The Lord Looks On The Heart

 

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

Psalm 139:23,24

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 119:80

Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, That I may not be ashamed.

    The heart of mankind is naturally deceitful, even deceiving itself. For the eyes look upon what a person wants, desires even, and sets in motion the steps required to attain the thing that is sought after; at times without even thinking of the consequences. 

    But the heart that has given itself to God has won the struggle for survival: it has chosen eternal life and everything else that God has promised to His faithful followers. However the opposite is also true: those whose hearts are against God and God's Word have opted for eternal death and every curse God has promised to the wicked heart. 

    A heart that is focused on self-serving desires instead of God-serving desires will not be able to obtain that which is needed most to survive: God-given forgiveness for sins. The self sees only the immediate and demands immediate gratification. But the person who has surrendered their will to God's will has chosen the better way: the way to Grace, Mercy, Peace, Hope, Sustainability. 

    A heart that beats for Jesus collaborates with its Savior. He is, after all, working all things together for my good. All things: the good that happens in life, the tragic that happens in life, the awful that happens in life = God uses all these to make me a better person with a strong testimony that I might be a faithful witness and lift JESUS up for all the world to see. 

    A heart that beats for Jesus beats in unison. For Christ is in me and I am in Him. He is mine and I am His. When The Father says, "Go", we go. When The Father says, "Stop", we stop. When The Father speaks, we hear His voice, listen to His words and obey His instructions. As you know, "Faith comes by hearing, hearing by The Word of God" [Romans 10:17]. 

    A heart that is broken for God is mended by God in God's time according to God's Ways. This heart is surrendered to God and longs to be near to Him. So close that His breath is in my ear and His Spirit is visible and His Son is by my side. Oh, how the believer's heart yearns to be in God's eternal presence! 

    Come and go with me. Walk with me as I walk with Jesus. Let us walk in God's Word together. The journey is nearly over, the race is nearly finished. Soon, the faithful servants shall hear their Father say to them, "Well done, My good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of The Lord." [Matthew 25:21]. 

    We can't see inside each other's hearts. But God knows who are His and who are not. However, we can see each other's actions. If you say you are a Christian, then you should be Christ-like. That's what being Christian means: the believer lives in Christ. He is our Promised Land, our everything good that comes for God residence. When the term 'Christian' was first used, it was an epithet, an insult. But it was received as an acknowledgement of the change which Christ had wrought in the hearts of those who believe Him and received Him. Being called Christian was a reason to rejoice then and now. 

    I am a Christian. I live in Christ. And He lives in me. Can you see the changes God has wrought in me? 

    MAGNIFY - We Are Messengers

YOUR LOVE NEVER FAILS - Jesus Culture 

MY PORTION - Isla Vista Worship 

MY SOUL LONGS FOR YOU - Jesus Culture

Put Away Your Sword, Peter

 As "Christian" rises against "Christian" in our day and age, I am reminded of the verses in John 18:10-11, where Peter draws his dagger out and slices off the ear of the high priest's servant, but Jesus gently tells him to put his sword away. 

"Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"

We are not to rise up against those who come against us with the weapons of this world, but with the Sword of the Lord: the Word of God. Hate is not our weapon, Love is. Darkness surrounds us, but the Light of God's Love, Jesus Christ, is to shine out from each Christian into the darkness, piercing it, causing the darkness, the hate, to flee from the presence of the Light. 

Let us be that Christian, the Christ-follower, who allows Christ Jesus to lead.

Life & Health

The Anatomy of Being A Christian

Proverbs 4:21, 22

"Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thy heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."

As we can read here, The Word of God belongs in our hearts. The Word of God is life to all that find. The Word of God is health to all the body. Remember John 1:1 tells us that The Word of God is real and alive and for ever: "In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God". And when we scan further to John 14:1 "And The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of The Father), full of grace and truth".

And who is the only begotten of The Father? John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 1:29 "The next day John sees Jesus coming unto him, and said, 'Behold, The Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world."

