“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.  Luke 9:51 NKJ

As we read this passage we can see that Jesus had purpose in His life. He knew exactly what He had to do and the Bible says that when the time had come, He steadfastly, or resolutely, set His face to go and do what He was born to do. When the passage says that He “steadfastly set His face,” it is telling us several things about Jesus.

Number One – He knew what His purpose was.

Number Two – He was committed to that purpose.

Number Three – He let nothing distract Him from going to fulfill that purpose.

He had made a quality decision.

One of the things that I have begun to realize more and more, over twenty years of ministry, is that the reason why some people do and some people don’t make it in their endeavors and in their walk with God is that they are double minded most of the time. You have to make up your mind what you want and go for it. If you don’t know what specific path God has for you personally – don’t sit and wait – doing nothing – go and do what the Bible already told you to do! As you get up and GO into all the world, the Lord will lead you to the next point in your journey. Only a moving ship can be steered, but those that are anchored in the dry docks of indecision will go absolutely nowhere.

You need to make a quality decision. A quality decision is one from which there is no turning back. It is set in stone. You make up your mind and you don’t change it for anything or anybody or any pressure or any persecution. We need to make this kind of decision concerning every aspect of our life in order to be successful in life and in order to overcome the plans the enemy tries to have for us.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  James 1:5-8 NKJ

Let me give you some examples of moments in a person’s life, when it is crucial to exercise a quality decision, so that he or she will not be an unstable person and make a mess of their life.

Number One – When someone accepts Jesus as his or her Lord and Savior, it must be a quality decision. Otherwise they will be lukewarm, wishy-washy believers – one day up and one day down. One day they will proclaim Him Lord and the next day, when pressure comes, they will deny Him. They will serve Him one day, and the next, when the fleeting pleasure of sin calls to them, they answer the call. Make up your mind whom it is that you will serve!

Number Two – A quality decision needs to be made when two people enter into a marriage covenant. If this is not a quality decision, then you will be thinking and talking divorce at the slightest conflict. You cannot be selfish and you cannot always have your own way. You are two completely different individuals. You will feel differently about different things. Make a quality decision to work at your marriage and resolve issues – not to run away from them and each other.

Number Three – Everyone must make a quality decision before they enter the ministry. No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.  Luke 9:62 NIV

Number Four – In a vocation (a job or career) you must be single minded or else you will be unhappy all the time. You will always be looking for the greener grass on the other side of the fence instead of focusing your talents and energies into the task at hand and doing the best job that you can. You cannot be half-hearted about it. Either stay where you are and work hard, or if you hate your job, hurry up and make the change. Once you make the decision, then you need to bloom where you are planted.

There are many other areas that I could bring up. However I wanted to give you some practical, everyday examples that will help you live a life of stability, consistency and joy. Remember you are in it for the long haul. Your life is a steady marathon, not a fleeting 100-yard dash! We have our eyes on the finish line and run we will! Make a quality decision today about every area of your life, that you will do it God’s way and that you will be consistent. You will see stability, peace, and success come to you in everything!

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose].  1 Corinthians 15:58 Amplified

If you are a Christian and you want to please God and be victorious in all you do, the first thing you must be is immovable.  You must be firm in your convictions and steadfast in your commitment.  You must have made up your mind what it is you believe and you must be prepared to stand firm against all opposition and all persecution.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

The more you press in to His presence and His Word, the more you are built up in Him and strengthened in your faith and the more solid you become.  You are a rock that does not budge—no matter how huge the waves of persecution and adversity may be.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  John 6:28-29 NIV

Everybody thinks that they know what it is to do the works of God.  They imagine that it is something they do by their own effort, but it has much more to do with your faith than your own works.  The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent—Jesus.  The works that please God are the works that spring out of your faith in Jesus—who He is, what He did for us and what He told us to do.  He told us to preach the gospel, to cast out devils, to speak in tongues, to not be afraid of serpents or poison and to lay hands on the sick (Mark 16:15-18)!  We must love, give, pray, forgive, be kind, be patient and be truthful.  These are the works that we should be doing.

