Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts
Monday, January 27, 2014
Choose Wisely
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. Proverbs 22:24-25 (KJV)
Have you ever heard the expression “Like Father, Like son”? Or perhaps the old saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”? There is a great spiritual truth to be gleaned from these colloquialisms. Let me illustrate.
Have you ever attended a church and observed the “group thought” process that takes place. When the Pastor speaks it is not just his words that penetrate the hearers but his attitude. If the pastor loves people and reaches out to them then the church will do the same. If the pastor is judgmental and condemning then the church will do the same. If the leadership of an organization strives for excellence then you will see that same passion rising in the rank and file. These examples serve to illustrate the spiritual truth of transference. We become like those that we allow to speak into our lives. Actions speak louder than words!
This is important because even if that person is teaching the Bible and saying the right things the spirit behind the words comes attached. A humble and contrite spirit or a proud and haughty spirit can both speak the same words. The words become the wrapping around the gift. In our Scripture today we are warned to avoid angry men. Why? Because we will learn their ways, they become a snare to our soul.
Often demonic activity is cloaked in religious activity. STOP! Did you catch that? Why would Satan want to teach a Bible Study? Why would he want to run a charity? Why would he pastor a church? Perhaps that is exactly the audience that he wants to influence. Consider this message from Paul,
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (NIV)
We are warned that Satan puts on spiritual clothes and infiltrates our meetings. He comes with a negative spirit tearing down those around him. He finds fault with what the preacher says or does and believes he knows better. He speaks judgment and calamity on those around him. He gathers to himself those of like mind. Bitter, angry, rebellious! Not openly but privately and ever so subtle. This spirit of antichrist exists to infect like a virus among the saints. Hiding in the body until it bursts forth in death and destruction.
When a Father has an angry spirit he will spread the spirit but the fruit is not always what you might think. An angry father will produce depression in his family. This is the transference that takes place. The wife will be depressed, the children will be depressed and the home will become a place that everyone wants to avoid. The wife will look elsewhere for peace and the kids will find other people to fill that void. Open rebellion will soon break out in the home, daughters will seek love in the arms of strangers, and sons will grow disenfranchised and angry. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. You can tell a lot about Mom and Dad by watching the children and you can tell a lot about pastor by watching his church.
The Bible tells us to guard our heart in Proverbs 4:23. Consider this,
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)
When Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit He said that, “from our innermost being would flow rivers of living water.”
The heart is where the good and the bad flows. Words aren’t processed in the heart but spirits are! When we receive a word there is more than language, more than syllables, entering our being. We are receiving the spirit from which these words are spoken. Subtle nuances of speech, laughter, body language or the life lived by the speaker insert themselves between the lines and add themselves to us. Our heart receives the language, often unspoken, and so begins the spiritual warfare.
The viruses that spread through our body are the best example of how this warfare takes place. When we are around those that are sick the virus cannot be seen but it invades our being as only a microscopic organism so small it can’t be seen with our natural eyes. The virus immediately begins to multiply and attack the good cells in our body and it is not long before the effects of the invisible war within our body is evident. We still don’t see the virus but we can sure see the results and those results can kill us if we don’t deal with the cause.
Jesus came that we might have life and that more abundantly. When He took our sins and suffered the death of the cross Christ ushered us into a life full of His abundant grace. We were “born again” and our Spirits were once again made alive in Him. Don’t allow anything to harden your heart or quench the Spirit of God in your life. That means knowing those that labor among you and walking in Christ’s Spirit. Remember the words of Paul as he wrote to the Corinthian Church.
"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (NIV)
Now that’s just good advice.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Shiny Cars
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? Malachi 2:10 (KJV)
Why is it so easy to find differences? If you have ever visited a new church and felt the eyes of the faithful as you searched for a seat or perhaps you have been the faithful doing the checking, you know what I mean. We tend to have a set of standards by which we measure the world. In America we have been convinced by Hollywood and Madison Avenue that the definition of beautiful is the thin, petite model or movie star that spends thousands of dollars on their make-up each week and supplements their figure with extreme diets and surgery. So we judge ourselves and others by an unobtainable standard for all but a small minority. We have a standard of living that requires us to have certain electronic devices, automobiles, clothes, and recreational activities and we expect our friends to either have or strive to have the same. Society has divided along social, economic, political, and moral standards and revels in the idea of belonging to those special groups. Instead of coming together it seems that we are constantly dividing. This is not God’s design for greatness.
