Poetic Inspirations and Practical Applications for Blissful Living

Softening the Hardened Heart

Pastor Duke Taber, the pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Pine Haven, Wyoming, is the founder of www.TabersTruths.com. He will join the Purposeful Pathway Radio show on Wednesday, July 25th at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Enjoy the show ~ and enjoy his guest post below!

http://taberstruths.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/hard-heart.jpg

Softening the Hardened Heart

 

Today I am going to share with you what I shared with my congregation on Sunday. I am going to talk about how we can once again soften our hard hearts. We have came to discover, although not in a condemning way, that we have allowed our hearts to become hardened. It was not something that we consciously set out to do, or that we wanted to see happen, but it was something that has gradually crept up on us. I believe that if you will listen with your spiritual ears, you will also hear the still small voice of Jesus speak to you about areas in your hearts that have become callous and rough and are no longer the soft soil that the Lord would want them to be for Him to plant His word into.

I started the message out with the passage in Hosea that tells the hard hearted people of his day to break up their fallow ground. Let me share that passage with you.

Softening your hard heart by breaking up the fallow ground.

Hosea 10:12
New Living Translation (NLT)
12 I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
and shower righteousness upon you.’

The prophet Hosea was called by God to live out a prophecy against the people of God. God called him to marry a prostitute and show the people by a visual and living prophecy what they were doing to God by example. They people of God were chasing after false gods. They were allowing idolatry to come into their lives. Now, idolatry is one of the biggies. It is probably the biggest thing that breaks the heart of God. It is the same to God as it is to a married person that has an unfaithful spouse. This is exactly what God was trying to get across to His children. Idolatry breaks His heart and wounds Him tremendously.

So we asked ourselves the very hard question. What is an idol? All of us agreed that an idol is ANYTHING that we place in higher priority than the Lord. Then we started asking what were some of the things that we have a tendency to place in higher priority than the Lord. There were many different things, but I will name a few off the top of my head. They were things like money, jobs, other people, saving face, respect, relationships, and many others. Ouch!

As much as none of us want to admit it, our nation, our communities, our families are a lot like the people of Hosea’s time than we want to admit. The first step in softening your heart is realizing your heart is hard. That you have allowed areas of your heart to become calloused and given over to idols.

Changing your heart from being hard to being soft is a process

Next we looked at a very famous passage that is always quoted when people talk about the need for our nation to be healed. It is found in 2 Chronicles.

2 Chronicles 7:12-14 NKJV
God’s Second Appearance to Solomon
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Now most of the time when I hear people preach or teach on this passage they seem to skip over all of it and focus on the repentance part. The turning away from the wicked ways. That is an important part, but to see a real change in your heart you have to take each step one at a time. There are 4 steps to this process.

  1. Humble themselves. I think the biggest roadblock that most Christians have today in seeing their hardened hearts changed, is the fact that they have convinced themselves that they are doing okay. They look around and compare themselves to each other and as long as nobody is outwardly doing the major sins, they think that they have arrived. There is a really big pride problem in the church today. We have to come to the point that we once again see our need to tear down the idols that we have allowed to rise up in our hearts and lives.
  2. Pray. Prayer has been turned into some type of magical formula that get’s God to do what we want. Prayer is not designed to be used to give Santa Claus your wish list. It is supposed to be a deep and intimate conversation with your heavenly Father. We must get back to that intimacy with God. We must start dealing in prayer with the realization of our idolatry and hardheartedness. We have to stop asking God to give revival to the United States and start asking Him to revive us personally. We have to see that it starts with us.
  3. Seek His face. Here is the whole key to seeing your hard heart softened. This is the answer to how you can get to turning away from your wicked ways. A good friend of mine many years ago told me that I had a choice before me. He said I should go look into a dumpster and see all the garbage, and then I should go and look out from the local mountaintop at all of God’s creation. He then asked me, which one do I want to look at all the time? Well the answer was obvious. When we seek God’s face, we are looking to see His beauty and glory. When we see that beauty and glory, then why would we want to settle for dumpster diving? It softens our hearts and makes us willing to turn from the garbage that we have been holding onto and viewing as some type of treasure.
  4. Turning from our wicked ways. It is when we have completed the first 3 steps that our heart and will is changed and we no longer want those wicked ways, but instead we want the beauty and glory of God in our lives. The turning becomes easy.