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.  We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 NIV

Some people do works that are based on religion, tradition and what they think God would like.  However, your work springs from your faith.  If you really believe something, then you will do only those things that support and spring out of what you believe.  The only work that pleases God is the work that is done according to your faith in God.  Your labor must be prompted and motivated by love.  Anything you do must be because of love—because you love God and because you love people.  Some people labor for recognition or money, but we must labor because we want to serve and to bless.  Your endurance is inspired by hope in Jesus.  You can endure anything, because of the hope that sustains you. You have a hope—a favorable confident expectation—that God’s Word is true and that Jesus is real.  You believe that God is for you, Jesus is with you and the Holy Spirit is in you as your strengthener, teacher, guide and comforter.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  Colossians 3:23-24 NIV

Whatever work we do must be done as if it is for God Himself.  We should always abound in the work of the Lord—always doing superior work, excelling in what we do, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord.  Because He always does exceedingly abundantly more than we can dream of for us and on our behalf.  He is El Shaddai—the God who is more than enough.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9 NIV

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.  Hebrews 6:10 NIV

Your labor in the Lord is not futile—it is never wasted or to no purpose.  Nothing you do is overlooked or forgotten.  God sees everything.  He records every good thing you do.  There is a great reward for you—both here on earth and in eternity.

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

1 Corinthians 3:7-8 NIV

God told Noah that for every seed time there would be a harvest (Genesis 8:22). God is also a rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out (Hebrews 11:6). We plant, we water, but God gives the increase. He rewards us according to our labor. It is God’s garden. He knows what He wants and where He wants it. We are responsible to find out what our job description is and to do it. God is the One who will pay us our wages at the end of the day.

One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.  Psalms 62:11-12 NIV

“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”

Jeremiah 17:10 NIV

Nothing you do for God is forgotten or overlooked. God is watching us. He is searching our heart and examining our mind. There is a reward and He rewards us according to what we have done. We choose the reward we receive according to our deeds, our works and our acts of service.

A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself. The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death.  Proverbs 11:17-19 NIV

Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.  Proverbs 13:21 NIV

There are no shortcuts in God’s kingdom, no get-rich-quick schemes and no manipulation of the system. You cannot step on other people or abuse them, neither can you lie to God or fool Him. He sees, He knows and He rewards you justly according to your deeds. You must follow His plan and His directions. You must accept His way and follow His path. Then you will be blessed and you will reap the harvest you deserve.

 Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” and Titus 2:14 says that Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” 

Jesus redeemed us from all wickedness and purified us so that we would have a heart change and be eager to do good. God is pleased when we do good and He rewards our good deeds.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.  Hebrews 11:24-26 NIV

Moses, one of God’s great leaders, chose to step down from his exalted and privileged position as Pharaoh’s daughter, to obey and serve God. He took his place with his brothers, choosing to suffer mistreatment and disgrace rather than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking forward to God’s reward. The highest reward you can receive in heaven and on earth is God’s reward.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.  Matthew 16:24-27 NIV

You could own the whole world with a gold fence around it, but it could not compare with God’s reward for those who have laid down every thing for Him and given Him their every thing. If you want God’s reward, you must lay down your life and you must place it in His hands. God is your rewarder!

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, show yourself a man, 3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, 4 and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: `If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’  1 Kings 2:1-4 NIV

David was a great king because he was a humble man, righteous and upright. Because he honored God all the days of his life, God placed him on the throne and kept him on the throne, promising him that his descendants would always sit on the throne as long as they honored Him. God’s promise to David was so powerful that even though David’s descendants were disobedient and lost control of Israel, God still kept them on the throne of Judah.

David was a wise man because he was submitted God and to His commandments. He accepted the will of God for his life and even when he sinned, he bore the consequences of his sin humbly and did not try to justify himself or blame God in any way for his own mistakes. He tried to teach Solomon what to do to prosper and to remain on the throne as God had promised to David’s seed. David realized that access to the throne was a privilege and not a right.

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 7 “Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for-both riches and honor-so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”  1 Kings 3:5-14 NIV

In verse 9 in the Amplified Bible, it says that when God asked Solomon what He could give him, Solomon asked God for an understanding mind and a hearing heart that he might discern between good and bad in order to justly judge God’s people. He recognized that the people were God’s people and not his. He also acknowledged that he needed God’s help. Because he did not ask for long life or for riches or for the lives of his enemies, but for understanding to recognize what is just and right, God gave him a wise and discerning heart, riches and honor and – as a condition: if he would walk in God’s ways keeping and obeying His statutes and commands as David his father did – God promised to lengthen his days as well.

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.  Proverbs 3:1-2 NIV

If you want to live a long time and prosper then be wise – do not forget the word of God and make sure that you keep His commands in your heart.

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

The Lord began dealing with me recently about the Year of Jubilee. I believe that this is our Year of Jubilee! In Nazareth, at His local Synagogue, Jesus was handed the book of Isaiah and He read from chapter 61:

The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed one, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], 19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.] Luke 4:18-19 AMP

Jesus preached that the acceptable year of the Lord was here—the Year of Jubilee, which took place every 50th year—the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound (Leviticus 25). What Jesus was really saying was, “I am your Year of Jubilee!”

