Thoughts…we all have them…day in and day out, thousands of thoughts seem to run through our minds throughout our waking hours.  Where do they all come from?  Did you ever really think about that?

Thoughts of pleasure.  Thoughts of pain.  Thoughts of love.  Thoughts of hate.  Thoughts of peace.  Thoughts of turmoil.  Thoughts of fun.  Thoughts of boredom.  Thoughts of God.  Thoughts of the world.  So many, many thoughts.

Proverbs 34:7a says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”  Amplified Bible

I Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands (who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm), take heed lest he fall (into sin.)” Amplified Bible

God wants us to think pure, wholesome thoughts, but the devil wants to put impure, unwholesome thoughts into our mind instead.  The devil wants to have us dwell on his negative thoughts in order to make us ineffective for God.

But the Word of God says in Philippians 4:8, “…whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, think on and weigh and take account of these things (fix your mind on them).” Amplified Bible

It is through faith and a conscious choice to walk in that faith that we can allow God to purify our thoughts and help us throw out the thoughts that do not fit His list of what we should think on.

Trust Him today to enable you to walk in His thoughts, thinking only on those that are worthy and true, honorable and just, pure and lovely, virtuous and excellent.  Fix your mind on these thoughts, by faith in Jesus!

Which do you have? Relationship or Religion?

Do you go to church?  Do you read the bible?  Are you a member of a particular church?  Do you only attend church at a certain denomination because you think that is important in your walk with God?

I’d like to get you thinking about whether you have a relationship or simply religion.

Relationship; what is it?  Religion; what is it?  Do you know the difference?  Is there a difference?  Yes!  There is a BIG difference.

My first husband, before the Lord called him home in 1989, used to say, “All religion is man made.”  I always agreed with him on that.  Sometimes we get so hung up on a certain “religion” (which usually means a denomination of church) that we lose sight of the relationship we need with the Savior.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No man comes to the Father but by Me.”  John 14:6 — This is key.  Because we are all by nature sinners, we need a savior to rescue us from our sins.  We can do nothing on our own that will pay the price God requires for our sins.  Only Jesus can do that, and He did on the cross!!

In the Old Testament, the Jews had to continually offer up sacrifices to God in order to be temporarily cleansed from their sins.  But it was just that, temporary.  They had to offer sacrifices again and again and again, that is until Jesus came, died on the cross and became the final sacrifice for all the sins of the world!

Jesus is the perfect man, perfect God, all wrapped up in one.  He came to earth for the purpose of fulfilling the Old Testament law and to provide a way for us to spend eternity with the Father in heaven.

We are eternal beings, you know.  We will spend eternity somewhere.  It is only through Jesus that we can spend eternity in heaven.  But it takes more than just knowing “about” Jesus, more than knowing who He is, more than simply hearing about Him, more than just believing He is the son of God.  It takes all those things, but it also takes a relationship with Him, a personal relationship.

Do you know Jesus personally?  Not just know “of” Him.  Not just know “about” Him.  Not just believe that He came, was crucified, died and rose again.  You must confess Him as Lord of your life.  You must acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, and you must recognize and confess that He (Jesus Christ) is YOUR Savior.  Have you done that?  If not, don’t wait any longer.  Jesus could return TODAY!  He is coming back, you know.  He promised that He would, and He always keeps His promises!

You can pray this simple prayer (if you really mean it in your heart) and be saved today:

Thank you Lord Jesus for shedding Your blood on the cross in payment for my sins and for offering me the gift of eternal life with You.  I open my heart and invite You into my life and commit to follow you the rest of my days.  By faith I receive the gift you provided for me, and I acknowledge You as my Lord and Savior.  Amen

Heard a great word at Love of Christ Church today.  The message by Pastor Steve was titled, “The Bible is Final Authority.”  Very relevant information.  The quotes that struck me the most are:

• It doesn’t matter what I think; it matters what God says.
• Love for God is obeying His commands.
• It doesn’t matter what I feel; it matters what God says.

The Bible IS our Final Authority.  It truly does answer our every question about how to live our life.  If we say we love God but do not read and study His word and apply it to our lives, we are actually in rebellion to Him.  As Pastor Steve says, “If you don’t obey, you’re not a follower.”

