Happy Friday!

I’m blogging from a Richmond Starbucks this morning… came here to help Emily’s Mom prepare for Emily’s Dad to come home from the hospital after SIX WEEKS. Thank God, Merle is miraculously improving… we are so happy about this!

This morning, I had a most outstanding conversation with a very good friend… on that call, he coined the phrase “How Would Jesus Be?”… HWJB. What a super thought! Of course this is a spin off from WWJD… “What Would Jesus Do?”

Here’s what my friend was getting at… whereas, we should be ever mindful of our ACTIONS, we should also seek to BE as Jesus is… to think like him, have inner compassion like him, have a heart of mercy like he did… we should aspire to FEEL like Jesus did when he encountered various life scenarios!

To BE like Jesus is far more challenging than to DO like Jesus. Anyone can demonstrate outward love while harboring inward hate. HWJB challenges us to examine our condition of HEART! And having a right HEART is far more valuable than demonstrating an outward APPEARANCE of righteousness.

So here’s how I plan to respond to my friends brilliant invention, HWJB… I’m gonna put on my ear phones right here in this Midlothian Turnpike Starbucks, play some really good worship music and talk to God about the condition of my heart. I’m going to ask God to show me the ISSUES OF MY HEART today. I’m going to pray beyond my FEELINGS and climb into a new position of FAITH. I’m asking for the HEART OF JESUS! I want an unoffendable HEART… a loving HEART… a merciful HEART… a compassionate HEART… a forgiving HEART… a CLEAN heart!

Then, I plan to go through this day, meaning what I say and DOING what I believe… BEING how Jesus is… DOING what Jesus does! And that makes for a most outstanding Friday!

Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new HEART and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the HEART of stone from your flesh and give you a HEART of flesh”

Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.

Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

I pray that todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives! You guys are great friends… thanks for all your encouragement and for all the amazing contributions you make to this historical ministry! The best is just ahead… maybe its RIGHT NOW or tomorrow… closer than EVER, thats for SURE! God bless you all!