THE LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 Say to the Israelites, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits. 4 But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 What grows of itself in your harvest you shall not reap and the grapes on your uncultivated vine you shall not gather, for it is a year of rest to the land. 6 And the sabbath rest of the [untilled] land shall [in its increase] furnish food for you, for your male and female slaves, your hired servant, and the temporary resident who lives with you, 7 For your domestic animals also and for the [wild] beasts in your land; all its yield shall be for food.8 And you shall number seven sabbaths or weeks of years for you, seven times seven years, so the total time of the seven weeks of years shall be forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound abroad the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month [almost October]; on the Day of Atonement blow the trumpet in all your land. 10 And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his ancestral possession [which through poverty he was compelled to sell], and each of you shall return to his family [from whom he was separated in bond service]. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall not sow, or reap and store what grows of itself, or gather the grapes of the uncultivated vines. 12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat the [sufficient] increase of it out of the field. 13 In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his ancestral property. 14 And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. Leviticus 25:1-14 AMP

Under the Old Covenant every seventh year was a time to let the ground rest so that it could recover and come back stronger, producing a stronger, healthier, more abundant harvest. But the fiftieth year—Jubilee—was an extra special year. It was a Holy year. In the last year, before the year of rest, God caused the ground to produce three times as much fruit so that His people could eat and be satisfied whilst the ground rested and whilst they rested in His goodness.

Jubilee is a year of faith—where you rest from your own labors and your own efforts—allowing God’s goodness to lead you and feed you. God wants us to remember that it is He Who watches over us, feeding us, guiding us, and providing for us. If we forget this, we will wear ourselves out with our own efforts, but if we remember that He is the source of our life and every good thing in our life, then we can relax in Him and focus on worshipping Him and yielding to Him.

Jubilee is a time to let slaves go free, to redeem what has been lost and to reach out and help both family and neighbors and those who cannot help themselves. In the year of Jubilee, even though you do not plow or prune or sow, you are still able to eat of the fruit that the ground produces.

You cannot reap from a field that you have never sown, but when you have faithfully sown and sown and sown and then God calls a Jubilee year for you, then you know that it is a year of rest for you, a year of extra blessings, a year of eating from the abundance of the provision that your Father has provided for you as you rest in Him.

When Jesus said, “Today is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,” the people of Nazareth were very angry with Him and did not receive Him, but I declare to you today that Jesus is YOUR Jubilee—if you receive Him you will go free! Jesus has come to restore your joy, your family, your property and your inheritance. Every promise that God has made you in His Word is yours.

So receive Him as your Jubilee—rest in Him and enjoy His blessings.

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. 14 He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is Mine. That is what I meant when I said that He [the Spirit] will take the things that are Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.  John 16:12-15 AMP

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth – He will always speak the Truth and lead you into the Truth. He does not bring you His own message or His own opinion. He will never speak anything contrary to the Word of God. Everything He says is of God and from God. He never speaks on His own authority – He only speaks on the authority that He has been given by Jesus and by the Father. He tells us whatever He hears the Father say – He gives the message that has been given to Him. He is the One Who announces and declares the things that are to come.

The Holy Spirit takes, receives, and draws upon that which belongs to Jesus and which comes from Him and He reveals it to us. Therefore and thereby, He honors and glorifies Jesus! He brings glory to Jesus, because He speaks only the words that come from Jesus. He brings glory to the Father, because He speaks only the words that come from the Father. Obviously, then if we or anybody else speaks words that do not come from the Father, Son or the Holy Spirit – words spoken on our own authority, by our own opinion, and coming from our own heart and mind – then they are not the truth and they will not bring glory to the Lord.

Anyone who rejects Me and persistently sets Me at naught, refusing to accept My teachings, has his judge [however]; for the [very] message that I have spoken will itself judge and convict him at the last day. 49 This is because I have never spoken on My own authority or of My own accord or as self-appointed, but the Father Who sent Me has Himself given Me orders [concerning] what to say and what to tell. 50 And I know that His commandment is (means) eternal life. So whatever I speak, I am saying [exactly] what My Father has told Me to say and in accordance with His instructions.  John 12:48-50 AMP

Jesus, Himself did not speak on His own authority or of His own accord – He only said what His Father told Him to say. Therefore, everyone who hears Him is accountable before God to receive it as the Truth and be saved or to reject it and be judged. If Jesus did not speak on His own authority and the Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority, then we certainly have no right to say or preach anything that has not been given to us by the Father. We have no right to preach our opinions apart from the Word of God. We have an obligation to preach the Word as it is, with no changes, no compromise and no dilution.

