Tag Archives: meditate

A Heart is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Posted on August 8, 2014 by expressyourself4him

Whether you’re young and healthy, worn and middle aged or old and decrepit, the heart serves as a thermostat.  Age is a state of mind as the heart regulates the moods of individuals.  If the wisest king in history suggested that a heart is the well spring of life, Proverbs 4:23, than the heart is a terrible thing to waste.

Eating right and exercising is just one aspect to maintaining a healthy heart.  Inside the human body, an invisible virus is lurking.  This cancer feeds on sin, spreading beyond the heart into minds and souls.  If left unaddressed, lukewarm spirits can enter the heart.  This disease influences actions, encouraging compromise, inconsistency and a life void of passion, Revelation 3:15-16.

In view of this potential disaster, guard your heart by taking your spiritual temperature daily, Matthew 6:19-24.  Meditate on God’s Word, the Bible, Joshua 1:8, so that your mind will be steered in the right direction, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.  Finally, to discourage temptation from entering the equation, put to death any earthly nature that puts your heart in danger, Colossians 3:5-9.  By exercising your heart spiritually, fulfilling Matthew 22:37-40 can become a reality.

by Jay Mankus

 

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When You Will See How Great is God

Posted on June 22, 2014 by expressyourself4him

Life is like riding a new roller coaster for the first time, filled with ups and downs, twists and turns with unexpected corkscrews around blind corners.  Subsequently, individuals change, evolve or are transformed by the ebb and flow of trials.  Nonetheless, unless a caterpillar enters the chrysalis, it will never be able to fly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu-2g2K7CEI

When hard times arrive. (and they will find you) there is a tendency to cry out to God, complain and wrestle with reality, Psalm 77:1-4.  Whether its coping with death, illness or unemployment, there is no easy way out.  However, on the day of when storms arise, Asaph provides a blueprint in Psalm 77:5-13 to help struggling souls see how great God is.

The moment you begin to remember recent miracles, times when God carried you or meditate on the works of the Lord, perspectives change.  Yet, this is easier said than done.  In the midst of pain, find rest in God’s chrysalis until your transformation is complete.  After the hurricanes of life, keep your head up so that you will begin to see how great is our God.

by Jay Mankus

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Finding Your Why

Posted on May 9, 2014 by expressyourself4him

Author Simon Sinek wrote the book Start with Why, uncovering how great leaders inspire others to take action.  While many modern businesses have a high school mentality, punishing everyone for a few workers transgressions, Sinek highlights what separates great companies and leaders from the rest.  While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Steve Jobs and the Wright Brothers didn’t have much in common, they all started with why.

While listening to an interview yesterday on the Blaze Radio Network, I began to wonder, why do I do what I do?  Subsequently, its important to find your why.  During the exile of Israel in the Old Testament, a prophet unveiled some chilling news.  “People are destroyed from a lack of knowledge,” Hosea 4:6.  This passage suggests if you don’t find your why in life, you will likely come to ruin before you fulfill God’s will on earth, Philippians 1:6.

One of Israel’s founding fathers advised God’s people to read, ponder and meditate on the Torah, Joshua 1:8.  The son of God called His followers to action, putting into practice the words He, Jesus shared, Matthew 7:24.  Meanwhile, the apostle Paul encouraged seekers to devote their lives to holiness, worship and renewing minds to conform with Scripture, Romans 12:1-2.

As you set out to find your own why for what you do, let us know how your journey is going.

by Jay Mankus

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Slip Proof

Posted on March 17, 2014 by expressyourself4him

Whether you’re driving a car in wintry weather, trying to walk on a slippery surface or seek to keep a conversation clean with children ease dropping, its impossible to guarantee a slip proof day.  You may have good intentions, yet how can you be so sure that you won’t misstep, stumble and fall?  Daily obstacles await individuals, like potholes that can lead to blunders, errors or gaffes if you’re not paying careful attention.

