CHOSEN AND CHERISHED

Welcome to the Chosen and Cherished podcast with Jonna Harkness and Summit Point Church! Each week, we will take a look at scriptures that Jonna wrote about in her devotional, Climbing Up to the Heart of God. She will look at how those scriptures work together to help us grow in our understanding that we are chosen and cherished by the Lord… and so we will choose and cherish Him. We don’t just study the word for information, but for transformation!

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Climbing Up to the Heart of God

PODCASTS

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12.19.24 // lay it down

With all the craziness that comes in the Christmas season and all of the extra emotional stuff that can be exacerbated at this time of expectation… let’s just take a moment to remember Jesus. Remember why He is worthy to be worshiped. Lay down the stuff for a while. Look at Jesus. You may find that you don’t need to pick the stuff back up again. He’s got it.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link…https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063

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12.12.24 // taste, delight, come back for more

We have an amazing feast always before us… the Word of God. God has written His heart on paper so that we could know Him and savor Him. It’s in His word that we find out what a good, loving, powerful, and wise God He is. Without knowing His Word, we can begin to believe things about Him that aren’t true. Today we learn the value of tasting and savoring His word so that we can savor our relationship with Him.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link…https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063

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12.05.24 // changed in his presence

Today we’ll look at Moses, being in the presence of God, and how it changed him. The truth is, we never change God by being with Him, but He changes us. Being in His presence exposes our need for His mercy, and it brings us to our knees. But the wonderful thing is, He pours His mercy and grace on us… and we are changed.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link…https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063

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11.21.24 // take in the view

The Apostle Paul was such an amazing example of living with a view to eternity with Jesus. He wrote most of his letters from prison. He endured all kinds of suffering. And he exhorted us to follow his example… to imitate him as he imitated Jesus. How do we have that same mindset? It starts with keeping our eyes on our true home… Heaven.

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11.14.24 // conversation with god

Why is it so hard to pray? Why does prayer matter? God wants a relationship with us, and like all healthy relationships… they need good communication. Conversation gives us the chance to share our hearts with those we love… to deepen relationships. The God of the Universe who created all things and has all power and all love… wants that with us. What do we need to understand about prayer in order to draw nearer to God in relationship? 

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link…https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063 

 

 

11.07.24 // above all, love

Above everything God wants for us, He wants us to love. When we look at all that love is in God’s eyes, it seems impossible to have this kind of love flowing from our hearts. There’s only one way… let the Holy Spirit transform you by the renewal of your mind.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link… https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063

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10.31.24 // Pursue jesus

We are called to stop doing one thing and pursue something else. Not only stop, but FLEE youthful passions, those things that keep us from a close relationship with God. Instead... pursue. Run after Jesus. It will be excellent and beneficial for your soul.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link…https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063

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10.24.24 // jesus goes out of his way for you

Jesus went out of His way to meet with the Samaritan woman at the well. She didn’t know they had an appointment, but He did. He changed her life forever that day. Jesus pursues us, He waits to be gracious to us, He seeks to revive our hearts and spirits. The question is, how will we respond to Him? Will we seek Him in spirit and truth?

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10.17.24 // stay the course

We have the wonderful hope of knowing that Jesus Christ has made us His own through His sacrifice and resurrection. So now we press on toward the upward call of Jesus. But sometimes we can get distracted on that journey. What do we need to keep our eyes on in order to stay the course?

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10.10.24 // today, if you hear his voice... believe him

How important is our faith? And how do we grow it? Our faith is so important that it determines whether or not we can find rest in the Lord, whether or not we rest in His grace and mercy. Lack of faith hardens our hearts and lets us be overcome by the deceitfulness of sin. There is one way we grow our faith ~ honor God. Today we’ll talk about what that looks like.

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10.03.24 // i am not ashamed of the gospel

Look at the life of the Apostle Paul. He was so unashamed of the gospel that he would speak to Roman jailers who had him locked in prison, to crowds who wanted to kill him, to Greek philosophers, to anyone who would listen. His testimony is so different from mine. But we have the same God who loves us both and has a purpose for each of us. He takes us as we are, but He never leaves us as we are. And that’s why we can say, “I am unashamed of the gospel.”