And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus [through the leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. 16 Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), 17 So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:15-17 AMP

And we have the prophetic word [made] firmer still. You will do well to pay close attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dismal (squalid and dark) place, until the day breaks through [the gloom] and the Morning Star rises ( comes into being) in your hearts. 20[Yet] first [you must] understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of any personal or private or special interpretation (loosening, solving). 21 For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to do so–it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit.  2 Peter 1:19-21 AMP

Whether you preach, pray or prophesy, let it be led, guided and guarded by the Holy Spirit. Bring glory to God as you speak only the words that He puts in your mouth.

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

But God–so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, 5 Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation). 6 And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed one). 7 He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; 9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] 10 For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].  Ephesians 2:4-10 AMP

God has a wonderful plan for every person who has ever lived and who will ever live. Before anyone of us was born, God had a plan to bring us into relationship and fellowship with Himself. He prepared paths ahead of time for us to walk in. He prearranged the good life and made it ready for us to live. All that stood in our way was a wall of partition, created by sin.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were [so] far away, through (by, in) the blood of Christ have been brought near. 14 For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us, 15 By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two might create in Himself one new man [one new quality of humanity out of the two], so making peace.  Ephesians 2:13-15 AMP

Jesus, by His crucifixion, death and resurrection, broke down and destroyed the wall of partition between God and man. All that was left was for each person to recognize what Jesus did for them and to believe in Him and to receive Him as their mediator and peace-maker.

Before you meet Jesus, you live a life that has no purpose and no rewards. Whether you believe in fate or in making your own destiny and no matter how hard you work at it, you never find your higher purpose. However, the moment you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you begin to live a new life – you begin to walk on the path that God has ordained for you and you begin to live the good life that He has prepared for you.

When you become a child of God, He begins to reveal to you His plan and purpose for your life. As you press in to His Word, He begins to show you the good life that you can live in Him. As you press in to hear His voice, your desires change to line up with God’s desires for you. You begin to walk on the path that He had planned out for you before you were born. You begin to life this wonderful life in Him that He had prepared for you even before He sent Jesus to die for you.

I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.  Deuteronomy 30:19 AMP

You may have been born into this earth with nothing going for you, destined for trouble and tragedy, but in Jesus, you are born again into blessing, destined for a life of love, peace, joy, fulfillment, satisfaction and the glory of God. It is your choice – so choose the good life!

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren.  Proverbs 6:16-18 AMP

A proud look

Proverbs 16:18 AMP says that, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” God hates pride because pride sets itself against God and His wisdom. Pride causes you to trust in yourself and not in Him. If you do not trust in Him, He cannot save you from the devil or yourself. Pride and arrogance cause you to close yourself off from godly instruction, which will save your life. Pride causes you to be unteachable and judgmental. When you are judgmental, you set yourself up to be judged more harshly yourself and God is trying to save your life from destruction and judgment. Pride will cause your heart to be closed off from God and therefore also closed off from all His wonderful blessings and the wonderful plans He has for your life.

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.” 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.  James 4:6+10 NKJV

When swelling and pride come, then emptiness and shame come also, but with the humble (those who are lowly, who have been pruned or chiseled by trial, and renounce self) are skillful and godly Wisdom and soundness.  Proverbs 11:2 AMP

A lying tongue

God hates lying and He hates liars. It is impossible for God to lie and everyone who belongs to Him will keep their tongue from evil and their lips from speaking deceit (Psalms 34:13). Colossians 3:9 tells us not to lie to one another, because lying is part of our old (unregenerate) self with its evil practices and we ought to have stripped our old self off. Jesus said that the devil is a liar and the father of lies. He is a murderer there is no truth in him (John 8:44). If we are born-again and washed in the blood of Jesus then we must walk in truth and talk the truth.

Hands that shed innocent blood

Exodus 20:13 AMP says that, “You shall not commit murder.”  God hates hands that shed innocent blood. He does not tolerate murder. Murder is not just an outward act – if you hate your brother in your heart, you are a murderer in your heart. Take steps immediately to forgive your brother and to begin to walk in love toward everyone.

We know that we have passed over out of death into Life by the fact that we love the brethren (our fellow Christians). He who does not love abides (remains, is held and kept continually) in [spiritual] death. 15 Anyone who hates (abominates, detests) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding (persevering) within him.  1 John 3:14-15 AMP

A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans

Behold, [the wicked man] conceives iniquity and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. 15 He made a pit and hollowed it out and has fallen into the hole which he made [before the trap was completed]. 16 His mischief shall fall back in return upon his own head, and his violence come down [with the loose dirt] upon his own scalp.  Psalms 7:14-16 AMP

God does not want people to waste time thinking about and planning evil for others, because mischief will come back on their own heads. It would be better to spend time planning good things to do to and for others.