Despite these odds, there was a king who suggested another way.  Psalm 37:31 contains a plan that is slip proof, demonstrated by a man after God’s own heart.  The key is to hide the words of the Bible in your heart, meditating on God’s laws as an honor student hungers for straight A’s, Psalm 119:7-9.  Once the mind is transformed, Romans 12:2, a slip proof day isn’t out of the equation.  This is the goal set out for people to strive for, Matthew 5:48.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqCscB07reE

Slipping often occurs in 3 ways: physically, mentally and spiritually.  Physically slipping could be an accident or a byproduct of poor judgment.  Perhaps, this may explain the apostle Paul’s warning to believers in Corinth, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.  Compromise is conceived in minds, trying to convince souls to alter their values.  If an Eve like moment occurs, a mental weakness produces a spiritual slip known as sin.  Whenever you reach this point, go back to the drawing board, remember David’s words in Psalm 37:31 to regain a slip proof footing.

Do you have a stategy for avoiding “slips”? If so, please share.

 

by Jay Mankus

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Tattoos of the Heart

Posted on July 13, 2013 by expressyourself4him

I grew up in a genre where roughly 5-10 % of my peers had a tattoo.  According to a recent Pew Research Poll, 45 million Americans now have at least one tattoo, spending $1.65 billion annually.  Anyone who visits one of the 21,000 parlors across the country should expect to pay a minimum of $45 for a small tattoo or $150 for a large one on average.  If you are noticing those around, tattoos appear almost any where from an arm, leg, neck, shoulder or face.  Sometimes I wonder, why don’t I have one.  Yet, a still small voice revealed I have an internal tattoo on my heart.

When the days of my youth wore off in college, I took the words of Joshua 1:8 to heart.  Something deep inside my soul could not run from God any longer.  Thus, I began to examine passages like Proverbs 4:23 and Deuteronomy 6:5-9.  What I found initially was painful, a crooked and deceitful heart, Jeremiah 17:9.  Despite this grave reality, there is a remedy, a spiritual ointment to cleanse your heart, Psalm 119:9-11.  Therefore, I have discovered a lighted trail, Psalm 119:105, illuminated by the Word of God.  As I read, ponder its meaning and meditate on the truth within each passage, a spiritual tattoo is forming on my heart.

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus eludes to tattoos of the heart in Matthew 6:19-24.  Although, there is a catch, the things you treasure influence your heart.  If you are not careful, tattoos of the heart can be replaced by a world full of greed, materialism and ruin.  Regardless of your external appearance or any tattoo that you display, the condition of your heart will sway you toward evil or good, Luke 6:45.  This is what Stephen saw in religious leaders during the first century, Acts 7:51-52.  Therefore, if you want a tattoo of the heart, strive to fulfill Galatians 5:7, proving yourself to be a disciple of Jesus, John 15:7-8.  Come to God’s tattoo parlor by spending time reading the Bible daily!

by Jay Mankus

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Unlikely Sources of Intelligence

Posted on January 18, 2013 by expressyourself4him

There was a time in this country when a high school diploma meant something.  Today, in an age of endless education, you have to acquire this certification and that degree along with these essential skills to get away where or be anyone.  Unless of course, you are drawn toward an unlikely source of intelligence.

During the first century, there were 2 main classes, the elite and peasants.  Thus, only the wealthy could afford higher education.  The poor endured the school of hard knocks, entering lesser trades like fishing.  This is the backdrop of Acts 4, where the upper class attempt to scold 2 unschooled fishermen.

Following their Rabbinical School Teaching, the high priest, elders and teachers of the law were set in their minds to punish Peter and John for not obeying cultural traditions as each spent one night in jail prior to their public hearing.  Relying on superior intellect, Peter and John had the deck stacked against until Peter became plugged into a source out of this world, Acts 4:8.  After this the religious leaders never had a prayer, over matched according to Acts 4:13-14.

I can relate to this event due to an unusual twist of fate.  My parents are both Ivy League graduates, attending the University of Pennsylvania, with my dad earning his masters from the Wharton School of Business.  On the other hand, my 2 older sisters and I were average B students, wondering when or if the IQ of our parents might ever be passed on to us.  Like Peter and John, I felt over matched until I began to mediate on and study God’s word, Joshua 1:8.  Similar to the Holy Spirit, this unlikely source from a worldly perspective has even astonished me at times.  If you feel as if you are lacking the knowledge you need, get plugged into God today!

by Jay Mankus

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