Is Your Heart Hardened? By Nina Keegan

Is your heart hardened

The Bible says in proverbs 4:23

Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance ABOVE ALL that you guard, for out of it flows the springs of life...

Above all else God wants us to guard our hearts… Why is this such an important key? 

Because all things pertaining to life flow from our hearts, the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks… So many times we can hear people's hurts flowing through the negativity of their mindset and attitude.  They never stop faultfinding and complaining about everything… This can be a hardened heart towards the Lord...  The Bible says our hearts can get seared...

Like a callous… We become so hard hearted  that we don't allow the good stuff in… and the bad stuff gets trapped inside...

This happens over time but before you know it, you're in deep… A pity party can turn to a hardened heart very quickly… how the enemy loves to make us feel sorry for ourselves… and to get other people to feel sorry for us too... The bitterness seeps in and the complaining follows and at first it might be about a few things but then , like the spread of an infectious disease, before long there's never anything good to say about anything...

As the mind thinks, the man will follow… 

What you dwell on will become what you live!

A hardened heart is a disease that needs to be addressed and healed..

Our hearts are the soil for the seeds that God wants to plant in us, He wants to give us seeds of hope and victory… But many times our hearts are so filled with pride, jealousy, bitterness anger… this arrogance can keep a person from turning back to God, it claims no need of help from anyone human or divine ... 

this is dangerous territory because many people in this state refuse to repent and think they've done nothing wrong and that the world is venomously out to get them ...

When our hearts are so full of these seeds of discord, there is no room for the good stuff… Like weeds, bitter roots(strongholds) can take over and choke off the good seeds that God's been trying to plant and develop in our lives.

So what exactly does it mean to guard  your heart… What is a guard for in any situation?

A guard at a door boldly stands courageously forbidding the enemy to trespass!

Bodyguards protect and stay vigilant to guard people from assailants...

And yet if our hearts are the source for the springs of all life… Then should we not place the most protective armor and guards around it?… How do you protect yourself..?

Don't stand in the presence of evil, remove yourself from the cracks in the open doorways that allow evil to sneak in… SEAL THEM...Garbage in garbage out, what are the temptations the enemy is dangling on a string in front of you… The ones you know you shouldn't go near? The repeat offenders… The tough weeds…? The ones we tend to water the most with our flawed self will..?

Where have you allowed anger and unforgiveness to take root by routinely discussing those terrible things that happened to you and the reasons why you could never forgive the someone who has hurt you…

All these things have snuck past the guard of your heart and have caused damage, hardness and again have blocked the seeds of victory that God has planted in you…

 These danger zones of negative thinking have choked off the goodness… they are mind tainting... poisoning the good and fertile soil of our hearts.

What is growing in your heart?  Is it time to do some gardening? Some pruning? 

The enemy is always coming to try to steal, kill and destroy, he steals the seed of God's word, he hijacks the promises and tries to make us believe they are never going to come to pass in your life… So you give up on all hope and let your heart become a little more hard each time. 

 The Bible says when you sow seeds into good ground by guarding your heart and by standing on believing what the word says and that God's promises will come to pass…

You can have a victory even if your circumstances don't agree Faith is in what we cannot see…

Do not allow seeds of discouragement, bitterness and anger to affect your faith.

Post the strongest and most vigilant of all guards at the door post of your heart.. DO NOT ALLOW ANYTHING IN THAT IS CONTRADICTORY TO GOD'S WORD!

Allow God to wash you clean and allow the healing power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse and pluck out all of the bitter roots that have calloused your heart, repent...forgive... and let God love you with his radiant mercy, forgiveness and grace… Let these seeds be the ones you water and fertilize...

Let your heart be softened by the love of Jesus...

Recognize the enemies plots and refuse to let them be planted. Replace the wrong thoughts with the right thoughts according to the word of God...

Stay in the word and write it on those tablets of your heart… So you can stand strong in guarding and protecting the most precious part of you from where the springs of all life flow..