If you are forgiven much, you love much.

Jesus recognized the difference between a person with a hard heart and a person with a soft heart. In Luke’s gospel we see where Jesus vividly points out the difference.

Luke 7:36-47 NLT
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.[h] 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” 40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver[i] to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. 47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

Now I am going to ask you a question that I hope will turn the light bulb on for you. Was this woman a bigger sinner than the Pharisee Simon, or was it that she knew that she was forgiven a lot. I would say to you that the difference here was not the amount of sins that needed forgiving, but it was the amount of sins that had been forgiven. Simon was just as much a sinner in need of God’s mercy and grace as this sinful woman, but He didn’t think he needed forgiving so there had been very few sins in his life that had been forgiven.

If you are going to see your heart become soft and ready for the Lord to do His work in you, then you are going to have to once again understand how big God’s grace and mercy is by understanding how much you needed and still need forgiveness. When you realize such the size of the gift that has been given to you, when you realize how high the price was to give you that gift, then you will once again love Jesus with a passionate love and that love will soften your heart.

source: http://taberstruths.com/softening-a-hardened-heart-57727/

Pastor Duke Taber is the pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Pine Haven, Wyoming. He accepted the call to pastor the church in July of 2010. Previously he was the pastor of Grace Foursquare Church in Ely, Nevada, Pioche Foursquare Church in Pioche, Nevada, and Hosanna Foursquare Churchin Gresham, Oregon. He has had over twenty years of practical ministry experience, both in the church and in the real world. He has ministered in Baptist Churches, Pentecostal Churches and Mainline Churches. Follow him at http://taberstruths.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tabers-Truths/143047635765439 and https://twitter.com/taberstruths.


 

 

Amazing Grace

Jesus Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound

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“Amazing Grace,

How sweet the sound,”

Music touching my soul

To depths profound.

 

When I hear the lyrics,

Lord, I see Your face;

Yea, how amazing

Is Your eternal grace.

 

Who am I

That You should love me?

Who am I

That You should set me free?

 

A wretched sinner am I,

Once lost and blind;

Yet Your grace transformed

My heart and mind.

 

Your love warmed

My once shivering soul;

Your luminous truth filled me,

Making me whole.

 

I shall sing Your praises

Today and all my tomorrows;

Jesus bears my burdens,

He carries my sorrows.

 

Who is amazing like Jesus?

Whose love is like His?

Who can transform eternity

With one gentle kiss?

 

Jesus is my symphony,

He is the song of my heart;

By His amazing grace

He and I shall never part.

 

Brothers and sisters,

Join me now in song;

Together and forever

With Jesus we belong.

 

And when we are in Heaven,

His song we will still sing;

Amazing is His grace,

Glory to God, our King!


By His precious blood

He has set us free;

By His limitless love

We live eternally.

 

Lord, how amazing

Is Your eternal grace.

Yea, how amazing

We shall Your face.

 

Your loves touches us

To depths profound –

O, “Amazing Grace,

How sweet the sound.”

~*~

© 2012 Caroline Gavin

How do you celebrate the sweet sound of His Amazing Grace?

Leave a Comment!

~*~

Interested in working with a Christian Life Coach? Contact Caroline Gavin via caroline@purposefulpathway.com for a Free Christian Life Coaching Consultation.

 

Power in Prayer

Power in Prayer

Power in Prayer

On my knees before You

I approach You in prayer,

I sense Your presence, Lord,

I know You are near.

 

Your radiant face

Shines in my mind’s eye;

You are the Source of life,

For me You chose to die.

 

All my trials, my Jesus,

I release unto You,

So too all my victories

I place on the altar too.

 

Everything is Yours,

As my life You bought;

When You shed Your blood,

It was me You sought.

 

How can I not then follow

When I hear You call? 

All I must release

To my All in all.

 

Everything You give me,

I then give You everything;

Enthroned in my heart,

Forever You are my King.

 

The power of Your Cross

Bridges Your heart and mine;

Your blood washes my sin,

 ‘Tis the fount of life divine.

 

Before You now I kneel,

I humbly bow my head;

Thank You, precious Savior,

That for my life You bled.

 

To the foot of Your Cross

I travel in my mind;

No stronger, sweeter love

Ever will I find.

