My Divine Notes

Matthew 15:8-11
The Voice (VOICE)
8     People honor Me with their lips,
        but their hearts are nowhere near Me.
9     Because they elevate mere human ritual to the status of law,
        their worship of Me is a meaningless sham.[a]
10 (to the multitude) Hear and understand this: 11 What you put into your mouth cannot make you clean or unclean; it is what comes out of your mouth that can make you unclean.
Those Scriptures pierce the heart and should be examined carefully.   
It's so easy to talk the talk, to attend the church gatherings, to stop eating meat during Lent or whatever we do as a sacrifice. But if our heart isn't in a peaceful place, it's all a sham...it's worthless before Christ. 
I'll be the first to confess that my heart for others isn't always in the best place. I've struggled greatly this sacred season. I want my heart to break for the things that break The Lord's heart. 
But it doesn't always work out like that. 
Thus, my real struggle…

During March I posted Scriptures each day honoring my daughter’s birthday. My sole purpose in doing this is to remind her and now you that our every need is answered by God and we see evidence of it in His word, the Bible.  Proverbs 22:6.
Thanks to the ministry of Bible Gateway for providing online Scripture. Jude 1:2The Voice (VOICE) 2 Kindness, peace, love—may they never stop blooming in you and from you.
Numbers 6:24-26Living Bible (TLB) 24-26 ‘May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.’
Psalm 139:17-18Living Bible (TLB) 17-18 How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me.[a]And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!
Exodus 14:14Living Bible (TLB) 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t need to lift a finger!”
Matthew 28:20Living Bible (TLB) 20 and th…

Romans 12:10 Live in true devotion to one another, loving each other as sisters and brothers. Be first to honor others by putting them first.
The culture challenges us to be numero uno. Number 1. We all want to get that promotion, tell others what to do, be the best at our ministry and have the best of whatever we covet.
This leaves no room for true devotion – for serving. In our quest to be number 1 or to stay in the game (whatever that may look like for you and this includes all who work in the Lord’s name), we resort to unloving/uncaring behaviors toward family, friends, coworkers and community. Everyone around us suffers when we withhold love, service and honor.
People and organizations suffer when we treat others with anything less than love.
I can’t think of anyone outside of my inner ministry circle who considers it a privilege to serve.
Serve is an unpopular word for most people I encounter.
But people who serve well light up a room. They light up work places, hospital rooms, hal…

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. 

I've said this before, but I'll say it again: if we take in trash -- we'll get trash back.  If we don't control the quality of people, activities and things that impact our lives, mess will happen. 
Watch the filth on TV/movies/videos, look at that questionable material, drink that drink, spend time with people who do questionable things, and see how life ends up. 
Or. Are you guilty of the coasting life?

Do you do nothing and expect something? 

Do you lead a life of going through the motions? 

Do you make a difference in the world?

What about those sins of omission because it's the things you don't do that quality as sin. 
The list is endless so you can see how easy it is to lose control of your mind. 
Every single one of us is where we …