The Word of God is Jesus Christ and He belongs in our hearts. When The Word of God is living in our hearts, we are made whole, perfect, complete: 1 John 2:5 "But whoso keeps His Word, in him verily (truly) is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him." Psalm 119:11 "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

The heart of a Christian is the home of The Word of God. As the heart beats in our natural bodies, pumping blood through it and into our veins, feeding strength and life to our natural bodies, so, too does The Word of God work in our spiritual bodies. The blood which flowed from the slain Lamb of God washes away the sins committed by the natural body. It is in believing this that our heart is cleansed and made free from the bondages of sin. Sin kills; Jesus saves.

Reading in Acts 1:8, 9, we see that Jesus went back to His Father in heaven, but first left us a promise of a coming Comforter, who would give us power to witness (testify on Christ's behalf). And that Comforter is The Holy Ghost, aka The Holy Spirit. He is known by both names but they mean the same thing: Spirit of God. It is The Holy Spirit who leads us into and through The Word of God which gives us strength to live the life God wants us to live in Him.

                                                                                        

Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you."

Psalm 34:4 "I sought The Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from my fears."

Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

What is the first thing that The Holy Spirit does? He leads us to Jesus and reveals Who Jesus Christ Is. When we go to God's Word and look for directions, it is The Holy Spirit who guides our hearts and our minds to seek out The Truth of God's Word; setting the decision before us: do we believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and that He died on the cross for us and rose from the dead, thereby washing away our sins and giving us eternal life? It is our decision to make. And it is the most important decision we could ever make: it affects not only our life here, but eternity after we die. What is your decision?

This Love Prays For You

    

      Whether the leaders of your country are Christians or not, you and I are to pray for those in authority over us, even if we did not choose them to be our leaders. 

     It is God who sets up kings and rulers. And it is God who commands His people to pray for them. But what specifically should we pray about? 1 Timothy 2:1-4 tells us that first of all we are to pray for each other. We are to intercede with God on each other's behalf. You pray for me. I pray for you. We are to give thanks to God for each other; for 'all men'. This is God's will for us when we pray.
     We pray for our leaders, for they who are in authority places. Why? 1 Timothy 2:2 "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty". So, if the life we are living in our countries is not peaceable and quiet, and we are not living our lives in godliness and honesty, it is because we are not praying to God for leaders and rulers. It is because of the negligence in our individual responsibility to God that chaos is in our nations. Ignoring God will only bring retribution from God, for God's wrath is for those who disobey His Word and refuse to repent of their wicked ways.
     What are wicked ways? Sin is deliberately, knowingly disobeying God. Wicked ways are rebellion against God's Word and God's Way and God's Will. When you insist on doing what you want to do and refuse to do what God wants you to do, you are sinning against God. God has said in His Word what it means to obey Him and the rewards for those who do. But also He has given to us what it means to disobey Him and the punishment for those who disobey. 

     A hardened heart is one that refuses to listen and obey to God's Word. Yet, God is merciful and His lovingkindness extends to 'a thousand generations'. He shows mercy to those who seek His mercy. He offers salvation to those who desire to be blessed with His salvation. A hardened heart turns his or her back on God and walks according to their own way and will, instead of surrendering their hearts to God's way and God's will. 

See, in 1 Timothy 2:4, we are reminded what God's will is: FOR ALL TO BE SAVED. FOR ALL TO COME TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH. Who can save us? Jesus Christ. John 3:16 and 17 " For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever (you and I) believes on Him, should not perish but have ever lasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
     God's will is for all to be saved. But how will the wicked know the salvation of The Lord God unless God's people pray and intercede on their behalf? How will they hear unless God's people go and preach the gospel? How will you believe unless you are given the opportunity to know this Jesus?
I am one of God's people. And you are being prayed for. You are being given the opportunity of a lifetime and beyond. You are loved. And it is this love that desires to see you saved with the grace of God through Jesus Christ. It is this love of God that sent Jesus to die on the cross. It is this love of God that rolled away the stone from the grave with such force that it scared they who watched over that grave. It is this love that brought salvation to us. It is this love, this love, that brings us to our knees in prayer: praying for each other and for our nations to be healed. 

Our God

Our God is greater. Greater than any of our weaknesses. God is greater than any addiction, any hold that the devil has on a person. God is greater than any power you believe you have, or believe someone else has over you. God is all powerful. His strength, His love, His faithfulness, His grace, His mercy, His righteousness is above all. Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.