 

Yea, Calvary is on my heart

When I am on bended knee;

I see my sweet Jesus

Bleeding on the tree.

 

Come here often, Lord,

Yea, I vow to do;

Kneeling here in prayer

I am all the closer to You.

 

Radiant is Your face,

Sparkling with love Your eye;

How I love You, Jesus,

For me You chose to die.

 

Your presence, Lord, I feel,

I know You are near;

On my knees before You

I feel Your power in prayer.

~*~

© 2012 Caroline Gavin

Such power in the Cross, such power in prayer.

I would love to read how prayer transforms your life.

Leave a Comment!

~*~

Interested in working with a Christian Life Coach? Contact Caroline Gavin via caroline@purposefulpathway.com for a Free Christian Life Coaching Consultation.

 

 

 

 

My Heart Beats for You, Lord

My Heart Beats for You, Lord

MY HEART BEATS FOR YOU, LORD

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The soft breeze dances in my hair,

The sun sparkles in the lake;

I feel Your love for me, Lord,

My spirit You awake.

Refreshing are these waters,

As Living Water You share;

Your love is sweeter than life,

Precious beyond compare.

My Jesus, I see You shining,

You come on clouds Above;

Exposed is Your precious heart,

Revealing the flame of love.

How I love You, my Lord,

My heart beats only for You;

You are the Meaning of my life,

The Reason for all I do.

I do not deserve Your love,

Yea, only a sinner am I;

Yet You love me so,

For me You chose to die.

Arms outstretched on the Cross,

As You shed Your blood for me;

I outstretch my arms now, Lord,

As I am Yours for eternity.

Take me, Beloved Master,

Lift me in Your arms so strong;

Do You feel my heart beat for You?

With You alone I belong.

Your eyes brighter than the sky,

Your voice sweeter than symphony,

My one desire in life, Jesus,

Is to bring You eternal glory.

Yours forever is my heart,

I live for You and Your will;

When I see You in Heaven,

My heart will sing for You still.

For You are the Son shining,

You reign high on clouds Above;

Beating is Your precious heart,

The flame of eternal love.

 

Baptize me in Your love, Lord,

In the Living Water You share;

Your love is sweeter than life,

Precious beyond compare.

As the breeze dances in my hair,

Your Son-light sparkles in the lake,

I feel my heart beat for You, Jesus,

My heart is Yours to take.

~*~

© 2012 Caroline Gavin

His beating heart is the Source of love and life;

I would love to read how your heart beats and sings for Him.

Leave a Comment

~*~

Interested in working with a Christian Life Coach? Contact Caroline Gavin via caroline@purposefulpathway.com for a Free Christian Life Coaching Consultation.

 

 

The Son Still Shines

The Son Still Shines

 The Son of God Still Shines

The Son Still Shines

Image courtesy Rawich at www.freedigitalphotos.net

 

(Send as an Inspirational Christian e~card!) 

Behind the clouds,
The sun does shine,
Behind the trials
Shines love divine.

Surely when the rain drops
The sun is still there;
Surely when thunder roars,
The sun is still near.

Though hidden from sight,
Though veiled by clouds,
The sun is still radiant
When darkness enshrouds.

Teach me then, O Lord,
To see You in the rain;
Teach me, O Lord,
To rejoice in pain.

For surely You shine
Both in ease and in trial,
Surely You reign,
Yea, all the while.

As the rain falls,
As it pours upon me,
I envision the Son
Shining in all His glory.

The raindrops are His kisses,
His blessings ever sweet,
For there in the trial
Cross and crown do meet.

Lord Jesus, I desire
Whatever You do bring;
In sun and in rain,
My heart shall sing.

I bask in sunshine days
Rich with Your grace;
So too the rainy days
I gratefully embrace.

Ever more like You,
I do long to be;
If through trial You sculpt,
My Lord, let it be.

And may I bring You glory
In all that I do;
In sunshine and in rain,
May I live for You.

When hidden from sight,
When veiled by clouds,
You are still radiant
When darkness enshrouds.

Surely when the rain drops;
You are still there;
Surely when thunder roars,
To my heart You are near.

Yea, behind the clouds,
My Beloved, You shine;
So I sing in the rain
Of Your love divine.

