Which heart is yours?

Proverbs 28:25 says, "He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered."

Which of the two do you want to be? Which one might you be today? Which one could you be as the day rolls on?

There are two kinds of hearts mentioned here, one that is proud and stirs up strife, and one that trusts in the LORD and finds itself being prospered. Let's take a closer look at them.

He who is of a proud heart.....meaning, (a greedy spirit, , a wide heart, an enlarged heart ) this person stirs up, or meddles, is contentious, and the bring about strife, or discord, quarrels. Meddling is of course when we are involved in something that is not really our business, and contention is causing trouble.

But, he who is trusting in the LORD, finds prosperity. To trust is have confidence in the LORD, that is, in Jehovah, or "the existing one"

That trusting heart is going to find the LORD bringing prosperity into their lives. One of the meanings of prosperity is "to take away ashes" and "to anoint" It really means, to be enriched and blessed. Ashes are a picture for us of something that has been ruined through fire. When a fire has taken place, there is normally a clean-up that takes place.

The LORD is the one who will take away the ashes of the ruin of our lives or circumstances. And, He will anoint our lives with His forgiveness, and cleansing.

The Lord is the one who alone excels in cleaning up a ruined life. So, if by some chance you have been brought to some ruin, and there is nothing but ashes to show for what has happened, know that the LORD today, can come and make your life new, and bless your life, and enrich your life.

All you need to do, is to come to Him, and to ask Him for His Grace and His mercy, and He will freely give it to you. Remember, He loves you more then you know.

Father, thank You for who You are, and for what You do in our lives. We can make such a mess of things, but You can bless what we have broken.

In Jesus name amen.

Bob Grenier

Pastor Calvary Chapel Visalia

Applicational thoughts.

1. You can be different.

2. God changes lives.

3. You can go from ashes to blessings.

4. Have faith in God today.

5. God is the God of forgiveness and restoration.

6. Let Him work in you today. Just believe Him, and act upon His Word.

What will happen tomorrow?

We don't really know.

Proverbs 27:1 says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Here we are being given wisdom from God. Don't boast about tomorrow etc. What does that mean? Boast is also translated, foolish, and can mean to make into a fool.

The simple reason that we ought not to boast about what may happen tomorrow, is that we don't know. No one knows that will happen even a second from now.

Much is said about this same issue in the NT, in James 4:13-17, but to summarize here, what we ought to say is, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that".

In other words, it's normal and needful to make our plans, and to even have our desires about tomorrow, but it's God's way for us to always remember, that He is in control, He is guiding, He has plans for us for the next day, He is leading our lives. So, to live with the Lord's will in mind is how consider what will happen tomorrow.

Father, we love You, and we thank You that we find comfort in knowing that You are in control of our lives, and You have a plan for tomorrow, and for the rest of this day, and for the rest of our lives. Help us to live with You as the priority in our lives. Putting You first in all that we do. In Jesus name,

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

P.S Here are 6 Applicational thoughts.

God is also working all things that happen today and tomorrow for our good.

God's plan and ways are much better then anything we can come up with.

God's ways and plans may not be easy for us to accept, but He will help us along.

God knows what is best for us.

God has the power to bring about His will in our lives today and tomorrow.

Trusting the Lord is the way to go. He promises to direct our paths.

Jesus does not give up on you, even when you trip up and stumble

Mark 14:27 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.’

Mark 14: 28 “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Jesus knew ahead of time that virtually all of those whom He had chosen would stumble and be scattered in one of His own darkest moments. But, He chose them anyways. ( perhaps it's because He has no perfect people to choose from )

He knew they would be tripped up during this incident of His being arrested, because it was written ahead of time, God said it would happen.

When we trip up, we can falsely think, "the Lord is through with me, He will never use me again" The guilt and sense of failure because of our sin can be overwhelming.

But, the Lord does not give up on you, just because you may have given up on Him. Please notice what is said in Mark 14:28 “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Jesus was letting them know that He had plans to meet up with them after He was raised from the dead. He would meet them again. And meet them He did. In fact, one of the stories is about Peter in particular, and of how the Lord restored him back to fellowship and ministry.

So, if you have tripped up, if you have stumbled, if you have strayed away from the Lord, please know of His unchanging love for you, and of His desire for you to be back in fellowship with Him.

The Bible says that if we confess our sins, He if faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1st John 1:9

"Lord, we pray for any and all who may be reading these words today, and ask that You would pour into our lives, and into theirs a renewed sense of Your grace and Your love for them. And, of Your desire for fellowship and usefulness in each life. We thank You for cleansing us of our sins, and ask that You keep us and give us strength today. In Jesus name, amen"

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

P.S Some applicational thoughts

1. Focus on the the Lord not your sin and failures.

2. Jesus knew when He picked you, that you would fail.

3. The Lord forgives us when we confess our sins.

4. Forget what is behind you and look to Jesus

5. Remember God is faithful, even when we are not.

When Jesus sang...

He was signing from Psalms 113-118. This is what Jews did following their celebration of the Passover meal.

Mark 14:26 says, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives"

These Hymns, or Psalms are primarily about one thing. They are about the Mercies of God. Can you imagine Jesus singing there with the disciples about Mercy.

