) that we need to Do things, and to Keep them going!  God has a kind of Power that human beings do not have – His Power is endless; great beyond any way that we can imagine it!  Needless to say: it is God’s Power that we must Seek after, and Reach for!  Only in God, can we see our every Endeavor Thrive, versus breakdown & fall apart!

In a fighter type aircraft, the pilot can “switch” from guns to bombs – with just the push of a button. That means, they can quickly change from deploying a weapon of lesser power, to a weapon having a greater amount of destructive power! Yet, we humans can switch our tongues to do the same thing, with just a flap of our gums – yes, with just a simple “shift” of our attitude! The Bible says our tongues can offer out honey, a fire, or even poison. Obviously, God demands that we offer words like honey to people, instead of hot, fiery, words, or life-ending poisonous words! Which do “YOU” use regularly? Are “YOU” a verbal-arsonist, when you speak to others? Know that “WE” are the only ones who ARE Responsible, for the words “WE” use!

Belly-flopping into a pool, is not the most desirable way of diving off of a diving board.  Likewise, Faith-flopping in your Christian walk with Jesus, is not the most desirable way of following Him.  Just as Belly-flopping into a pool, can be dangerous to one’s body – likewise, Faith-flopping in one’s walk with Jesus, can be detrimental to one’s soul.

The goal of Faith is to draw closer & closer to Christ, and Faith-flopping will ensure the opposite.  When your Faith-feet are slipping on the gunk of doubt or adversity, call out to Jesus immediately – for He is the Only One Who can fix & restore your weak, neglected, or unfaithful, Faith!