Let’s Learn to Listen!

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17.9

    When was the last time someone said to you, “Just trust your heart?” While that sounds like great advice, Jeremiah reminds us that our heart is deceitful, and desperately wicked. Then he asks, “who can know it?” Why is it so difficult to know our hearts? I suspect it is because we have so much going on in our lives and at any given moment there are several forces tugging at our hearts for control. It would be great if we could make a once-for-all decision and turn control of our hearts over to God, but that is not how it works.

    You and I are so prone to want to take over control on the spur of the moment to do something that we want to do, and it may not be something God wants us to do. In those situations, it is imperative that we allow God’s Holy Spirit to speak to us and give the guidance we need. I’ve said before that God is a gentleman and He is not going to override our wills. So, we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice when He speaks to us with a word of caution or conviction. You might ask, “How will I know it is the Holy Spirit?” Satan will never stop you from “doing your own thing”! The Holy Spirit may whisper to you to wait, or think about it, or bring a verse of Scripture to mind that will give us guidance. It is up to us to respond appropriately. Think about it! Just my thoughts …

A Rejoicing Heart!

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” Psalm 28.7

One of the reasons that I love reading the psalms is that they always seem to speak to me in the area of my life that needs to be strengthened. This verse is no different. David says to us, “The Lord is my strength and my shield … ” What more could I ask for? God gives me strength for whatever my immediate need is and He protects me from things that I may not even know exist or are a threat to me.

How many times have you and I experienced this? “my heart trusted in him, and I am helped … ” When was the last time you put your trust is God and you were not helped? My experience has been “never”. I would think yours has been also. While there are people whom we may have a difficult time trusting, it ought never be difficult to trust God. We are ALWAYS going to be helped when we trust Him. That confidence allows us to keep on trusting Him, no matter what.

As seems typical for David, we find him rejoicing and singing. For a good many years in my ministry I was a worship leader and music has been such a vital part of my public life and ministry. Sometimes I wake up with a song on my heart and I seem to sing it throughout the day. I believe music is the language of the soul. When the soul is joyful, it is so much easier to let a song flow from your lips. Let’s emulate David’s behavior today … find our strength in God, let Him be our shield, allow our hearts to trust in Him, find our help in Him, let ourselves rejoice in Him, and let the music flow as we praise Him. Just my thoughts …

Let’s Do It Right!

“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9.7

Here we are again with another issue involving the heart. In this verse Paul is addressing the matter of giving to one’s church. As you can imagine, during this time when most churches are conducting services online because of the ongoing issues of covid-19, most pastors are deeply concerned over whether or not his church can continue its ministry if there are serious financial restraints. So, when one has purposed in his heart to give, he will do so, whatever method it takes, to see that his responsibility is fulfilled and his church and pastor do not need to be concerned about its normal income. Here are Paul’s words again: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give … ”

Now he addresses the matter of motive in giving. There are probably some Christ-followers who give because “it is my duty.” While it is our duty, there must be more to my giving than merely duty. Why? God does not want me to give “grudgingly … ” If I begrudge God every penny I give, but do it out of fear, there is no joy. I remember when I was fresh out of college and working in my first church, one of our members was absent on a certain Sunday. When I mentioned it to one of the members, his response was, “Oh, he’s over at the hospital having his tithe taken out.” That may have been a joke, but you get the point.

Here is the key phrase in this verse: “ … God loveth a cheerful giver.” What would it be like in your church this next Sunday, if when the pastor said, “Let’s take the offering,” everyone broke out in applause? Let there be great joy for each one of us when we have opportunity to give to the ministry of our local church, whether we do so electronically or in person. Just my thoughts …

See God? Sure!

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5.8

We seem to be talking quite a bit about the heart lately. Must be a God-thing. This verse quoted above is quite profound. Let’s examine it.

“Blessed are the pure in heart … ” What does it mean to be pure in heart? Seems like a logical question. But do we really want to pursue it? It seems we must IF we want to see God. So, HOW do we maintain a pure heart? I believe Paul addresses this in Philippians 4.6-7: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” If you think I use these verses a lot, you are right. The reason I use these verses a lot is because they address one of the major issues we face in our daily walk with God. That issue is, “How do I keep my heart and mind pure?”  The simple answer is worry about nothing and pray about everything. In return, God promises that His peace will keep (guard) our hearts and minds. THAT is how we maintain a pure heart.

“ … for they shall see God.” How does being pure in heart make it possible for us to see God? If my heart is pure, the things of this world do not block my view of God. I am able to see God in every circumstance in my life. When I am unable to see God at work in every arena of my life, SOMETHING is blocking my view of Him – something in my heart. So, let’s determine to have a pure heart all the time so we can see God at work all the time. Just my thoughts …

Clean Heart – Right Spirit!

