Col. 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.”

Ephesians 3:17 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.”

To dwell means to take up residence.  Look at these verses above. We are to invite (let) the Word live in us richly. We invite Christ to take up residence in our hearts. We are not asking Him to drop by for a visit. We are asking Him to move in. When He does, He brings all the riches of the fullness of grace with Him, and the result is that our minds and hearts are taken up with Him.

But we need renewal. We need daily cleansing, daily indwelling, daily renewal. Just like our homes need constant cleaning and upkeep, so do our hearts.  Our homes are subject to daily wear and tear as well as long-term decay. We have to stay on top of it, constantly cleaning and renewing, straightening and scrubbing. In the same way, our hearts are subject to daily distractions and disobedience. They need Read More

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction;
 For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

This portion of Proverbs is some serious comfort food for the children of God! Do not despise the chastening of God – because you know what it means? It means that God delights in you. God chastens those He loves.

Have you been corrected by God? Have you been convicted? Has your heart been heavy over some petty sin you have fallen into? Has God pressed on your heart the weight of your own sin? Well, isn’t that Good news? If God didn’t love you, you wouldn’t have that weight. Because He loves you he is giving you this opportunity to walk away from it.  Read More

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”

Whoever has no rule over his own spirit
Is like a city broken down, without walls.

There are many ways to lose your self control, but I think it is interesting that one of the most frequent is to lose your self control in anger at others. We lose self control and lash out. But God tells us that that destroys our own walls. When we go out on the warpath in an ungodly way against others, what we are breaking down is our own home. Read More

Tender hearts, large hearts, and wise hearts are all biblical descriptions of feminine strengths. But on the flip side, we can also develop hard hearts. To keep our hearts soft and open to the Lord, we need to be aware of some of the things that can harden our hearts. Here are just three.

1. Women stumble when they trust their own hearts.Proverbs 28:26 says, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” Our hearts are instructing us all the time. What is your heart telling you? Is it wisdom or foolish talk? Beware what you are listening to. For just one example, women can fall into self-condemnation while listening to their own hearts. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, yes. But He does not condemn and accuse. That is what the devil does. Learn to tell the difference so you can ignore doubts and accusations. Our hearts are not always the best judges of such things. Don’t listen to foolish talk. Speak wisdom to your own heart instead. Read More