~*~

© 2012 Caroline Gavin

How do you sing in the rain?

How do you see the Son of God still shining in the clouds?

Leave a Comment

 

 

The Lord’s Comfort

The Lord's Comfort
 
 
 
The Lord’s Comfort
 
 

In Your arms,

Lord, peacefully I rest,

You comfort tenderly,

Yea, You comfort best.

 

Surely Your comfort

Is sweet and divine;

How grateful I am

Your comfort is mine.

 

When the trials emerge,

When the thunder roars,

Still I find in Your arms

My spirit soars.

 

You embrace me with love,

You kiss me with graces;

Nothing sweeter do I know

Than Your tender embraces.

 

This comfort of comforts

I share with others too;

Lord, when they see me,

May they also see You.

 

For I am Your instrument,

Yes, for You alone I live;

I am Your vessel,

All to You, Lord, I give.

 

When I comfort another,

When I show my love,

I show my adoration

For my King above.

 

By comforting others

In their trials and pain

I bring glory to You –

In me may You reign.

 

Use me, my Master,

I kneel before Your throne;

Use me for Your purposes,

My life forever You own.

 

Express Yourself through me

In the comfort I share;

Show Your love through me,

A love beyond compare.

 

I delight in knowing

You work through me now;

To do Your will alone,

This, Lord Jesus, I vow.

 

Love you forever,

Lord, I know I shall;

Your love captivates,

It does my spirit enthrall.

 

When the trials emerge,

When the thunder roars,

In Your arms, Jesus,

My spirit soars.

 

Surely Your comfort

Is sweet and divine;

I shall share Your comfort,

For I am fully thine.

 

And in Your arms,

Lord, I peacefully rest,

So tender You are, Jesus,

Yea, You comfort best.

 

                                                              

© 2012 Caroline Gavin

Through what trials has the Lord comforted you?

In what ways does His comfort appear?

How have you comforted otheres with the comfort you receive from Him?

Leave a Comment

 

Independence Day Poem

Independence Day Poem

Waving in the air,

Our flag, red, blue and white,

Dancing in the sun,

Its stars shining in the light.

 

Overwhelmed with gratitude

That in this nation I do live;

Thankful for the many who

Their lives did bravely give.

 

America, America,

May God richly shed His grace;

America, America,

May you seek His radiant face.

 

Founded on a love for Him,

Surely you are blessed;

May you walk in His truth,

Committed to what is best.

 

For Independence is not free,

It is bought with bloodshed;

The flying colors of the flag

Grew from battlefields of red.

 

So let us never forget

Those who died to set us free;

Let us never forget the God

Who blesses us so lavishly.

 

On this Independence Day,

As fireworks echo in the soul,

Let us celebrate our Nation

And the One who makes us whole.

 

As colors stream gracefully

Across the dark night sky,

A reminder of colorful history

Dances before the eye.

 

The colors of freedom fly

In the flag that does wave;

For this is the land of the free

And the home of the brave.

 

Glory, Glory to God

For loving our nation so;

It is in embracing Truth

That pure freedom we do know.

 

America, America,

May God richly shed His grace;

America, America,

May you seek His radiant face.

 

I thank You, my Lord,

That in this nation I do live;

I thank those who for freedom

Their lives did bravely give.

 

For, dancing in the sun,

Its stars shining in the light,

Waving gallantly in the air is

Our flag, red, blue and white.

© 2012 Caroline Gavin

How will you celebrate your national – and Spiritual – freedom?

Leave a Comment

God on High

God on High: Inspiratonal Christian eCard and Poem

God on High

God on High: Inspiratonal Christian eCard and Poem

Image courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net
Sun And Clouds by Graur Codrin

(Send as an Inspirational Christian e-card!)

Glory of glories:
The Son shining on high.
Glory of glories:
Though far, He is nigh.

For Jesus reigns
High in Heaven above;
Yet surely He is near
To all He does love.

The highest Heavens
His Presence cannot contain;
Yet in our hearts
He does surely remain.

He dwells in His children,
Yea, in us He does abide;
He wraps us in His love,
Tenderly He does guide.

How can this be,
How can this be so?
How can the Creator of all
I intimately know?

Surely I am not deserving,
Surely He is far too great;
Yet surely God is with me,
Though me He did create.