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09.26.24 // walk in newness of life

Jesus never called us to do anything that He did not first model to us. That includes baptism. Water baptism is a symbol of what God does in our hearts when we turn to the Lord and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. What does that mean for how we live? God wants us to live in newness of life with Him… free from the chains of sin. And then He calls us to go and be models of our life in Him to other people so that they can also walk in newness of life with Him.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link…https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063

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09.19.24 // because his love is better than life

Those who truly follow Christ will worship by the Spirit, Glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. What does that mean? Today, we’ll take a closer look at these things to see what God wants to teach us about how we can draw closer to Him. This is all about having a deeper relationship with Him… because His love is better than life.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link… https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063

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09.12.24 // The Blessing Far Outweighs the Cost

Jesus told us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. The world tells us to define ourselves, pursue our own glory, and make our own way. But while following Jesus is a narrow road, it leads to life and joy forever in His presence. May we never forget that He left His throne and denied Himself for us, He took up His cross for us, He gave us His example so that we might know His love personally and follow Him closely in relationship.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link… https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063 

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09.05.24 // STRENGTH FOR TODAY, HOPE FOR TOMORROW

If you knew that whatever you’re facing today would end with something better than you had when you started, would it be worth it? The good news is, with God… it will always end better than where it began. God gives us strength as we face the brokenness of this world today. And He gives us the absolute certainty of what’s to come when we will spend eternity with Him.

To sign up to receive Climbing Up to the Heart of God, a devotional email, click on the link… https://summitpoint.churchcenter.com/people/forms/354063

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08.29.24 // SUN AND MOON GIVING

God is a cheerful giver and so He helps us to become cheerful givers…to bless others with the blessing He supplies. God never wants us to give from heart of LAW, but a heart of LOVE. He doesn’t force us to give. He invites us to give…as a reflection of His generous, giving heart.

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08.22.24 // COMFORT IN THE BATTLE

Life on this earth is a war…with battle after battle. It’s hard. But we are children of the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. His arms are strong and He wants us to learn to rely on Him so that He can hold us up. He WILL deliver us…but maybe not in our timing. But our suffering will never be wasted. 

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08.15.24 // NOT YOU...NOT ME...US

God has made us individuals who fit into a greater picture, the body of Christ. Together we are able to do far more than what we can apart. God has given us unique gifts to be able to offer to Him as our spiritual worship, gifts that build the whole body. He chooses the gifts. He supplies us with what we need to accomplish His purpose. We just need to be surrendered, humble, and confident that He will fulfill His purpose in us.

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08.08.24 // THE PRICELESS GIFT

God promised to give those who confess Jesus as Lord a greater gift than anything we could ever give even those we love the most…the Holy Spirit. He does so much more than we could imagine. He seals us. He teaches us. He guides us into truth. He gives us freedom. He transforms us so that we aren’t stuck in our misery by sin. He gives us peace and hope. Our only responsibility is to let Him lead and follow Him. That in itself is extremely difficult…The job of transformation is absolutely impossible for us to do. If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with Him as He changes us and leads us to eternity with Jesus and the Father.

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08.01.24 // i will build my church

Jesus said, "I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." This is a promise. How will that impact the way we live? And how do we stand against the schemes of the devil? He will try to prevail, but he won’t win.

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07.25.24 // wait on god and find rest for your soul

Jesus says, “Come to Me… and I will give you rest.” What does it mean to come to Him? It means to wait on Him. To wait on Him does NOT mean “to do nothing.” It DOES mean “to NOT do MY thing.” But when we do wait on Him, we find rest, strength, protection, and peace.

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07.18.24 // safely you'll abide

God calls us to abide in Him… to be in a deep, secure, intimate relationship with Him. The enemy, the devil, tries to sabotage that relationship and pull us away so that he can trap us. Don’t be fooled. The One who truly calls us to safety is Jesus. You will know this truth, and the truth will set you free.

