Passage of the Day:
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us, 1 John 3:19-24.
Reflection:
If the human heart is a well spring for life, the soul is a spiritual force deep inside of you. All four authors of the Gospel mention heart, soul and mind in this specific order. Perhaps, Jesus is trying to express an essential element to life where the heart and soul work together. As hearts and souls turn their attention to the Lord, minds follow with thoughts centered around the Bible. The disciple whom Jesus loved writes about reaching a spiritual state where your heart is at rest in God’s presence. This is what the apostle Paul illuminates upon in Philippians 4:6-7.
Prayerful Actions:
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth, 1 John 3:17-18.
Refreshing Your Soul:
The Lord recently gave me an analogy which applies to the call to action in the passage above. “Don’t listen to what someone says there are going to do. Rather, pay close attention to what people do on a daily basis. You shouldn’t have to tell others that you are a great person. Show people as you put your heart and soul into living out your faith by loving your neighbor as yourself.”
Song of the Day:
The lyrics of Life’s Noise by Blue Tree are inspired by Elijah’s experience in 1 Kings 19:9-13. After an amazing spiritual victory in 1 Kings 18, Elijah suffers the agony of a defeated soul. This is when you have to fight through all of the distractions of life’s noise by placing all your heart, soul and mind into this effort. The whisper of God provides the assurance needed to tarry on into a new month.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 