Keep The Heart, P. O. Box 6004, Pensacola, FL (2025)

04/22/2025

"Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." (Proverbs 9:8)

"Reprove not" means "Do not."

Teachback Tuesday: "Do Not Correct a Scorner." This is a touchy area. We need to handle people with grace and godly care. Sometimes this means that we'll have to cover our eyes AND close our mouths.

The most effective words for a scorner are spoken to God in prayer.

Listen to this episode, and then pray for wisdom to lovingly interact with the person stuck in the scorner ditch. It could happen to any of us. All it takes is pain. P.S. Do not post comments like, "My child is a scorner!" They can read. That won't help.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/teachback-tuesday-dont-correct-a-scorner/id1550227027?i=1000704381612

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/03VURZJlK4S7Rt6meYsBAm

Podbean: https://keeptheheart.podbean.com/e/teachback-tuesday-dont-correct-a-scorner/

Keep the Heart: https://www.keeptheheart.com/podcast/

04/19/2025

What a sacrifice. Read the Gospel accounts before church on Sunday. Sobering reminders of what love really looks like.

Jesus died, but His resurrection was more powerful than His death. God raised Jesus from the dead. And people saw Jesus alive after death.

He thought we were to die for. And He did.

"And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead: and he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people."
(Acts 13:29-31)
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04/16/2025

This verse reminds us that our words can affect the health of others: "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." (Proverbs 16:24)

Unpleasant words are hard to hear and harmful to the soul. Pleasant words are in short supply. Don't you love it when someone says something uplifting to you? It works that way for others, too. ❤️
www.keeptheheart.com

04/09/2025

This list is a thought filter:
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

What we allow ourselves to dwell on affects us deeply. That works both ways.❤️ Be selective and protective about your thoughts.
www.keeptheheart.com

04/02/2025

Oxford dictionary definition of "strange":
"Unusual or surprising in a way that is unsettling or hard to understand."

That's us when we're hurting. We may do or say things that are out of character and hard to process.

Unresolved conflicts are one of the biggest drivers of long-lasting pain, but there are others. Abuse, betrayal, grief, and more fill the list.

The reason for pain is personal. The solution to pain is often complicated. The relief from pain is not guaranteed on this side of Heaven.

Well, where's the good news?

Here it is: God.

He came to earth in human form and experienced human existence to the fullest. He is acquainted with pain. Understatement.

Keep seeking God, even more than you're seeking a solution. Prayer is not like placing an order online. It's making your request known to God and then waiting.

While waiting, don't lash out at the people who love you. That won't make things better. Pause. Pray. Wait.

❤️"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:3)

❤️"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

❤️" ...casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

www.keeptheheart.com

03/22/2025

The word "wait" is in the Bible over 100 times, sometimes even twice in one verse.

Hint hint hint.

The repetition is a clue that it may take several attempts for us to land this instruction.

Wait for it. Whatever "it" is. You already know that impatience is an energy drain. Wait patiently.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." (Psalm 40:1)💜

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." (Psalm 27:14)💜

"I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope." (Psalm 130:5)💜

Apply it: https://www.keeptheheart.com/product/apply-living-what-we-learn-a-31-day-devotional-book/

03/14/2025

Something is off in the soul when we're feeling frantic. A frantic life is defined as "emotionally out of control." If you can't figure out what has you in the frantic zone, stop.

Stop. Stop pretending to be fine when you're not. Stop eating extra food to smother your feelings. Stop replaying the ugly movies in your head from the painful past. Stop trying to ignore that loud clicking in your engine.

Once you stop, you can ask God to show you what's happening, why, and what needs to change.

Yes. Change is part of the healing process. And so is surrender. This is not easy, but it's worth the work.

Frantic is optional torment. Opt out.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
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03/06/2025

Is every conversation all about you? We've all done this, but we can change. People have a lot to share if we'll listen. To really know someone, we need to give them a chance to talk while we actively listen. Not listening to solve problems or to offer an unsolicited opinion. Listening to hear their heart.

Lovingly listen and genuinely care. It's amazing what we learn when we stop making everything the me-me-me-ME show.

Become a great listener. Relationship goals.

"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." (Philippians 2:4)
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03/03/2025

You may be very angry at someone because they've hurt or betrayed you. This is even worse when it's someone you should have been able to trust. You are not alone.

TO DO: Deal with the anger biblically. Forgive even if it doesn't restore the relationship. Too simple? It's a start. Begin there and work forward. God heals broken hearts. Regularly.

✅️"He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

DON'T DO: Don't blame a whole group of people for the wrongs done by one or a few. This just adds misery and creates a sense of isolation.

❌️"Strive not with a man without cause, If he have done thee no harm." Proverbs 3:30

You could cut off a lot of precious friendships by striving with people who didn't do you any harm. Resolve conflicts wisely, not wildly.

Pause. Pray. Surround yourself with people who are biblically solid. You will be alright again if you handle matters wisely.

💜"He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: And whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he." Proverbs 16:20

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03/01/2025

Where does your mind go when your peace has been disturbed?

Replaying the tape of something someone said or did to you?

Hugging the cactus of bitterness over a wound that is years old?

Secretly plotting a way to hurt someone because they hurt you?

You don't have to live there.

Peaceful days are possible. We just have to be willing to tend to our minds like a gardener. W**d out thoughts that are stunting growth and disturbing the peace.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)

VERSE FACT: The words "perfect" and "peace" are the same Hebrew word in the Strong's Concordance: "shalom." Double peace. ❤️

www.keeptheheart.com

02/28/2025

When we're only seeking input from people who will tell us what we want to hear, we increase our chances of making mistakes.

Expensive, life-changing mistakes.

Friends who say, "That's a dangerous path," are better than flatterers who say, "You need to blaze your own trail."

Friends who say, "I'm concerned about you," are better than flatterers who say, "You do you."

Friends who speak the truth in love are better than flatterers who lie to you because they're miserable and want company.

Do you have friends, or are you surrounded by flatterers?

We tend to lean towards flatterers when we're leaning away from God. Life check.

"He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue." Proverbs 28:23

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02/13/2025

"The Golden Rule" still rules.

We can choose how we're going to treat others, regardless of what they do or say. It's not a "get even" contest.

It's about the example.

So, how do you like to be treated? Model it.

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9)
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01/27/2025

Did you do something great? Have you finally hit a goal? Are you experiencing a season of great blessings? Wonderful. Now have been tooting your own horn about it?

Not so wonderful.

Thank the Lord. It's HIS glory. As we grow in Him, He does make it possible for us to do more than we ever did without Him. It is HIS transforming power coming to light in our lives.

The world says, "Affirm yourself." God says, "Humble yourself."

Don't praise the self. Self is already proud enough. Humility is an essential ingredient to spiritual growth.

"Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips." (Proverbs 27:2)

"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." (Matthew 23:12)
LIVE IT: https://www.keeptheheart.com/product/apply-living-what-we-learn-a-31-day-devotional-book/

Keep The Heart

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