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07.11.24 // a lesson from toby

The promises of God are experienced richer and deeper the closer to God we get. What are some of those promises, and how will we respond to them? The choice is ours.

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07.04.24 // out with the old ~ in with the new

As long as we are here on earth, we will be struggling with the battle between our old selves and our new selves. God calls us to clothe ourselves with the wardrobe He provides. He knows that when we are putting on His wardrobe, we will experience His deepest joy and hope… until He calls us home and that old self, along with all the damage it causes, is gone forever.

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06.27.24 // the freedom of forgiveness

Forgiveness can be really hard. So much emotion and hurt fuels unforgiveness. Anger feels more powerful. But that’s a lie from the pit of hell. God wants us to have a heart of forgiveness because that’s His heart. He knows that when our hearts match His heart, that’s when we will be most satisfied. May we always go back to the gospel and remember what Jesus has done for us… and then forgiveness can freely flow from a heart of gratitude and humility.

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06.20.24 // do you know this god?

If we truly believe God’s Word, how will that affect the way we live? He is the God of love. He IS love. Trusting His love will impact every area of our lives. His love is a sanctifying love, a protecting love, a merciful and forgiving love, a compassionate and reviving love. As we allow His love to impact us, we will see reason to bless Him, to believe Him, to draw near to Him, and to hold fast to Him in every aspect of our lives.

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06.13.24 // Amazing Grace… Lessons from the Woman at the Well 

As we look at a case study, the woman at the well in John 4, we see the heart of Jesus. That is the motivation for our choice to follow Him…. our motivation to put off the old self and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and to put on the new self, created in Christ Jesus, in true righteousness and holiness. That love and renewal from God changes everything.

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06.06.24 // genuine love 

Loving from a genuine heart starts at the source… Jesus. Our job is not to make ourselves love better, but to present ourselves to the One who IS love. With His love as our motivation, our love can be genuine… in how we honor Him and how we treat others. As we present ourselves to God, He helps our love to grow. He helps us to honor others. He teaches us how to follow in His steps. This is easier said than done. Only by His help can we pursue peace and unity with others. But it will be so worth it!

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05.30.24 // IMPOSSIBLE CALL TO LOVE 

Love is not a feeling, it’s an action… a choice. It’s not a choice to make these things happen in us. It’s a choice to let the Spirit grow His love in us, so that His love can flow through us to others. True freedom comes in loving as He loves.

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05.23.24 // BE IMITATORS OF ME AS I AM OF CHRIST

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul told us to be imitators of him as we are of Christ. Wow. That’s a huge calling. What does that look like? How are we called to imitate Christ? As we will see, Paul wants us to imitate him by doing the following…
1. Seek to KNOW Jesus better.
2. Remember who we were before knowing Jesus… not so that we can be ashamed, but so that we can be grateful.
3. Press on… don’t give up.

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05.16.24 // perfect love casts out fear 

God loves us with a love so strong that He is able to cast fear out and fill us with His security. Because He loved us, not just in word but in actions and truth, we’re now able to live in the strength of His love and let that love overflow from our hearts to love others. The tangible evidence of our love for God is that we love others. His love in us… His love pouring through us… Our love pouring out to others.

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05.09.24 // cuddle on the couch 

God loves us so much that He wants us to abide in Him and in His love… to connect with Him, hear from Him, agree with Him, and trust Him. The more we abide with Him, the more security and assurance we will have in Him. We ARE secure if we’re believers in Christ, but abiding in Him reassures us that we’re secure in Him. As we abide in Him and He assures us of our security in Him, we are motivated to fulfill the purposes that He has for us… loving Him and loving others.

To hear the message where we talked about waiting on God to help us get His truths from our heads to our hearts, click on the following link: https://summitpoint.org/media/#series-sort_head-to-heart-womens-event 

Waiting on God: https://a.co/d/aMuMK9y 

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05.02.24 // The Heart of God ~ Perfecting Love 

We have a God who loves us so much that He proved it with His life because He IS love. He wants to perfect His love in us, to fill us with all His fullness, so that we can know His love that is beyond knowing, and then we can let His love spill out as we love others.

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04.29.24 // WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

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