Throughout the Word of God we see unity of God flow through every aspect of His work. In Creation we see God designing, The Word declaring, and The Spirit moving. There is a perfect unity of thought and order that move throughout the Universe and reflects the essence of God. “Let them be one as we are one.” Jesus prayed in the seventeenth chapter of John. He knew that when He was gone the enemy would come to bring division. Quarrels and fighting over doctrine and methods would replace humility and preferring their brother and not only hinder the work of God but tarnish the glory of His name. James tells us,
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. James 3:16 (KJV)
These things cannot ever be a part of God’s work. Not if God is to be the Author and Finisher.
Have you ever known someone that couldn’t afford to keep their house, buy food, or take care of their family but they drive around in a brand new, expensive car? That is how I liken the religious spirit that overtakes us. We drive around in our status symbol driven by a religious spirit trying to prove that we are okay. We claim God is on our side. The outside of our lives are shiny and pretty but the inside is corrupt and dying. We are proud and envious, judging others by the very things that we know we cannot keep. Confusion reigns in our lives, yet we try to enforce a religion that we cannot keep on others and judge them without mercy.
God doesn’t judge by the outside but what is on the inside. He looks beyond the shiny vehicle of our religious pride and looks on the heart. The only thing that will impress Him is the humble heart, mourning for their sin, broken in the presence of a holy God. Once we have been to this place how can we ever judge our brother? The repentant heart is ever aware that it is only by the Grace of God that we are accepted. Pride is crushed and destroyed and all that remains is a heart keenly aware that God is their everything. Overwhelmed by Grace this heart has no interest in the shiny façade of religion but instead lives to glorify God.
The desire to glorify God is what becomes the unity of God’s people. God’s Word is no longer used to condemn, separate, and divide but rather to lift up, unify, and create. All things become insignificant in the light of God’s glory and grace. What difference does it make if someone’s customs and dress is different than ours, we aren’t looking at the shiny car we are in touch with the spirit that dwells in their heart. No longer do we compare the size of the car driven by us to those around us. If a congregation has 10,000 or 10 the only thing that matters is does the glory of God abide in the hearts of those that are gathered in His name. We are able to look beyond differences in style, music, dress or anything else that make us different and see only what matters, the presence of God in the midst of His people.
Malachi asked the question,
“Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,..”
Perhaps we should ask the same question today.
Why is it so easy to find differences? If you have ever visited a new church and felt the eyes of the faithful as you searched for a seat or perhaps you have been the faithful doing the checking, you know what I mean. We tend to have a set of standards by which we measure the world. In America we have been convinced by Hollywood and Madison Avenue that the definition of beautiful is the thin, petite model or movie star that spends thousands of dollars on their make-up each week and supplements their figure with extreme diets and surgery. So we judge ourselves and others by an unobtainable standard for all but a small minority. We have a standard of living that requires us to have certain electronic devices, automobiles, clothes, and recreational activities and we expect our friends to either have or strive to have the same. Society has divided along social, economic, political, and moral standards and revels in the idea of belonging to those special groups. Instead of coming together it seems that we are constantly dividing. This is not God’s design for greatness.
Throughout the Word of God we see unity of God flow through every aspect of His work. In Creation we see God designing, The Word declaring, and The Spirit moving. There is a perfect unity of thought and order that move throughout the Universe and reflects the essence of God. “Let them be one as we are one.” Jesus prayed in the seventeenth chapter of John. He knew that when He was gone the enemy would come to bring division. Quarrels and fighting over doctrine and methods would replace humility and preferring their brother and not only hinder the work of God but tarnish the glory of His name. James tells us,
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. James 3:16 (KJV)
These things cannot ever be a part of God’s work. Not if God is to be the Author and Finisher.