Let's all praise and worship God unceasingly, and never let glory stop flowing… God inhabits our praises…we are changed from glory to glory… Let King Jesus take up residence in your heart...❤️

God bless you all in Jesus name I pray that you would have strength to stand guard and to stay focused on all the Lord has for you and that you would have a revelation of his life changing love!

1 Samuel 10:9

Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Jeremiah 24:7

'I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

Ezekiel 36:26

"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

2 Corinthians 7:10

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Ezekiel 11:19

"And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

God Is An Overflow God by Nina Keegan

 GOD IS THE GOD OF OVER FLOW! 

I was reading today in 2 Kings about the miracles that God allowed Elisha to perform… When Elisha was an apprentice to his predecessor Elijah… He learned all he could about the faithfulness of the Lord and about trusting him to do miraculous feat's in the face of adversity..

He was audacious in his asking to have a double portion

Of the spirit of Elijah and to become his successor when Elijah went to be with the Lord.

It was interesting that Elijah responded to him by saying that Elisha had asked for a difficult thing...

 " Even though Elijah had witnessed unfathomable miracles...

He deemed this request of Elisha to be a difficult thing..."

But sure enough the Lord had granted his request,

No matter how difficult, there is nothing the Lord cannot provide! 

Elisha had witnessed God do so many miracles through the hands of Elijah… And he was very audacious in his request, he didn't just want what Elijah had had spiritually, but he asked for God's exceeding abundance, he asked for a double portion!… What did he have to lose? Why not ask big and maybe get half  instead of asking too little and getting it all? It seems that God does not go backwards..

When he restores he multiplies… He multiplies to the overflow of the meeting of our needs.

When Elisha received his anointing, he began walking in the miracles of God's overflowing abundance...

It was God's anointing and God's miraculous power that allowed Elisha to perform the miracles that were on God's heart. 

When Elisha helped a poor widow woman in

2Kings 4:1-7,  it is evident to see how God is the God of overflow, of more than enough.

This widow woman's husband had served Elisha and now he had passed away and creditors had come to her house threatening to take away her sons as slaves for the payment owed by her husband. What was interesting is that Elisha said to her,

"What do you have in the house"? 

GOD USES WHAT WE HAVE..

Her response was that she had nothing at all except a small flask of olive oil...

 YES...God can always use what you have no matter how small it is, he is the God of multiplication, he is the God of overflow and of more than enough..

Elisha then said,"Go and borrow as many jars as you can from all of your neighbors and your friends,

He told her to go behind closed doors with her sons and pour the olive oil from her small simple flask into the jars setting each one aside as they were filled.

She was obedient... her faith allowed HER to perform the miracle...in the natural her mind was probably telling her that this made no sense... how could this tiny flask of oil not run out?

She did what she was told, her sons kept bringing jars to her, they were filled one after another, after another, and Soon, EVERY container was full to the brim!

When she called to her sons for another jar, they finally told her that there were no more and only then did the oil stop flowing from her flask!

"My friends, God's abundance only stops flowing when we have no capacity to contain it!"

I love this story of God's abundance, I love how he does require obedience on our part, faith, he could've just miraculously filled the jars… He could've required nothing on her part… But she was there and able to witness as were her sons, the goodness of the overflowing miraculous love of God.. They were partakers of a miracle at the hands our loving God!

Imagine her joy as each jar was being filled, I imagine every jaw had dropped in that room as they were witnessing a miracle unfolding in their own home…

 God was meeting their need, and he was using their faith to do it!

Not only was she able to pay off the debtors but she and her sons were able to live on all of the excess… God just doesn't meet our needs; but he exceeds our needs… He gives us all things pertaining to life and godliness… God just asks for obedience, for availability and for us to trust him!

Ask and keep on asking, knock and keep on knocking… Let God use you through your faith and obedience to bring forth your miracle!

God bless you all exceedingly abundantly!!

1Tim 1:14

Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

Eph 3:20

God will do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think

Luke 6:38 - Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Psalms 23:5 - Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Psalms 65:11 - Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.

John 10:10 - The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Psalms 37:11 - But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Proverbs 3:10 - So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Romans 15:13 - Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

God bless you all, please like and share these devotions to help share the gospel!❤️

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FOLLOW PEACE by Nina Keegan

FOLLOW GOD'S PEACE.. God is always guiding us, every notion, every thought you ever have comes from one of two places... do not let your heart be hardened by not listening to your conscience… That still small voice( the Holy Spirit) that starts to bother you when you are off track! He is and always will be our voice of reason… His way will always be right even when we are kicking against the goads and our flesh wants to go in the exact opposite direction..

We must follow peace… PEACE that pure peace that surpasses all understanding ...God will make our way plain and simple… When we are right with God, when we are on the right track, we will know his sweetest and purest peace .....

When we are off-track there is NO peace… We are outside of the covering of the Lord… He steps back and lets us live out our free will… Disobedience has no peace!

Many times there is anxiety and a feeling of angst… And even through just self justification can we come up with a myriad of reasons to justify our wayward selves..

The flesh can come up with many reasons to justify disobedience.. The enemy knows the word, he is very slick and he can twist his words to fit our agendas… We must be so steadfast in our walk with Jesus that we are immovable, that we can immediately recognize

the carrot of the enemy being dangled in front of us… We must be vigilant and stand strong and again follow PEACE!

God always confirms his plan, spend time with the Lord and he will make the crooked places straight… We can make our plans but yes he's the one who orders our every step… Glory hallelujah we give God praise!

 God is our loving Father, God is never not with us trying to teach us and lead us. We should be ever mindful to obey and listen to him because that's where our peace and victory come from, When we obey the word and refuse to pay attention to what the world is offering… We can walk in the blessings of divine obedience.

Refusing to pay attention to God's commands invites punishment( self-inflicted) and threatens that peace and that righteousness that we have through him. It's  like we've stepped out of the covering and protection through our own free will and defiance.

The Scripture says in Isaiah 48:17

" I am the Lord your God who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the path that you should follow! Oh that you had listened to my commands, then you would've had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like the waves of the sea."

After 40 years in captivity the Israelites were finally shouting with joy as they crossed the Red Sea, free from slavery at last!

40 whole years of wilderness before they finally got it... 

why were they so defiant..? What are you doing that has you repeatedly trekking  around the wilderness while staring at the locked gates to the promised land..?

What is holding you captive, what is your besetting sin! Be free! The Lord has redeemed his servants from slavery to sin. When you let God free you from your captivity, you will also be shouting with joy! There is nothing like the peace and the freedom of walking in victory from strongholds. You too can be free from any addiction, any besetting sin... you can be free from fear, anxiety, depression, you can be an overcomer through the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony.

Many people continuously cry out for the need of comfort and security and relief from the turmoil and discomfort they are going through but they haven't taken the first step which is to turn away from their sin, .. go back to your first place of disobedience repent and be made right with God… Renounce your behaviors and ask for forgiveness… God is waiting on us…

God is not pushy, we have free will and we must call on his name and turn our lives over to him..SURRENDER!  We must repent and turn it ALL over to God and trust him to take over. If you want true peace, seek God first, he's the one who can help you change your situation, he's the one who can bring you freedom from the enemy's stronghold!

The scripture continues to say and Isaiah 48:20 ( paraphrase) Yet even now be free from your captivity! The Lord has redeemed his servants.. they were not thirsty when he led them to the desert, he divided the rock and water gushed out for them to drink, "but there is no peace for the wicked!" says the Lord...

Isaiah 49:8

This is what the Lord says: " at just the right time I will respond to you on the day of salvation I will help you I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them."

 God will bring you into the light..

He will bring you into freedom for you will no longer hunger and thirst or be searching for all the things to fill the void that only God can fill through his love, peace and mercy!

 God loves you with an everlasting love, he has your name written on the palms of his hands!

All glory to God!

 He will never leave you or forsake you ...let God do the impossible in your life because that's where He starts!

Call on the name of JESUS NOW...and be saved! Let God rescue you and pluck you out of harms way and set you down on solid ground which is the rock… Jesus our rock and our redeemer! 

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Matthew 11:28-30  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”