Volume 2022: Edition 9
Food for thought: Is the Lord King of Your Heart?
Hello everyone, and welcome back. We appreciate you coming back for the update this week and month as we continue to grow and study His word.
As followers of Christ, we claim to be "Christians". We claim that we do everything we can to follow His commandments, His calling on our life, His Word, and His teaching, but can we really say that He is king over our Hearts?
As a fellow human being and a person who battles with sin every day, it is hard to say, truly and with conviction, that I am living completely within God's word and his calling on my life. I, like everyone else, struggle every day to make God the one and only king of my heart. It is so easy to be caught up in our own lives and lose sight of the only one who has total control of it. We make our family, friends, jobs, and possessions a priority, and we spend so much time and energy acquiring these things and nurturing and or pleasing these relationships that we turn them into the rulers of our life. We give them control and ultimately give the devil an opening into our lives to pull us further and further from God.
We cannot call ourselves followers of Christ, or Christians if we give power and control to anything or anyone else, but God. We can't say that God is the king of our hearts if we Go to church once a week then don't open our Bibles or spend time with God the rest of the week. We can't say that we follow His every word if we are living in sin and ask for forgiveness only to commit the same sins over again.
Jesus died on the cross to break the chains of our sin. His forgiveness is the door and or the rope to pull us out of our sin forever and reunite us with the Father and His heavenly kingdom. We are not meant to continue to carry the heavy burden of our sins forever, but it is our choice to make Him the King of our hearts or to make the world. We can't have both. So, can you say that Jesus is the King of your heart today? Just some food for thought...
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever"
(1 John 2:15-17)
"So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."
(Revelation 3:16)
"'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness"
(Matthew 23:25-28)
"Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men"
(Isaiah 29:13)
"The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."
(Mark 4:14-19)
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."
(2 Timothy 4:3-4)
"He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God"
(1 John 3:8-10)
"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,"
(Hebrews 10:26)
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!"
(2 Timothy 3:1-5)
"All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it."
(Isaiah 18:3)
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
(Matthew 16:24)
"to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me."
(Acts 26:18)
"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
(Matthew 10:32-33)
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
(1 John 4:4)
"He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them."
(1 Samuel 2:8)
"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified"
(2 Corinthians 13:5)
We are grateful to have you with us as readers, church members, and interested guests and we are always open to any suggestions and volunteers for our website, newsletter, and future activities. We hope to see you at our Sunday services and stay tuned for our coming newsletters and updates at church, at bible study, on Facebook, on the Wix-App, and on the website weekly!
Upcoming Events:
Special Prayers:
Continue praying for Conrad Sack and the Sack Family for healing and patience
Pray for Gizelle for healing and comfort
Pray for Aliyah, Monica, and Gloria for guidance and healing
Pray for Korbin, Joy, and Laura for guidance and comfort
Pray for the people of Ukraine that the Lord be with them
Pray for the continued healing of our church.
Weekly Devotional: You Can't Serve Two Masters
If God is truly your Master, you will desire to please Him above all others. Not your family, not your friends, not your boss, not your acquaintances, not strangers, only Him. If pleasing people is your goal, you will be enslaved to them. People can be harsh taskmasters when you give them this power over you.
If Jesus is the Master of your life, He will also be your first love. Your serving is rooted and grounded in His vast, unconditional love for you. The lower you bow down before Him, the higher He will lift you up into an intimate relationship with Him. The joy of living in His presence outshines all other pleasures. He wants you to reflect His joyous light by living in increasing intimacy with Him, and the only way to do this is to give up the other Masters of your life and serve the only true King of your Heart.
Young, S. (2n.d.). Jesus calling: Enjoying peace in his presence: Devotions for every day of the year. Integrity Publishers.
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon"
(Matthew 6:24)
"Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
(Revelation 2:4)
"that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love"
(Ephesians 3:16-17)
"You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
(Psalm 16:11)
Verse of the Week:
"Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug."
(Isaiah 51:1)
Communal Outreach:
Please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com , call (970)405-3053, or connect with us on the Wix-app if you have any interest in the following...
Float Committee for Berthoud Days and the Berthoud Christmas Parade
Rebooting Youth Group
Questions?
For any questions or suggestions regarding our newsletter please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com or call (970)405-3053
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