Have you ever known someone that couldn’t afford to keep their house, buy food, or take care of their family but they drive around in a brand new, expensive car? That is how I liken the religious spirit that overtakes us. We drive around in our status symbol driven by a religious spirit trying to prove that we are okay. We claim God is on our side. The outside of our lives are shiny and pretty but the inside is corrupt and dying. We are proud and envious, judging others by the very things that we know we cannot keep. Confusion reigns in our lives, yet we try to enforce a religion that we cannot keep on others and judge them without mercy.
God doesn’t judge by the outside but what is on the inside. He looks beyond the shiny vehicle of our religious pride and looks on the heart. The only thing that will impress Him is the humble heart, mourning for their sin, broken in the presence of a holy God. Once we have been to this place how can we ever judge our brother? The repentant heart is ever aware that it is only by the Grace of God that we are accepted. Pride is crushed and destroyed and all that remains is a heart keenly aware that God is their everything. Overwhelmed by Grace this heart has no interest in the shiny façade of religion but instead lives to glorify God.
The desire to glorify God is what becomes the unity of God’s people. God’s Word is no longer used to condemn, separate, and divide but rather to lift up, unify, and create. All things become insignificant in the light of God’s glory and grace. What difference does it make if someone’s customs and dress is different than ours, we aren’t looking at the shiny car we are in touch with the spirit that dwells in their heart. No longer do we compare the size of the car driven by us to those around us. If a congregation has 10,000 or 10 the only thing that matters is does the glory of God abide in the hearts of those that are gathered in His name. We are able to look beyond differences in style, music, dress or anything else that make us different and see only what matters, the presence of God in the midst of His people.
Malachi asked the question,
“Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,..”
Perhaps we should ask the same question today.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Prince of Peace
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
They were just a group of shepherds watching their sheep that night when suddenly an angel appeared and the glory of the Lord shined all around them. Of course, their first reaction was fear. They had never seen an angel or heard from God before. No one had for four hundred years. God had stopped talking to His people and had sent no word through angels or prophets. They had not heard from God, their Dads had not heard from God, or their Granddads. Then suddenly in the quiet of the night with their thoughts consumed with the job they were doing or the taxes that were being paid to their Roman oppressors an angel appears. It broke the silence like a trumpet as he told them the good news. A Savior was born!
Isn’t that how God comes to us? We don’t get advance warning. He just appears in the chaos of our lives and speaks. It is no wonder that we are warned to be careful lest we entertain angels unaware.
Upon the announcement of Christ’s birth Luke records that a multitude of angels appeared saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
This wasn’t a song it was a proclamation. The birth of Christ was for the glory of God and designed to show his good will toward men. The enmity between God and man was shattered by the gift of God. There had been four hundred years of separation because of sin. Man had not been able to live righteous by following his conscious or by following the law. The sinful nature of man blinded him to the heart of God and kept him from fellowship with a holy God. Then bursting forth in triumphant glory the cry of God is heard in a manger. The Savior which is Christ the Lord is born, breaking down the wall of enmity between God and man.
The peace announced by the Angel Host was not a product of man’s wisdom or strength but was conceived in the heart of God and carried by the Holy Spirit. Throughout the ages of man the hand of God ordered history and called forth every element of the plan. Satan tried to defeat it. Man tried to ignore it. And when the time had fully come God’s Chosen people rejected it. The plan to redeem man was not with armies or swords. Heavens Host had not come to defeat the Roman captors but instead The King had sent His Son. Born not in a palace with fine linens but in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes the Prince of Peace came not just to show us the way. Not just to teach us the way. The Young Prince would become The Way to God.
His name would be called Emmanuel meaning God with us. There is no ladder to climb to heaven. Jesus came down to sinful man and offered Himself so that we might have fellowship with the Father. Christ has finished the work!
Born that day in a manger was the Prince of Peace. He has become the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Some might question why there is still war and strife on this earth if Jesus brought peace. His Kingdom lives today in the hearts of men and women who believe! I have witnessed the peace that Jesus brings to those that will receive His gift thru faith. In the midst of the greatest trials of our lives Jesus still calms the storm and brings peace.