We are only kidding ourselves if we think we are following Jesus but not obeying His word.  And we must read and study His word to know it and obey it.  We also must obey ALL of it, not just pick out the things we like and ignore the others.  That is not obedience.  Obedience is obeying ALL God’s commands.

I was out walking today at a local university campus and passed a sign by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship that intrigued me.  It said:

• Born once – Die twice
• Born twice – Die once

That just about sums it up.  We have all been born once, but in Jesus we are reborn or born-again, therefore we will only die once.  Born twice – Die once.  Yes!!

If however, we do not accept what Jesus did for us on the cross and become born-again, we will die twice, once in our physical bodies and a second time at the final judgement.  Born once – Die twice.

I don’t know about you but I like the idea of only having to face physical death (the first death) and being able to spend eternity in the presence of God, thanks to what Jesus did for me on the cross.

So, do you know Him?  Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior and confessed Him as Lord of your life?  If not, what are you waiting for?  He loves you.  He died to pay the penalty for your sins.  He lives forever more.  And He gives you FREE entrance into Heaven through His shed blood.  You can accept Him today.  Click here to learn more and to pray to receive Jesus.

The beginning of Proverbs 12:1 says, “Whoever loves instructions loves knowledge.”

For many years now, I have opened my bible each day to the Proverb that corresponds to that day of the month.  Since today is June 12, I of course opened to Proverbs 12, which got me thinking once again about why I read the Proverbs over and over again.

It has always been my desire to receive wisdom from God, inspired by I Kings 3:5-14.  When God asked Solomon what He should give him, Solomon responded this way in verse 9: “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.  For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

God was so pleased that Solomon asked for this and not for riches, fame or other self-edifying things, that He not only answered Solomon’s request and gave him what he asked for, but He also made Solomon greater than anyone who had lived before him, and he gave him riches and honor besides.  He also promised if Solomon would continue to walk in His ways and keep His statutes and commandments as his father David did, God would give him a long life.

Imagine that, God blessed Solomon in even greater ways than David!  King David was referred to as “a man after God’s own heart,” and yet King Solomon was blessed in even greater ways by God than David had been!  All because he asked God to make him wise!

Reading these passages in the bible has always made me want wisdom above all other things in my own life too!  James 1:5 says, “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.”  (Ladies, remember that you can put her in place of him in every scripture verse!!)

So, seek wisdom and I believe God will add to your life all the other things you desire as well!

I receive wonderful Encouragment for Today e-mails from Proverbs 31 Ministries and today I read one written by Sarah Martin.  Sarah talks about how we sometimes seek momentary happiness in material things (for Sarah it was lip gloss) and how we should instead allow God to fill us with His joy.  Sarah quotes: “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your  presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11 (NIV)

This article got me thinking how this very thing happened to me just last evening after attending a women’s meeting at my church.  While driving home, I was feeling a little blah about some things and about the transition that is occuring in my life right now, and I was feeling the need for a “fix” to boost my mood and make me feel “happy” again.

There I was, in the drive-through line at Chick-fil-A, my favorite fast food restaurant, where they currently have all NEW dessert items.  I was thinking their new fudge brownie was going to taste really yummy, but also feeling a little guilty because I had already eaten a small eclair at church.

But as I sat there in the slowest line I have ever encountered at my favorite drive-through, I sensed the Holy Spirit saying, “What are you doing here?  Go home!  You sure don’t need a fudge brownie right now anyway!”

So, as the line finally started to move, I pulled out of line and proceeded to drive out of the parking lot, all the while thanking God for helping me to resist the temptation to stuff my belly with something it did not need, only to get home and regret that I ate it anyway!!

Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Thank you Jesus!

Sometime ago, I started feeling a burden to share more about Jesus on my blog.  I had been writing blog posts for our business blog, Divine Victory Associates, where we promote Our Business Dedicated to Our God.  I have also always wanted to write a book and feel God is perfecting my writing skills through blogging.  Then the Holy Spirit gave me the idea to set up a new blog where I could do exactly that, write for Him.  So, here it is!  That is the purpose of JananBergen.com!!

Hi!  My name is Janan Bergen and I would like to welcome you to my blog.  I am a Christian who loves Jesus and wants to tell the world how wonderful He is!!  I look forward to sharing with you all the things He puts on my heart to write about.  Praise His name, for He alone is worthy of all praise!