Heart

What’s the Condition of Your Heart?

March 21, 2018 By Eva Conner Leave a Comment

Is your heart in need of repair?

Maybe you have brokenness within your heart, damage that simply won’t heal. How about unforgiveness that won’t go away? Hardness? Bitterness? Rejection? Hurt?

We all have these deep, hidden places within our hearts. Places we try to keep sealed up from everyone around us and, at times, even ourselves.

I have good news.

We CAN shed all the unwanted baggage hidden deep in the chambers of our heart.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Have you ever thought about this verse and wondered HOW to give Jesus your heavy burdens? I know I have. Many, many times. I’ve often said that I give Him my burdens in prayer and pick them up again after my “Amen.”

I have great news.

It’s easier than we think. I received this awesome revelation and understanding of healing within our hearts today that I want to share with all of you.

To lay down our burdens, we must first understand where these burdens are found within us. As you probably guessed, we carry this heaviness in our hearts!

Worries and concerns for our children – in the heart!

Fear and insecurities – in the heart!

Bitterness and unforgiveness – in the heart!

Rejection and hurt – yep, that’s right, in the heart!

Since it is all in the heart, we can conclude that we need heart surgery to remove these things once for all.

Yesterday during my prayer time, God showed me a butterfly but I knew that He was showing me something other than the insect. I was seeing the way that we can cut a piece of meat. To butterfly a piece of meat, you take a sharp knife and cut through the thickest side, across the meat to the thinner side. You cut clear across the width of the meat taking special care to not cut all the way through. This lays open the entire piece of meat from the inside out.

God wants to butterfly our hearts in this same fashion.

How does this happen? What starts this process? Let’s look at Scripture for our answer.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

Are you seeing it too?

It is the Word of God that circumcises our hearts.

The Word is the sword. Let’s look at one more verse.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:17

The sword (the Word) does all the cutting away of the flesh (burdens).

If you suffer with anxiety and worry that weigh you down, get in the Word.

If you suffer with depression, get in the Word.

If you have hate, bitterness, unforgiveness and rejection in your heart, get in the Word.

When we make reading the Word daily a must and not an option in our lives, we will see transformation! If you struggle reading and understanding the Word, let me know. I’m happy to help you.

Yes, it’s that easy.

Be sure to leave me a comment or send me an e-mail! I’d love to hear your own personal testimonies about how the Word has taken burdens from your own heart. My heart’s desire is to see all of our lives transformed day-by-day to reflect the very image of Jesus!

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva

A Broken Heart

March 17, 2018 By Eva Conner Leave a Comment

Issues of the heart are heavy in my own heart today.

Is there an area in your life where you are not where you want to be? An area where you just cannot get a break regardless of your efforts?

I think I’m hearing a resounding YES and I’ll add my YES into the mix too!

I have several struggles and as I learn to rely on Jesus as my Counselor to help me sort them out, I find out they are all matters of the heart.

We are not where we want to be financially. I ask God why and guess what the answer is? My heart.

Our hearts are the very core of our being.

All life flows out of our hearts. The heart is complex with many parts and pieces that have to be in full working order at all times.

The heart never gets a break from beating and flowing blood and oxygen through our bodies. That is the physical heart. The spiritual heart is no different. The Bible tells this truth.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Proverbs 4:23

So if there is an area in our lives where we are not experiencing victory and freedom, we need to take a look at the condition of our heart.

To dig a little deeper and understand this more fully, let’s look at the covenant of circumcision that God gave to Abraham. This promise is also given to us as well because we are heirs to all the promises of Abraham (see Galatians 3:29). The covenant with Abraham is recorded in Genesis 17.

Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come to you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner – those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Genesis 17:3-14

This is the Old Testament but God clearly states that this covenant is an everlasting covenant with Abraham and all of his descendants. If we are believers of Jesus Christ, we are descendants of Abraham.

BUT let’s not forget about Jesus.

Yes, while we are descendants of Abraham, the minute Jesus died on the cross for all of us, everything shifted from the natural to the Spiritual.

We live by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7

The burden of “doing” shifted from man to Jesus the minute He switched places with us in death.

Do you see that awesome truth? You’ve probably heard these words before but really listen, “HE TOOK OUR PLACE.”

He took our death.
He took our sin.
He took our guilt.
He took our shame.
He took our regret.
He took our lack.
He took our sickness.
He took our rejection.
He took our punishment.
He took our past.

He became circumcision for us.

The circumcision of the flesh automatically shifted to a spiritual circumcision that HE now performs on our hearts!

This is the truth I want to share today.

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

Romans 2:28-29

We are all grafted in as God’s people (see John 15) so Paul is not just speaking to his fellow Jews in these two verses but he is also speaking to us.