They were just a group of shepherds watching their sheep that night when suddenly an angel appeared and the glory of the Lord shined all around them. Of course, their first reaction was fear. They had never seen an angel or heard from God before. No one had for four hundred years. God had stopped talking to His people and had sent no word through angels or prophets. They had not heard from God, their Dads had not heard from God, or their Granddads. Then suddenly in the quiet of the night with their thoughts consumed with the job they were doing or the taxes that were being paid to their Roman oppressors an angel appears. It broke the silence like a trumpet as he told them the good news. A Savior was born!
Isn’t that how God comes to us? We don’t get advance warning. He just appears in the chaos of our lives and speaks. It is no wonder that we are warned to be careful lest we entertain angels unaware.
Upon the announcement of Christ’s birth Luke records that a multitude of angels appeared saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
This wasn’t a song it was a proclamation. The birth of Christ was for the glory of God and designed to show his good will toward men. The enmity between God and man was shattered by the gift of God. There had been four hundred years of separation because of sin. Man had not been able to live righteous by following his conscious or by following the law. The sinful nature of man blinded him to the heart of God and kept him from fellowship with a holy God. Then bursting forth in triumphant glory the cry of God is heard in a manger. The Savior which is Christ the Lord is born, breaking down the wall of enmity between God and man.
The peace announced by the Angel Host was not a product of man’s wisdom or strength but was conceived in the heart of God and carried by the Holy Spirit. Throughout the ages of man the hand of God ordered history and called forth every element of the plan. Satan tried to defeat it. Man tried to ignore it. And when the time had fully come God’s Chosen people rejected it. The plan to redeem man was not with armies or swords. Heavens Host had not come to defeat the Roman captors but instead The King had sent His Son. Born not in a palace with fine linens but in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes the Prince of Peace came not just to show us the way. Not just to teach us the way. The Young Prince would become The Way to God.
His name would be called Emmanuel meaning God with us. There is no ladder to climb to heaven. Jesus came down to sinful man and offered Himself so that we might have fellowship with the Father. Christ has finished the work!
Born that day in a manger was the Prince of Peace. He has become the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Some might question why there is still war and strife on this earth if Jesus brought peace. His Kingdom lives today in the hearts of men and women who believe! I have witnessed the peace that Jesus brings to those that will receive His gift thru faith. In the midst of the greatest trials of our lives Jesus still calms the storm and brings peace.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
The Heart Of The Matter
Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
While a rookie police officer I had to ride for the first six months with a Training Officer. One night my Training Officer and another decided that they would have a contest. We would see who could give out the most tickets in one evening. (Yes, this is a true story. Yes, Policemen are people too.) Being new to the job and ready to protect and serve the public I thought the night would be filled with dangerous traffic stops where we would be stopping speeders and drunk drivers while making the streets safer for the public. My T/O drove us to a quiet neighborhood in the poverty stricken part of our district and began to slowly drive down the residential street. Suddenly he stopped and said,
“There’s one!”
I looked around for the danger not seeing any other moving cars on the road but he grabbed his ticket book and ordered me out of the squad car. I followed him to an old parked car and watched as he wrote a ticket for expired registration and placed it on the car’s windshield. We spent the next eight hours giving out tickets to cars that were parked too close to the sidewalk, too far from the sidewalk, broken windshields, expired tags, and a variety of other minor infractions. At first I was disappointed that we were being so petty but soon I begin to count the tickets that were piling up and reveled in the thought of “winning” the competition. Thankfully this only happened one night and I was able to actually do police work for the rest of my training. But that night four police officers who could have been serving the community spent far too much time competing against each other and not accomplishing their mission. Christians can do the same thing.
God has called us to fulfill His will. There is a mission field all around us and people are in need of someone to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. This is their only hope. Death has them in its grip and hell is enlarging its mouth to receive the multitude that are lost in this world but far too often God’s people are busy looking for minor infractions. There are hurting souls, ruined lives, blinded eyes, and dying hearts that need someone to rescue them and until God’s Church rises up in love they will continue to perish. There is no time for pettiness, no time for competition, no time for games, we must be about the Father’s business.
The Pharisees that confronted Jesus were too busy finding the minor infractions of life. They had forgotten the purpose that God had given us the law. Not to condemn but to lift up. God’s didn’t want us to fail, He wants us to succeed and in order to do that we must take hold of each commandment filled with the love of God. The Law of God was written from a heart of love, God’s heart, and to keep those commandments we must respond to them with the same heart. That is why outside of Christ it is impossible to keep the Law.
