a simple teaching

God has been reminding me of 2 simple lessons in 2009 for success as i serve Him with my life:

(1) a pure heart

(2) a desperation for Him

**when it comes to having a pure heart, I believe God is looking for people who are willing to deny the desires of their flesh day after day, moment after moment. we all face temptation. we all battle the enemy in this area. are we winning more than we are losing? you don't have to be perfect to have a pure heart, but you need to win much more than you lose.

it often comes down to whether we want God more than we want to satisfy our desires. do you love the world more than God? remember, the pleasures of this world are temporary. as Paul warned us, "don't handle, don't taste, don't touch!" get on your knees today, repent, and don't look back.

many of us battle with the enemy's voice daily. he lies to us and tricks us into believing that we can never have a pure heart because of the extent of our past failures. put the enemy in His place today, listen for God's voice which tells us, "the old has gone & the new has come." live in victory today!

what area are you losing more often than not? what do you know you can do/should do to change this? find someone today who you can talk with about the purity of your heart. find someone who will be completely honest with you and ask you the toughest questions. and remember, being honest is the first step to improving in this area.

**when it comes to being desperate for God, I believe God is looking for people who will rely on Him to make their plans succeed. we all have creative ability, charisma, and a passion to make a difference, but that will only get us so far. we must commit our plans daily to the One who can "do above and beyond what we can ask or imagine."

when God moved the Valantines from Bowling Green to Delaware, OH, we knew some things we had to do to help our new church. however, when we listened to God, gave Him control of the steering wheel, and yielded to His plans, we began to see breakthroughs that no human ability could've orchestrated.

we prayed and fasted over the finances, and immediately God released His blessing and we've seen over a 100% increase in giving! How god is our God? i couldn't have done that without holding a gun to people's heads and forcing them to give.

what areas of your life have you been in control of? what are you trying to do without the covering of God? stop today, declare your desperation for Him. fast and pray over that area/decision/dream/situation before you make another plan/seek any advice/or try to figure it out yourself.

when our heart is pure and we are relying on God to make it happen, we can rest assure we will see God's will & that will become our will & we will know we have done all that we can do!

do it today!