For us today (post-Cross), circumcision is the inward working of our hearts when we give them fully to Jesus.

Jesus is the surgeon performing open heart surgery on all areas of our hearts where we give Him access.

However, just like in physical surgery, if we do not sign the consent form allowing the surgeon to do the surgery, it’s not going to get done. We must sign the consent form allowing Jesus into ALL crevices of our hearts so that He can truly circumcise all.

Circumcision in the natural means cutting away the flesh, correct? So circumcision in the spiritual heart is cutting away all those walls we’ve erected from our past experiences, hurts, mindsets and wrong thinking.

He will cut away all that hinders our walk if we will only let Him in.

Let Him in today to start doing open heart surgery in your heart. I promise you will experience true transformation if you do!

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva

Defining Moments…

November 4, 2017 By Eva Conner Leave a Comment

Defining moments in life will make or break us.

Maybe you’ve heard this before but have you ever really thought about these words? We all have those defining moments in life.

Unexpected illness.

Financial losses.

Destruction of property.

Wayward children.

Divorce.

Death.

All too often, when we exeprience an unexpected moment in life, we get stuck.

Our hearts are damaged. Our faith falters. We question God.

I’ve had these defining moments in my life and I’m sure that you have too.

Both of my parents died unexpectedly.

My father-in-law died.

One of my children was diagnosed with celiac disease and borderline personality disorder.

My husband lost his job.

When life happens, how we respond has a big impact on us.

How we respond also impacts those around us as well. I’ll explain using a personal example. My father got very sick very suddenly and was gone within weeks. We did not fully grasp just how sick he was before he died. He was 67. It was devastating and I had so many questions. Why did this happen? Why him?

I was immature in my faith.

I had just started seeking God the year prior to his death. My biblical knowledge was not great. My prayer life was not great. I was not going to church so I did not have a strong Christian support system. But I kept seeking God and He drew me even closer to Him during my time of mourning. I give God all the glory for standing with me when I couldn’t stand on my own. That was 8 years ago this month.

Looking back, I can clearly see how I made decisions that launched me into my future instead of keeping me stuck in my past. I chose to move forward. It’s a decision that we all have to make throughout our life.

Do we trust Jesus to move forward or do we get stuck in one moment in time?

It would have been so easy for me to get stuck in that one moment when my dad died. I could have stayed in mourning blaming my behavior on grief. But I didn’t. Instead I allowed Jesus to take my grief and replace it with joy. I have grown so much in my faith since that day ~ November 27, 2009. My heart has grown. My family has grown. I am now surrounded by an extended family in Christ.

Looking at how my life has blossomed and changed over these last 8 years is overwhelming.

If I would have stayed in that moment when my dad died, I would have forfeited all that I have today.

I once knew a woman who became stuck in one moment. The day her husband left her. She simply could not move forward in life. She chose bitterness and unforgiveness and allowed those things to settle in her heart. She never remarried. She lived her life devoid of joy and love. She lived a life devoid of Jesus. It breaks my heart even now as I’m typing these words knowing all that she forfeited.

Jesus wants to give each of us joy. Abundant Joy!

We only have to let Him in. He is able to make all things better. He will work out ALL things that happen in our lives for our good. How can I say that? I say it in faith because His Word says it and His Word will never lie.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28

All means all.

I am called according to His purpose. You are called according to His purpose. Therefore, He is speaking these words directly into our hearts.

BUT we CAN block “the good” from happening.

When we stop leaning into God and His strength. When we stop seeking HIs face. When we stop focusing on Him. This is when we can block the good from happening in our lives. Jesus tells us that He will give us all that we need.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

It’s vital to our overall well-being that we seek God first. Those moments when grief overwhelms us and it feels like we’ve been punched in the gut, look to Jesus. When we become overwhelmed with fear, look to Jesus. Maybe your adult child is going down a dangerous path, look to Jesus. Your husband tells you he wants a divorce, look to Jesus.

Jesus is the answer no matter the problem.

There is not one problem we can ever encounter where Jesus cannot help. But we must keep our eyes on Him. There is such a thing as joy in mourning. Fullness in lack. Wholeness in brokenness.

We all have defining moments in life. It’s how we deal with these moments that either project us into our future or keep us stuck in our past.

It's how we deal with these moments that either project us into our future or keep us stuck in our past. Click To Tweet

Here is my prayer for all of us today:

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your divine nature. Thank You for taking care of us even before we know You are there. Father, we ask that You hem us in on all sides and keep our steps in pace with You. Help us to not get ahead of You or fall behind You. We know that we will encounter hardships in this life. However when we do, we also know that You promise to never leave us nor forsake us.

