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

LUKE 12:15 “And he said to them, Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” I t is amazing to my wife and I that when we walk into a stores right now, we see Christmas decorations. In light of that, it may seem strange that I'm even addressing Christmas at the end of October. Our mailbox is stuffed full of catalogs and sale flyers. We were shocked to see Christmas Trees on full display in the mall. The true meaning of the Advent is being lost to commercialism and greed. During this time of year it is imperative that we understand and realize what is truly important and what we should be focused on as believers. It is important to know what God wants us to have, and which he makes possible, and is not primarily made up of material things or money. We also have the responsibility to teach this to our children. The holiday catalogs have arrived and television commercials are running, showing all the new to

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surprisingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. We can't deny that there is suffering and tragedy in the world, suffering that is so often incomprehensible to us. We can look on a global scale, and see children being slaughtered for no good reason--or for any reason at all. In Iraq thousands of innocent people are being terrorized and tormented in the name of Islam. We can look on a national scale, and see friends and relatives of the victims of hurricane Katrina still trying to put their lives back together. And, most importantly, we can look on a PERSONAL level, and see our own

2 Cor 4:16 “So we do not lose heart” L osing heart or losing faith is always an option. Sometimes, we do not have heart or the faith to persevere. Feeling overwhelmed and weak, we are ready to give up on ministry, projects, relationships, tasks, dreams, and faith. An amusing story that I often use involves an office worker who was assigned a mailing task to be completed overnight. When the supervisor arrived at the office the next morning, there was a note on the mountain of unprocessed mail which said, “Too hard! Went home!” At any given time, Paul the Apostle had reasons to be disheartened, to feel that his job was too hard. He was distressed when he wrote this second letter to the fledgling Christian community in Corinth. He was the first to proclaim the Christian message to this group and help them to establish a church, yet they were experiencing a crisis of confidence towards him, which undoubtedly caused him great anguish. If Paul had depended on himself and trusted only in his

(Psalm 27:14) Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. We must not allow ourselves to become so enmeshed in the circumstances of life that we are not aware of the order that is always taking place. Looking back on various events in my life, I see the way circumstances have fallen into place, which seemingly always brings about something good. In all circumstances, the power of the Holy Spirit brings forth the strength we need to get through whatever circumstance we are facing. Keep this truth in mind as you go about your business each day. Whether you are facing a major event, planning a move, or just driving to the store, keep your faith in God. Know that any rough places ahead will be made smooth. Our walk in life is one of faith, of knowing that everything is working together for my highest good. How much faith does one need? The following is an illustration that I used this past Sunday in church for our children… One day,

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