Many today are striving in their own strength to please God, believing that their labor will somehow endear them to a holy God. They will spend their night in futility trying to attain that which can only be received as a free gift. God’s love is given to each of us freely. When we receive that love and allow it to become the catalyst for every action we can finally begin to walk in understanding, knowing the heart of God.
Oh, for those that need closure, my Training Officer and I lost the competition but to this day I still know what a 4000a CVC violation is.
While a rookie police officer I had to ride for the first six months with a Training Officer. One night my Training Officer and another decided that they would have a contest. We would see who could give out the most tickets in one evening. (Yes, this is a true story. Yes, Policemen are people too.) Being new to the job and ready to protect and serve the public I thought the night would be filled with dangerous traffic stops where we would be stopping speeders and drunk drivers while making the streets safer for the public. My T/O drove us to a quiet neighborhood in the poverty stricken part of our district and began to slowly drive down the residential street. Suddenly he stopped and said,
“There’s one!”
I looked around for the danger not seeing any other moving cars on the road but he grabbed his ticket book and ordered me out of the squad car. I followed him to an old parked car and watched as he wrote a ticket for expired registration and placed it on the car’s windshield. We spent the next eight hours giving out tickets to cars that were parked too close to the sidewalk, too far from the sidewalk, broken windshields, expired tags, and a variety of other minor infractions. At first I was disappointed that we were being so petty but soon I begin to count the tickets that were piling up and reveled in the thought of “winning” the competition. Thankfully this only happened one night and I was able to actually do police work for the rest of my training. But that night four police officers who could have been serving the community spent far too much time competing against each other and not accomplishing their mission. Christians can do the same thing.
God has called us to fulfill His will. There is a mission field all around us and people are in need of someone to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. This is their only hope. Death has them in its grip and hell is enlarging its mouth to receive the multitude that are lost in this world but far too often God’s people are busy looking for minor infractions. There are hurting souls, ruined lives, blinded eyes, and dying hearts that need someone to rescue them and until God’s Church rises up in love they will continue to perish. There is no time for pettiness, no time for competition, no time for games, we must be about the Father’s business.
The Pharisees that confronted Jesus were too busy finding the minor infractions of life. They had forgotten the purpose that God had given us the law. Not to condemn but to lift up. God’s didn’t want us to fail, He wants us to succeed and in order to do that we must take hold of each commandment filled with the love of God. The Law of God was written from a heart of love, God’s heart, and to keep those commandments we must respond to them with the same heart. That is why outside of Christ it is impossible to keep the Law.
Many today are striving in their own strength to please God, believing that their labor will somehow endear them to a holy God. They will spend their night in futility trying to attain that which can only be received as a free gift. God’s love is given to each of us freely. When we receive that love and allow it to become the catalyst for every action we can finally begin to walk in understanding, knowing the heart of God.
Oh, for those that need closure, my Training Officer and I lost the competition but to this day I still know what a 4000a CVC violation is.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Hanging the Commandments
Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Like a hook anchored to the wall which holds all the books of the law this command often goes without much notice. The hook is not pondered or given much thought it just does its job and remains firmly entrenched, never moving, always in place. The men who came to Jesus had become obsessed with the Decalogue. They studied them, meditated on them, created traditions and laws around them without ever paying attention to what held them in place. We are often guilty of this type of thinking.
Today is my Mother’s birthday. Her care for me has always been sacrificial. I didn’t always know it or pay much attention to the time she invested in my life. Children seem to take their parents for granted. Mom’s are suppose to cook, clean, wake you up, buy your clothes, help with your homework, teach you how to dress, comb your hair, drive you where you want to go, give you money, and always be there to talk to. But why? Why do they take such care? Why does a young woman allow her body to go through such changes and pain to bring a child into the world? Why does she lay down her life so that child can learn how to survive and thrive? I know that everything my Mother did for her children flowed from her heart. With all of her heart, soul and mind Mom cared for all seven of her children. I don’t think she considered it a sacrifice. She never had to “work up” the love that she showed to us. She never had to be convinced that it was worth it. She didn’t go to seminars on how to be a better mom or how to lay down her life for her family. She just did it because she loved us.
