Monthly Meditations with Dr. Michael L. Hargett, Sr.

ROMANS 12:2 “Every temptation begins with a thought. So does every act of goodness. Paul said, "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." Have you ever heard some say that the most important things in life are the thoughts you choose to think? In many cases, one decision stands between you and a better life. The solution to most of our problems is only one decision away, but making this single decision is sometimes the hardest thing to do. If this is true, then the most important decision you'll make today is what to think about. You can think thoughts of faith or thoughts of doubt, thoughts of hope or thoughts of despair, thoughts of love or thoughts of hate. These thoughts will find their way into your words and your actions as the day wears on. Thoughts should be tested before they're transmitted, if our thoughts taste unkind, critical or unfair, we should refuse to release them into the dangerous world of words. What are you thinking?

"And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before."--Job 42:10 To forgive, we do not have to say that whatever happened was okay, and you are not required to have the same relationship with that person(s) that you had before. In fact, your relationship will never be the same and before we can forgive, we need to allow ourselves to really feel the pain of the experience. If we don’t fully acknowledge our disappointments, let-downs, and pain, we will continue to carry them subconsciously and they will wear on your spirit. -- Christiane Northrup said, "To get to forgiveness, we first have to work through the painful experiences that require it." To forgive, we need to decide that we will not allow the memories of the event to poison us any longer. We must be ready to heal this wound from the past and open to a fresh new beginning. The blessing is that when we are truly ready to experience

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. --Philippians 2:3-4 This past week, God blessed me to minister to my older sister in New Jersey. She called me because of a business deal that had not gone the way she had hoped. In short, a friend under cut the deal and gained the property in their own interest. For those who do not know my sister, she epitomizes this week's scripture. She is a wonderful person with a free and giving spirit. Over the years, I have and watched as she would give loans to family and friends many of these loans were never repaid. I can not recall one single instant where she has every asked for money back that she has given to me. She elected to stay in New Jersey to be close to our Mother, while the rest of us moved on and out of Newark, N.J. and til this day, I have never heard her complain or voice an

Today will be my first day back to work following the Heart Attack. I know what I want to do, but I also know what I need to do. (Take it slow!) First giving honor to God who never left my side during this time of recovery. I give thanks for my Pastors Gary and Patricia Stern for their support and leadership, even while going through their own health issues. I give thanks to my wife, Cheryl for her love and constant vigilance to ensure I was not doing to much. I give thanks for my daughter Marie who was my at home nurse, secretary, maid, and computer technician. I give thanks for my daughter Peyton for being understanding and supportive, and I give thanks to everyone who sent up prayers for me and my family. Thank you all; God bless you is my prayer. This week my Pastor Gary Stern preached "What do you want? - What do you need?" He stated that we all have basic needs and then we have wants. He outlined a few of the needs people have and a few wants people long for. My questio

Scripture: Matthew 14:20-35 - Jesus Walks on the Water 22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." 28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to

Since my heart attack God has been working on me. I have had an opportunity to rest and fellowship with God. My inspirational weekly meditation has continued to grow! Glory be to God! But, I want to encourage those who may not know Christ to ask questions and post testimonies. Therefore this is my new blog "Monday Morning Meditations with Elder Mike." May the Holy Spirit lead you on how you would like to share this blog site. I will update it weekly, usually Monday Mornings but, if the Lord puts something on my heart to share with you all outside of the weekly posting I will notify everyone via email. My prayer is that God will bless those who are seeking the truth through his word. For personal questions or individual prayer my private email address is available under my profile. I encourage each of you to ask questions and post testimonies if you have them. In doing so, God will keep each of strong in his word as we show others the light! Welcome to the blog and God bless