HEART

A HEART OF GENTLENESS

TALKING TO GOD
Ask God to help you keep your heart gentle. Talk to Him about times when you haven’t had a heart of gentleness, and ask for His forgiveness.

DIVING IN
Place a small amount of flour in one brown paper bag and rocks or gravel in another. Without their knowing what is inside, have another family member guess, then reach into one bag at a time and describe how the contents feel.

GOING DEEPER
Both bags look exactly the same on the outside, but the contents of one are soft, while the contents of the other are hard. People are like these bags — you can’t always tell what’s on the inside. You learn in 1 Samuel 16:7 that “man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” God knows you can use your outward appearance — how you act and what you say — to cover up what’s really inside, just like the bags covered their contents. You might act kind and gentle but have bad attitudes or mean thoughts. While God wants you to be gentle on the outside, He also wants your heart to be gentle. When your heart is full of gentleness, God can use you to bless others.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER
– Who is someone you know with a gentle heart? What do you like about this person?
– Who is someone you know with a hard heart? How does this person treat you?
– What causes your heart to become hard?
– What are some ways you can keep your heart soft?

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Are YOU?

Am I Listening To God’s Voice?

Every leadership decision I have ever made that produced any type of fruit has not been the result of my brilliance but God’s goodness.

If you are a CEO, a small business owner, a young leader, or a stay at home mom, let me assure you that listening to God and doing what He says is NOT just for people in the ministry. It’s for you as well! God wants you to be the best version of yourself, the you He made you to be.

The best advice I could ever give is to listen to Jesus and do what He says.

We hear from Jesus by reading the Bible and asking for His help in prayer. Almost every morning for the past two decades, I have gotten out of bed, made a cup of coffee, opened the Bible, and tried my best to allow Jesus to shape my heart and mind. Leaning into God as much as possible will keep us humble and remind us what we are doing and Who we are doing it for.

When our plates are filled with things we feel like we have to do, rather than the things we are called to do, we begin to operate out of obligation rather than celebration. A leader’s responsibility is not to make as many people as happy as possible. A leader’s primary responsibility is to be obedient to God.

As you start to say no to good things to make room for God things, people will get mad. On those days, remember this: One day when we stand before God, we will be held accountable for whether or not we were obedient to our calling and stewarded the resources He gave us.

Do the job in such a way that on that day we hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 5:21).

What’s Next: 

When can you take some time out of your day to actively listen to Jesus?
When was the last time you heard God’s voice? What did He tell you to do? Have you done it yet?
What is the Lord  telling you to do that scares you to death because you know “they” will not approve? Listen to the voice of God. He is sovereign, and they are not.

Who are YOU listening to?

#GrowthChallenge

Lack of proper training will distort your destiny by way of your hearing.

Genesis 3:1-10

I can’t let my enemy be wiser than me!

Listening to a #truth from the perspective of a liar is detrimental to my purpose.

I’m understanding the subtlety of conversations that are designed to distort my #vision. Goes back to yesterday’s lesson: what you hear paints a picture in your mind as to what you see.

Vs. 3 – Eve saw the tree as bad because of what God said.

Vs. 6 – Eve heard the serpent then her perception was altered (what am I listening to? Is it changing my focus?)

What I’m hearing/listening to has the potential to change how I see my assignment. 

It may not be harmful for you…but with where I am on my journey – “I will surely die”

Don’t follow the voice of “The Liar!”

The rules were different for the serpent – his destiny wasn’t the same as Eve’s – the same is true today.

Thank you Pastor Jay Patrick 

#Listening… #OnPurpose

#WhoSaidThat?