Our God is stronger. Stronger than any superhero, able to be in more than two places at the same time, and still aid us in our troubles and struggles. God's strength is supreme. His love never fails: that's strong love. His mercy endures forever: that's strong mercy. His lovingkindness is to all generations: that's strong lovingkindness. His grace covers all sins: that's strong grace. His righteousness is upon all believers: that's strong righteousness. He never leaves us, nor forsakes us: that's strong nearness. Time is not a restraint over God; He is every where at the same time, any time. 

Our God is higher. Higher than any other god you acknowledge or worship or bow your head to or put first in your life. God is a jealous God and desires all of your love to be given to Him. The first commandment on the list is just that: “You shall have no other gods before Me”. And the second declares that no graven images, no statues of anything in heaven, in earth or beneath the earth, shall be made and worshiped. There is no god like our God. There is none like Him. God is to be loved with all of our hearts, all of our soul and all of our mind. His thoughts are higher and greater than ours, and He knows what we are thinking; He knows when our minds are not on Him, when our hearts are not right in Him. God is God and there is no other god.

The Word of God was placed in Mary's womb via The Holy Spirit resting upon her. The Word of God became flesh, a small baby boy born in a stable, whose birth was foretold by the prophets hundreds of years before He was born. The Word of God is God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Our God did that.

 His birth was foretold, His death was foretold, His resurrection was foretold. And, also, His journeys to this earth have been foretold. Now, it has been several hundred years since He was here. As the disbelief was then, it is greater now and the world is more evil. The next time He returns to this world will be to remove His Bride and The Holy Spirit, until such time as He returns and destroys the wickedness upon the face of the earth. Our God will do this.

Our God is greater, stronger and higher than any thing you hold onto in your beliefs, your faiths. Our God is The God of The Holy Bible. He is The God of The Old Testament, the old covenant under which men lived and righteousness was difficult to obtain, but still worth reaching. He is The God of The New Testament, the new covenant of grace under which we now live, but must first come to God and acknowledge that God Is and that Jesus Christ is His only Begotten Son, Who died on the cross, rose from the dead and is ascended into heaven, where He is seated at God's right hand, interceding on behalf of His people.

But not every person is God's people. Not every one who says, “I am a Christian” is a Christian. Those who follow other gods are not God's people. Those who participate in other religious ceremonies and rituals, honoring other gods, idols, are not God's people. God's people are those who believe God's Word. And what do we know now about God's Word? God's Word is Jesus Christ. If you do not believe Jesus Christ is God's Son and that He died for you and walked out of the grave for you, then you are not a Christian and you do not belong to God. 

Therefore, if you are not God's children, God's people, then you are not under God's umbrella of grace and mercy and lovingkindness. You are outside of God's realm. You need to be inside with God as your God and your King. All those who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord before they die, will never live with God in His home.

I do not want you to be outside God's realm of glory. I want you to know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. I want you to be with me and my God in heaven after this life is over. But wanting you to be with me is not enough. You have to want Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You have to want to be loved by Him and love Him in return. You have to decide now before it's too late and the decision is moot. Once we die there is no coming back to change your mind.

I share God and Jesus with you because I love you. I love you so much, I don't want you to die without Him. When you choose Jesus Christ as Lord of your life and Savior of your soul, you are choosing an eternal relationship with God's only begotten Son, not a religion. The Bible says that true religion is to take care of the widows and the fatherless. Making sure your heart and your soul are right with God is not religion, it's relationship. 

A strong relationship requires spending time in that person's presence and sharing your thoughts and heart with that person. In this case, the person is Jesus Christ. Real Christians spend so much time with their Lord and Savior, that Jesus can be seen in their faces, their eyes, their actions and heard in their words. Christians are people who are Christ-like in their behavior and lifestyles. Christians love to go to church. Christians study their Bible every day and apply what they read to their lives. Christians joyfully give of their time, themselves and their finances. Christians share. Christians love. Christians get stronger every time they read and apply God's Word to their lives, to our lives. 

God is able to overcome whatever it is that is holding you back from believing in His Word. Nothing is greater or stronger or higher than our God. Great is His Name, and greatly to be praise is He.