Feet that are swift in running to evil

10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 15 My son, do not walk in the way with them; restrain your foot from their path; 16 For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. 18 But [when these men set a trap for others] they are lying in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.   Proverbs 1:10,15,16,18 AMP

When people are eager to sin and do evil, they destroy other people’s lives and also their own. God does not want anyone’s life destroyed. Proverbs 4:26-27 AMP says, “Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright. 27 Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil.”

A false witness who breathes out lies even under oath

The ninth commandment, in Exodus 20:16, says that you should not bear false witness against your neighbor. God hates a false witness who lies about someone else and who gives a false testimony. Proverbs 19:9 AMP says that, “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes forth lies shall perish.” 

He who sows discord among his brethren

Proverbs 16:28 AMP says that, “A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.” God hates strife and discord. If the devil can divide us, he can conquer us. James 4:1 AMP says, “What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members?” These things arise out of people’s sensual, ungodly desires and result in division and separation. God desires oneness and unity in His body, not separation. When we are united we are strong and we can protect and help each other.

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and  seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit. 6 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. 7[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. 8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him. Romans 8:5-8 AMP

There is a mind of the flesh – the carnal mind – and a mind of the Spirit. The carnal mind caters to the appetites and impulses of the carnal nature. The mind of the flesh – with its carnal thoughts and purposes – is hostile to God. It does not, and cannot, submit itself to God’s Law.  Those who live the life of the flesh are not acceptable to the Lord. Those who are controlled by the unholy desires of the flesh are always focused on what their flesh wants, not on what is right or correct. The flesh, by itself, tends only to sin, not to righteousness, because of the sin nature that is in the flesh. The carnal mind is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit and is under the influence of the god of this world – Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4) – who would like nothing more than to utterly destroy your life. Those who yield to the flesh and the carnal mind end up with death and destruction.

Contrary to secular humanistic thinking, children left to their own devices, will not make the right choices. They will primarily lean toward sin and selfishness. If they are going to walk in righteousness they need a brand new nature and they need instruction in righteousness. They need the mind of the Holy Spirit, which is life and peace.

For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. 19 For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them. 20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], 21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].  Romans 1:18-22 AMP

And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, 29 Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers, 30 Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents. 31[They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless. 32 Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.  Romans 1:28-32 AMP

When you know the right thing to do and you do wrong – you develop a reprobate mind. You have deliberately chosen sin as a way of life and you now call what is wrong and bad, right and good, and what is right and good, wrong and bad. You will not see the truth and so you live a lie. You are self-deceived. You will have no excuse when you stand before the Lord on Judgment Day, and still you are not motivated to change or to find God’s will for your life before it is too late. People who think that what they are doing is acceptable will not be motivated to change no matter what. The devil loves to bring people to this place of deception so that he can take them to a lost eternity. God wants you to know the truth about yourself – even if it hurts at the time – so that you can receive the truth, act on the truth, and be spared eternal torment.

The only way to enjoy God’s eternal life, here on earth and in the world to come, is to yield yourself – your Spirit, your soul and your body – to the Holy Spirit and not to the flesh and the devil. Don’t follow the world, don’t walk like them, talk like them or act like them. Allow the truth of the word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit to penetrate your mind and heart so that you will be transformed into the image of Christ.

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 KJV

Religious history has portrayed Jesus Christ as a skinny, pale-faced shepherd with a lamb under His arm and Elizabethan English coming out of His mouth. The connotation is that He is weak, but that could not be further from the truth. The Bible says that people marveled at the authority with which He spoke. Luke 4:32 AMP says that, “they were amazed at His teaching, for His word was with authority and ability and weight and power.” People were healed as He spoke the word to them. He also commanded demons to come out and they did. He was powerfully anointed, commanding respect wherever He went. They tried to kill Him before His time and could not. Jesus was not weak. He was meek – humble, lowly, and gentle. Meek means: enduring injury with patience and without resentment. Jesus did exactly that – He endured the shame, humiliation, agony, and indignity of the cross for every one of us!

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked –But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:1-12 NKJV

Jesus went meekly to the cross. He endured the injury and shame with patience and without resentment. He could have called ten thousand angels to His aid, but He chose to die alone – for you and me. That takes a man of powerful character. He did it because, by faith, He saw the final outcome! He saw you and me. He saw us in Him as He died and was resurrected. He saw the joy of our resurrection – our redemption and restoration into the family and kingdom of God! You and I are His joy and His prize!

Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, 2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds. Hebrews 12:1-3 AMP