Help each one of us going through dark times to look to You and You only for our comfort, joy, love and peace. For we know that You are the one who comforts. You are our Comforter. Thank You for Your ways being so much higher than our ways. We thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ. We thank You for Your precious Holy Spirit. Keep us and guide us in all Your ways.

All this we ask in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Amen♥

Stay in the Light and the Love Always,

Eva

Forgiveness Sets US Free

October 30, 2017 By Eva Conner 5 Comments

Our sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west.

As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:12

Scripture tells us that God not only forgives our sins but He also forgets them. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and when we repent of our sins, they are immediately forgiven. There is no record of our sin in heaven. This is good news for each of us. Our Father is so good and pure and lovely. He washes us clean!

We need to forgive as we’ve been forgiven.

When we choose to forgive another, it sets US free.

A funny thing about unforgiveness is that it doesn’t hold the person you are harboring a grudge against captive, it holds YOU captive. When we allow unforgiveness to settle in our hearts, it takes precious real estate away from the things that God desires to place there. Things like love, peace, and joy.

By choosing to not forgive someone, we are telling God we don’t want all that He has for us.

Our loving Father wants the very best for each of us.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Colossians 3:12-13

If you have unforgiveness in your heart today, be intentional and dedicated in prayer concerning it. Ask your Father to take it from you. What we are not able to do on our own, He is able to accomplish with us. Choose to forgive. Choose to love.

Here’s a prayer that will help you make this choice.

Dear God,

Thank You for today. Help me to make allowance for other’s faults and to forgive anyone who offends me. Wash any offense out of my heart. Remove all unforgiveness. Bring these things into the light that need to be revealed and removed.

Father God, please create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Wash me as white as snow with Your precious Word.

Thank You for growing my heart to love more and hurt less. Thank You for growing my heart to share all that You’ve given me. Please use me to set those in captivity free. People who have chosen to keep unforgiveness and offense in their hearts. Use me to share Your love and Your mercy.

Father, place me in the right place at the right time to do Your work. Give me grace and love to forgive, discernment to know when to speak and wisdom to have the right words to say. Thank you that Your ways are so much higher than our ways. Thank You for showing me to be raised high, I must go low. I thank You that Your promises are all Yes and Amen and that Your Word never returns to You without accomplishing what it sets out to accomplish!

Father God, I praise Your name. I bless Your Son Jesus Christ. I bless Your Holy Spirit. I bless You, Father. Thank You for Your great love for me. Help me to show that love to everyone.

For this and so much more I am eternally grateful. In Jesus name I pray.

Amen♥

Stay in the Light and the Love Always,

Eva

When a Demotion Saved my Life…

August 22, 2017 By Eva Conner 5 Comments

A demotion in the world brought me a promotion in God’s kingdom.

Only God.

I’ve never felt led to share my full testimony until now. But this week, God is clearly telling me to “share it now.” I have learned over the years to simply be obedient. So here’s my story starting with a short video.

Since 1990, I’ve worked for a large law firm. I was 21 years old when I started as a legal secretary. I was also a full time student in college and was ready to take on the world. I have always loved clothes and shoes and I could not wait until I was out of college to get a full time job so I could afford the things I wanted. So I burned the candle at both ends.

Not long after I was hired in 1990, the firm hired a new executive director. He took me under his wing and off we went. Within a year, I received my first promotion. The next couple promotions came just as quickly. I had earned the favor of many because I was a hard worker and I went over and above what I was asked to do.

In 1992, I got married to my very best friend. In 1993, we had our first child. In 1995, our second child came along and in 1998 our third child was born.

Let me add another dimension to this story.

In 1995, we bought our first home. It was a small 2 bedroom home and we immediately went about remodeling it. We removed a wall with a full brick fireplace. My husband removed brick by brick of that fireplace including the chimney. CRAZY! As soon as we finished making that house beautiful, we sold it and bought an old farmhouse that had been built in the late 1800’s. We immediately set about remodeling this house as well.

Over the next few years, we ripped out just about everything we could in that house. We stripped it right down to the studs and re-wired, re-plumbed, hung drywall, and anything else you can think of. In the middle of this, we were both working full time with 3 babies. But I was determined to have a beautiful home. You know, a house that would be worthy of the magazine covers! So I kept pushing. We pulled many all-nighters to finish up last minute things to stay on schedule.

We came very close to losing our marriage because of this frantic pace that we set for ourselves.

But I still didn’t stop pressing forward in this big world.

In 2002, I had 3 children ages 3 to 8 and I was promoted once again. In 2002, we also decided to sell our farmhouse so we could build a new home. And that’s what we did. We rented for a couple years while we built our dream home which we moved in November of 2004.