Living for God is like that. Someone is not going to teach you how to keep the commandments. They are not going to give you a twelve step guide to being a successful Christian. True obedience must flow from the heart. When we love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind we will simply follow Him. Our obedience will come natural and our praise will flow from our innermost being. With a heart of compassion we will seek God and desire to know Him. Sacrifices will become joys and labor will become pleasure. Every trial will serve to bring us closer to Jesus and every temptation will only remind us of how much we love Him.
Jesus reminds us in this passage to lift our eyes from what hangs from the hook and make sure that the hook is firmly in place. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Like a hook anchored to the wall which holds all the books of the law this command often goes without much notice. The hook is not pondered or given much thought it just does its job and remains firmly entrenched, never moving, always in place. The men who came to Jesus had become obsessed with the Decalogue. They studied them, meditated on them, created traditions and laws around them without ever paying attention to what held them in place. We are often guilty of this type of thinking.
Today is my Mother’s birthday. Her care for me has always been sacrificial. I didn’t always know it or pay much attention to the time she invested in my life. Children seem to take their parents for granted. Mom’s are suppose to cook, clean, wake you up, buy your clothes, help with your homework, teach you how to dress, comb your hair, drive you where you want to go, give you money, and always be there to talk to. But why? Why do they take such care? Why does a young woman allow her body to go through such changes and pain to bring a child into the world? Why does she lay down her life so that child can learn how to survive and thrive? I know that everything my Mother did for her children flowed from her heart. With all of her heart, soul and mind Mom cared for all seven of her children. I don’t think she considered it a sacrifice. She never had to “work up” the love that she showed to us. She never had to be convinced that it was worth it. She didn’t go to seminars on how to be a better mom or how to lay down her life for her family. She just did it because she loved us.
Living for God is like that. Someone is not going to teach you how to keep the commandments. They are not going to give you a twelve step guide to being a successful Christian. True obedience must flow from the heart. When we love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind we will simply follow Him. Our obedience will come natural and our praise will flow from our innermost being. With a heart of compassion we will seek God and desire to know Him. Sacrifices will become joys and labor will become pleasure. Every trial will serve to bring us closer to Jesus and every temptation will only remind us of how much we love Him.
Jesus reminds us in this passage to lift our eyes from what hangs from the hook and make sure that the hook is firmly in place. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
With All My Heart
Matthew 5:8 (KJV) Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
We often speak of the heart as the center of our love. “I love you with all my heart”, is spoken to those that we cherish greatly. I recall the story of the mother that would pull each of her children aside and tell them “I love you the most. You are my favorite but don’t tell the others they will be upset.” She told each of her five children this and throughout their lives each child believed that they were her favorite and kept the secret faithfully. When the Mother passed away the children were making plans for her funeral service when the youngest told the others that she was her Mother’s favorite, each sibling then shared the many times that they had been told the exact same thing. What a shock! I am sure that in the Mother’s mind she did love every one of her children “with all her heart”. But deep down inside of this loving mother was the knowledge that she could not give all her heart to more than one child. Thus she had them all keep the secret.
We are like that with God. We love Him deeply and want to walk the path’s of this life hand in hand with our Heavenly Father. We want God to love us and abide with us. But there are others, those things that demand our time and become the object of our affection. We bring them into our lives and allow them to possess a part of our heart. When we come to Jesus we compartmentalize our lives placing each “love” into its own secret place. Life has a way of allowing us to accept what we know we shouldn’t and soon those secret places and loves seem normal, just a part of life. Like a man who has two wives, two families, two homes and orders his life so that each doesn’t know about the other. To the rest of us that seems burdensome and peculiar but he has lived with the secret for so long that it seems right. That is until the two families meet.
To have a pure heart, a single eye, requires to be honest about the secret places in our lives. We know that when our two loves meet only one can survive as the “one true love”. Perhaps the road to being pure in heart must start with an abundant dose of honesty. There is an old song that states, “Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid. Your heart does the Spirit control…” The altar is a good place to start in our search for a pure heart but only if we are honest about the things we have kept in our secret place.
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