Connie Writes

Heart of My Heart Connie Hawkins   What does it mean to have the heart of Jesus to love one another as Christ loved the church? To have his Heart, we must see with His eyes. He saw the multitudes, and they were hungry, so he fed them. We need to feel like Jesus felt. He was moved with compassion, healing the sick and the tormented, making the blind see; he was a friend to all.     Jesus wants us to treat one another with compassion and love. See the broken-hearted with his heart. Pray with His heart. Love with his Heart.   It’s time, as Christians, we rise up and stand firm in the faith. “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8    

  Freedom in Christ By Connie Hawkins   Freedom is a basic human desire. While the Bible often speaks of freedom, its focus is most frequently related to the spiritual freedom one can experience in Christ. First, freedom in Christ grants us freedom from the control of sin and eternal life with Him. Second, freedom in Christ is seen as the only true form of freedom because it provides lasting freedom beyond this life. John 8:36 notes, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Third, a person who has experienced true freedom in Christ is called to live as His servant. We are set free to serve Christ. This seems like a paradox to the non-believer, yet the freedom found in Christ gives the believer a desire to live for Christ as a servant. This attitude reflects the attitude displayed by Jesus Himself during His time on earth (John 13:1-20; Philippians 2:5-11).  In short, we experience true freedom in Christ by knowing Him, walking in His ways, and engaging w...

  God’s Love By Connie Hawkins   Divine love is that love that belongs to or is part of God. It is different than the love you have for your spouse or your children; it’s different than the love you have for friends and neighbors; that is natural love. Four Greek words for love are essential for Christians to know. They are agape, phileo, storge, and eros. The first three appear in the Bible. The fourth is the “erotic” kind. The Greek word that refers to the love of God or the spiritual kind, one of the kinds of love we are to have for people, is agape. Agape is the very nature of God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-12, 16b). We are accustomed to thinking of love as a feeling, but that is not necessarily the case with agape love. Agape is love because of what it does, not because of how it feels. Agape is an exercise of the will, a deliberate choice. This is why God can command us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44; Exodus 23:1-5). He is not commanding us to “have a good...

Keeping the Faith By Connie Hawkins   2022 was a tough year for me.  I was ill for the first four months with breathing issues that turned out to be heart-related.  Then, it was my husband’s turn…one test after another to find out why his legs were swelling and why he was tired all the time; it turns out he has some heart issues of his own. Keeping faith when trials knock on our door and surround us can be challenging at times. Life in this world requires a continuous and active choice to choose God, to keep the faith no matter what, and to move ahead in hope rather than despair.   It’s not just about keeping the faith in times of peace, but when life is ‘grinding,’ times when we want to give up or choose another path. I’d love to say I get this right all the time, but I don’t. I have moments when I just want to quit, but that’s when we need to stay strong in the Word.  Just around the corner are the triumphs! Along with the dark days, there was plenty of ...