Our kids were getting a little older and were very active in many sports so our “crazy” just shifted from home remodel to multiple ballfields every night. We did baseball, softball, football and basketball. We did travelling leagues and all-star leagues. Every evening and every weekend were packed full.

Through all of this, God is not part of our lives other than maybe on Easter and Christmas.

In 2008, I was promoted once again to the highest level within my department.

I was now the Director. We have offices in many different states so this position required lots of travel and long hours.

Ironically, 2008 is also when God started speaking to me and calling me towards Him.

Prior to 2008, I was aware of God but I had never accepted Him into my heart. From a young age, I remember being pulled toward Him. I would attempt to read the Bible but would get no further than Genesis chapter 1 (yes, that’s where I started each time because I didn’t know any better).

Even though I had an awareness of God at a young age, I never gave Him too much of my time and certainly not my heart until 2008.

In February of 2008, I had a routine surgery and was supposed to be back to work within a week or less. Something happened during the surgery and my body did not recover as quickly as most so I was laid out on my couch for 3 weeks.

But God. During this time He gripped my heart.

Clicking through the TV on a weekday morning, I found an older gentleman who taught the Bible verse by verse. He was in Second Corinthians and he was explaining law and grace. God used his words to change my heart forever.

God made Romans 8:28 come alive in my life. You know, the part that reads “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God.” He used a botched surgery to save my soul.

Why do I share all of this with you? Our testimony is what overcomes the enemy.

When we share our testimony with transparency and truth, God will use our words to set another free!

Don’t ever underestimate the power of your testimony.

And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
Revelation 12:11

Since that time, I continue to learn more and more about the Word. I pray and ask God to guide me and lead me as I learn. If you don’t already have a hunger for the Word, ask God and He will give you a hunger that you can spend a lifetime trying to satisfy.

Getting back to my story, in late 2011 and into 2012, I grew dissatisfied in my job. Working long hours and carrying stress from the position weighed me down. That is when I knew I needed to make a change. God was gradually showing me that I needed to hop off the world-track.

In my heart, I knew I needed to be demoted.

It took me a couple of months to work up the courage to speak to my boss. The executive director who joined the firm at the same time that I did retired a few years before this. We had a new executive director who I liked and respected very much. One day, I had that discussion with him. I explained that I was in over my head and I needed relief that I felt would only come in the form of me stepping out of the lead role. At first, he told me he had confidence in me being able to continue doing the job.

I had to convince him I no longer wanted the job. This was scary because I could have been shown the door. But again, I work at a wonderful firm with wonderful leaders.

I received my demotion. And it saved my life.

Don’t ever be afraid to follow God’s lead. I could not afford to worry about what others would think if I got demoted. I couldn’t afford to be embarassed. My walk with God was too important to me. I knew I would be well when I obeyed His command. Little did I know how very well I would be!

I now report to the person who replaced me and I have a great relationship with him. The stress is gone and I can focus on the calling God has on my life – to teach and encourage other believers so they can rise up to their own calling. I’m also called to reach out to those who do not yet know Jesus.

By me sharing my story and sharing how Jesus works in my own life, I’m providing a way for God to transform lives.

It is through the sharing of our stories when God can work wonders.

Another thing happened in 2012. In addition to knowing God was leading me toward a job change, I also knew He wanted us to make a physical move. So we sold our dream home. God brought us to a nice home but it is not something that I ever would have chosen on my own. In fact, when we first bought our home, I wasn’t crazy about the design. But God. Over the last few years, He has given me a fondness for our house and it is now our home. We are settled and very thankful.

I put homes, possessions and positions above God.

This is nothing more than idolatry. Anything that comes before God is an idol in our lives. It’s not that He doesn’t want us to have nice things. It’s when these “things” are more important than Him in our lives that He gives us a choice.

Choose Him today over whatever He may be calling you away from in your life. You won’t regret it:).

Don’t allow the enemy to convince you that people do not want to hear your story.

That’s simply a lie from the master liar. God tells us just the opposite. Share your story. Be open and transparent. The things that you’ve walked through and the lessons you’ve learned along the way can be just what another person desperately needs to hear.

The verse below speaks about my life before Jesus. Before my demotion, I loved the world.

15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
1 John 2:15-17

Below, the Scripture speaks of where my life is today. I am humbled by how far God has brought me in a short while. I stand in awe of His great love for me. I vow to spend the rest of my life sharing my story as He directs.

Friends, I encourage you to share your story as well.

⁷I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, ¹¹so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

¹²I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14

Stay in the Light and the Love Always,

Eva