What is mercy? It can be explained by comparing it with some other attributes or characteristics of God.

Justice is when we receive what we deserve.

Grace is when we get what we don't deserve.

Mercy is not getting what we deserve.

God is merciful and He has been merciful to us, and He will continue to be merciful to us forever and forever.

Jesus said, blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy. Matt 5.

May today be a day where we are reminded of God's mercy towards us, and may we extend that same mercy to others. In fact, may it be a day where we at some point can sing like Jesus did about the mercy of God.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

P.S Some applicational thoughts.

1. Being merciful to others is a sure way to receive mercy ourselves.

2. Showing mercy to others is what we would want shown to us.

3 God is pleased when we are merciful to others.

4. Being merciful is being Christ like.

5 We can pray for and receive God's mercy today in our lives.

Have you stumbled?

The apostle Peter sure did. Jesus told the apostles that they all would be made to stumble that night recorded for us in Mark 14:27. Peter's response was , "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be" Mark 14:29

Jesus then told Peter he would wind up denying Him 3 times before morning came. Peter then responded with, "If I have to die with you, I will not deny You!"

The word stumble as it's used here means, to trip up and to offend. And, to desert one whom he ought to trust and obey.

Well, that's what happened to Peter, he stumbled.

But.........that's not the end of the story, and it's not the end of the story if you have in some way stumbled. Look what happened to Peter after his stumbling. ( It's a picture of grace, and of how the Lord helps His own who have stumbled, so take heart if you have stumbled, the Lord is not through with you yet.

Here is what Jesus did with the apostle Peter

Jesus continued to love Peter.

Jesus appeared to Peter after He rose from the dead.

Jesus breathed on Peter giving him the Holy Spirit

Jesus restored Peter to fellowship with Himself

Jesus filled Peter with the Holy Spirit

Jesus used Peter to preach the first message in the Book of Acts ( 3000 were saved )

Jesus continued to use Peter throughout the book of Acts.

Jesus used Peter to write two letters found in the New Testament today.

While we are not the apostle Peter, we are nonetheless treated in a very similar manner by the Lord Jesus ( when we stumble )

Jesus restores, Jesus forgives us, Jesus blesses, Jesus uses us, etc, etc, etc.

Lord, we want to say thank You for Your grace in our lives.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Senior Pastor

Calvary Chapel Visalia

P.S.....a few more applicational thoughts for those who have messed up ( sinned and stumbled )

1. Don't give up

2 Look up.

3. Receive God's forgiveness.

4. Believe God's promises. ( He can't lie )

5. Be patient, God's plans don't just happen overnight.

6. Thank God in advance, because He is faithful, He will pick you up and bless you.

Rejoice in hope .....

Ro 5:2* through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5 tells us of many of the blessings we have in Jesus Christ. Not only have we been justified, ( made just in His sight ) but we also have access into the grace of God, and we are actually standing firm in that grace.

But, please notice something else as stated in Rom 5:2. Not just access, not just standing, but also a rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

Rejoice means to to glory in, or to glory on account of, to boast in. We can rejoice in the glory of God. That is, we have a future and a hope.

Jesus will come back for us one day, and we will be taken with Him to heaven. Our bodies will be glorified together with Him. He will also bring us back in our glorified bodies, and we will reign and rule with him on the earth for 1000 years in His Kingdom.

The entire earth will be filled with the glory of God.

What a future we have, what a hope we have. It's sure, it's stedfast, it's not going to change, there is nothing that can separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus, and no one can take us out of His hand.

We truly can look forward to the future. And the 1000 year reign is just the start. God will forever be revealing to us the riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. On and on it will go, with no end. Eternity with our Lord, grace, upon grace, upon grace.

Father, thank You for the living hope we have in Christ. And, today, would You please help us to have our hope in mind, and would You help us to really rejoice today in what You have in store for us. In Jesus name.

Pastor Bob Grenier.

Senior Pastor

CCVisalia.com

Practical applicational thoughts..

1. Rejoicing is for you if you are a born again Christian

2. The Holy Spirit gives us joy.

3. You can set your mind on the Lord, and think about the hope you have in Him.

4. Joy is a real blessing to our souls and to other people as well.

5. Joy can be found even when we are in difficult times.

6. Remember where you have come from, and where you are going.

7. The Lord has promised to finish the good work He has started in you.

Giving brings blessing to the giver.

Proverbs 22:9 He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.

For the person who has a bountiful eye, or who is a generous giver, there is a promise. It's the promise of being blessed. The scripture goes on to say, "for he gives of his bread to the poor"

God has built into life this principle, that it is more blessed to give then it is to receive.

Ac 20:35* “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Someone else has said, "You can never out-give the Lord"

What are the blessings of being a giver?

1. A personal joy in your own heart.

2. A renewed perspective on the use of our funds and material possessions.

3. A realization that others have needs that we may have once had.

4. A sense that the Lord is pleased with our giving.

5. A real act that is in keeping with how the Lord acted when on earth.

6. A knowledge that treasures are being stored up in heaven.

7. A desire to do more of the same. Be a consistent giver.

I'm sure you could add to the above list.

May God bless us today, and in the days ahead to take His Word to heart, and be generous givers.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia