Amos 5:22-24

Your cereal offerings I will not accept, nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings. But if you would offer me holocausts, then let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream.

There have always been hypocrites in the church. Let’s face it…we’ve all been hypocritical at some point. But some people are truly blind to it! They follow the law and the rules…but do nothing to reach out to help those in need! Over 700 years before the birth of Jesus…God told the people through the prophet Amos that animal sacrifices mean nothing! What God wanted was justice and goodness! We don’t earn God’s love…it’s already freely given! How will we pass that love on to those in need?

Suggested song of the day—”Make Me a Channel” on the Listen to Your Heart album.

To hear a clip, click on the itunes icon in the upper-right corner.

Matthew 16:15

“But who do you say that I am?”

Jesus is asking the same question to you and me that He asked His followers when He walked the earth. It’s a life-changing question…at least it should be! It was for me. One day the question really struck me and I knew Jesus was asking it of me. Look at the accounts given about His life. Look at the changed lives of the apostles who claimed they witnessed the Risen Christ. Jesus showed us how to live and how to die…and that His Love was unconditional and forever. That’s the kind of love Jesus has for you! So…who do YOU say that He is?

Suggested song of the day—”Salvation” on the Live to Love album.

To hear a clip, click on the itunes icon in the upper-right corner.

Matthew 8:21-22

Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

Jesus often used exaggeration to make a point. Responsibility to your family was of utmost importance in the time of Jesus…and it still is! But Jesus was saying that if you are to follow Him you must be willing to make that the top priority…even above family. This can be very difficult! Following Jesus is not easy! But it is the only path to true life and fulfillment! What attachment is blocking you from following Jesus?

Suggested song of the day—”I Want to Follow You” on the Listen to Your Heart album.

To hear a clip, click on the itunes icon in the upper-right corner.

Matthew 8:2-3

And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.

At the time of Jesus a person with leprosy was thought to have been afflicted with this incurable and horrible illness by God as a punishment for something they must have done. They were shunned and cast out of the community. Can you imagine the courage and faith it took for the man labeled a “leper” to approach Jesus? And then Jesus completely broke all the rules by actually touching the man…and healing him! Jesus was all about restoring a person to wholeness and breaking down any divisions. What healing do you need to be brought to wholeness? How might you help someone else become whole? How might you work to include those who have been cast out?

Suggested song of the day—”Heal Me” on the Live to Love album.

To hear a clip, click on the itunes icon in the upper-right corner.

Isaiah 49:6

I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

We are all literally loved into existence! God breathes life into us and names us in our mother’s womb. Each of us is a unique beloved son or daughter of God. As such…we each have a unique purpose and design to reflect the Light of God into the world! Our Loving Maker wants to bring all things into their fullness of Being…including you! How can we allow God to use our lives to help nurture, encourage and love all things…into their Wholeness? Following Jesus…would be a good idea! This is the path to salvation!

Suggested song of the day—”May I Be Light” on the Listen to Your Heart album.

To hear a clip, click on the itunes icon in the upper-right corner.

Matthew 6:20-21

“Store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

Are your treasures material or spiritual? We know that anything material will eventually turn to dust or end up in a garbage dump. Jesus tells us that true wealth comes in the form of faith, hope, love and compassion. It comes in the way of forgiveness! Our loving God has freely given all this to us…so that we might pass it on to others. Giving your heart to material things leads to emptiness…but giving your heart to God leads you to experience the wealth of inner joy!

Suggested song of the day—”Listen to Your Heart” on the Listen to Your Heart album.

To hear a clip, click on the itunes icon in the upper-right corner.

Psalm 97:7

All who serve idols are put to shame, who glory in worthless things.

It’s easy to look at others and be critical of how they are idolizing sports, celebrities, wealth, material possessions, sex, etc. But what about turning the critical eye on you and me? Maybe we each should ask ourselves: Is there anything that I am putting before my relationship with God? Am I trying to satisfy that deep yearning inside of me with some pursuit or activity when the only thing that will satisfy and fill that hole in my heart…is God? How is God trying to fill that yearning inside of you to be loved? Maybe by letting go of our ego-centered desires…and following Jesus…new Life would be found?

Suggested song of the day—”Show Me…Me” on the Listen to Your Heart album.

To hear a clip, click on the itunes link in the upper-right corner.

Matthew 6:6

“But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

Have you ever pondered these words of Jesus closely? “Go to your inner room.” What is your “inner room“? It’s that place deep inside your being…where God resides. The God of the universe is waiting there to commune with you and to speak with you. But to hear the voice of your Creator you must be willing to turn off the noise of the world…find a quiet place…and simply be with God. Jesus says that we should not be like the ones who believe they will be heard because of their many words. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8)

Suggested song of the day—”Turn Off the Noise” on the Listen to Your Heart album.

To hear a clip, click on the itunes link in the upper-right corner.

Matthew 5:43-45

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”

Jesus tells us we must do what goes against every fiber of our being. I mean…is He serious about loving our enemies? Well…that’s what Jesus said! Seems we have a way of disregarding some of Jesus’ most difficult teachings…or spinning them into something easier to handle. Are we forgiving and loving the one person who has harmed us deeply? Are we praying for terrorists? Instead of trying to change someone else…Jesus asks each of us to change. Such transformation will only happen through a relationship with Him. It’s not easy following Jesus…but following Him would change the world.

Suggested song of the day—”Love God” on the Live to Love album.