The stars sing of His glory,
The sun shines with His light;
The universe shows His wisdom
In division of day and night.

Every star He has named,
My hairs are numbered too;
How my heart adores my God,
Yea, Lord, how much I love You.

So I shall sing of Your glory
All my life, all my days;
I shall sing of Your love,
My life is a song of Your praise.

Dance I shall in sunshine,
Rejoice I shall with clapping trees;
Live for You I shall, my Lord –
Every moment for You to please.

The highest of the Heavens
Your Presence cannot contain;
Yet in my lowly heart, Jesus,
All the while You do remain.

Yes, You reign, my Beloved,
High in Heaven above;
Yet surely You are near to me,
Surely me You do love.

O, glory of glories:
You, the Son, shine on high.
Glory of glories:
Though far, to me You are nigh.

© 2012 Caroline Gavin

God reigns on high…yet lives in our hearts. How has this truth transformed you? In what ways do you celebrate that you are His temple?

Leave a Comment

~*~

Interested in working with a Christian Life Coach? Contact Caroline Gavin via caroline@purposefulpathway.com for a Free Christian Life Coaching Consultation.

.

Word of Mom Radio Interview with Caroline Gavin

Caroline Gavin Purposeful Pathway Life Coaching

I am excited to be featured on Word of Mom Radio with an opportunity to share more about Purposeful Pathway, this Journey with Jesus!

Word of Mom Radio shares:

“Thursday, June 28th on Word of Mom Radio, Caroline Gavin joins me from 2-3 p.m. EDT.  Caroline is a Christian Life Coach, Speaker and Author of Purposeful Pathway: Your Journey with Jesus. As a Life Coach and the Founder of Purposeful Pathway, she helps others discern their vocational paths, live with purpose and align with God’s Way. The result of coaching is God-centered transformation.

Join us on Word of Mom Radio and find out how to refresh with her poetry and other reflections at Purposeful Pathway and sign up for a free newsletter and e-book: Purposeful Pathway: A Journey to Joy.  You can connect with Caroline also via Facebook and Twitter.”

I would be honored for you to join me on Word of Mom Radio!

Word of Mom Radio Interview with Caroline Gavin

Look forward to “seeing” you there!

 

~*~

Interested in working with a Christian Life Coach? Contact Caroline Gavin via caroline@purposefulpathway.com for a Free Christian Life Coaching Consultation.

 

The Son Still Shines

The Son Still Shines: Inspirational Christian Poem and eCard

The Son Still Shines

The Son Still Shines: Inspirational Christian Poem and eCard

Image courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net
Sunshine by Rawich

(Send as an Inspirational Christian eCard!)

Behind the clouds,
The sun does shine, 
Behind the trials
Shines love divine.

Surely when the rain drops
The sun is still there;
Surely when thunder roars,
The sun is still near.

Though hidden from sight,
Though veiled by clouds,
The sun is still radiant
 When darkness enshrouds.

Teach me then, O Lord,
To see You in the rain;
Teach me, O Lord,
To rejoice in pain.

For surely You shine
Both in ease and in trial,
Surely You reign,
Yea, all the while.

As the rain falls,
As it pours upon me,
I envision the Son
Shining in all His glory.

The raindrops are His kisses,
His blessings ever sweet,
For there in the trial
Cross and crown do meet.

Lord Jesus, I desire
Whatever You do bring;
In sun and in rain,
My heart shall sing.

I bask in sunshine days
Rich with Your grace;
 So too the rainy days
I gratefully embrace.

Ever more like You,
I do long to be;
If through trial You sculpt,
My Lord, let it be.

And may I bring You glory
In all that I do;
In sunshine and in rain,
May I live for You.

When hidden from sight,
When veiled by clouds,
You are still radiant
 When darkness enshrouds.

Surely when the rain drops;
You are still there;
Surely when thunder roars,
To my heart You are near.

Yea, behind the clouds,
My Beloved, You shine;
So I sing in the rain
Of Your love divine.

© 2012 Caroline Gavin

In what ways do you “sing in the rain” ~ knowing the Son still shines?

Leave a Comment

~*~

Interested in working with a Christian Life Coach? Contact Caroline Gavin via caroline@purposefulpathway.com for a Free Christian Life Coaching Consultation.