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51.10

Most of us know the setting for this psalm. If you don’t, let me give a short background. David had sinned with Bathsheba and Nathan the prophet had confronted him with his sin. This psalm is David’s response to God as a result of his sin.

The first thing David does in v. 1 is to ask God for His mercy. Then in v. 2 he asks for God to wash Him and cleanse him. Then in vs. 3-4 he acknowledges his sin and his sin was directly against God. All of these are important steps in David’s repentance. Here in v. 10 David is establishing a very important truth. He is asking for God to create a CLEAN heart within him, not a NEW heart. David is not praying as one who was once God’s child, who was expelled from God’s family because of his sin, and is now asking to come back into God’s family. He is praying as one whose FELLOWSHIP with God was broken, not his RELATIONSHIP with God. That is an important truth for us to understand. Whatever you want to call it, once we are in God’s family, there is no way out.

Then David prays: “ … renew a right spirit within me.” Why is this important? Our spirit is that part of us that makes decisions of a life-changing nature. David had allowed his spirit to take him down a wrong path that included adultery and murder. He doesn’t want to ever take that path again. So, he cries out for God to “ … renew a right spirit within me.” Should we ever find ourselves in such a desolate place, we need to emulate David’s cry to God. He WILL hear us as He did His son, David. Just my thoughts …

Seeking God?

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29.13

If I were a guessing man, I would guess there are a lot of people who are “seeking” God right now and they have ONE question they want Him to answer: Why? Why this covid-19 thing?” If you were God, what would you say? I don’t know what I would say. But I want to look at this from a little different perspective.

Jeremiah’s words from God to God’s people are this: “ye shall seek me, and find me, when …” First, let me ask, “Is there a craving in your heart for God? If there is, what created that craving? Was it a NEED you have, or is it a deep, deep love for the One who loves you deeply? God is saying, “I am here. Come seeking me.” How many days do we go through and NEVER think about God or our need for Him and then when we stumble or hit a brick wall, we cry out, “Where are you God?” If we had been walking with Him in close fellowship, we would KNOW where He is.

This last phrase is critical: “… when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Is our seeking God just to take care of a sudden and/or immediate need, or is it the cry of a longing heart for sweet fellowship with the “God Who is there, Who is not silent!” (Francis Schaffer)? When we seek God with all our heart, our motive is the one God wants. We are doing this because we need Him and He wants us. And that is as it should be. Just my thoughts …

What’s In There?

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6.45

Have you ever said to someone, “Where did THAT come from?” Maybe they just said something that shocked you completely. The answer is, it came from their heart. Matthew 12.34 says, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

It seems that Jesus is emphasizing here the difference between “a good man” and “an evil man”. I don’t think anyone reading this wants to be characterized as an evil man. Since we know it is true that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”, it is vitally important that we guard what we put into our hearts. I don’t want to make a list, but how often do we listen to things we shouldn’t, or watch things we shouldn’t, or read things we shouldn’t? Those things all contribute to what we put into our hearts. Paul tells the Philippian church in 4.7: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” God’s peace comes from the knowledge of God’s presence. God’s presence is reinforced as we take the time to read His Word on a regular basis. So, let’s determine as His children that we will do whatever is necessary in our lives to maintain a pure heart, so that whatever comes out of our hearts will glorify our Heavenly Father. Just my thoughts …

The Word Works!

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4.12

What does the phrase, “For the word of God is quick … ” mean to us?  Do we really realize that we have the Living Word in our hands? When we compare John 1.1 with this verse, we begin to realize that Jesus is the living Word and we also hold the Word of God in our hands and it too is alive. One translation states: “For the word of God is living … ” So, when God speaks to us through His Word, those words are alive.

Not only is the Word alive, it is also powerful. HOW is it powerful? It has the ability to help us see the sin in our lives and the behavior that we need to change, and to give us the strength we need to change those things that are out of order with God. That is REAL power. This next phrase should catch our attention: “ … sharper than any twoedged sword … ” A two-edged sword cuts, no matter which direction it moves. When you and I release the Word of God to do its work in our lives, it can and will accomplish everything God intended. That requires a two-edged sword.

“ … piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow …” The Word of God will pierce to the inner most part of our spiritual being and help us discern what changes may need to occur. This is one value we find in reading the Word of God regularly. We give the Word the opportunity to reveal what needs to change. Finally, the Word “ … is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” We already know that we cannot hide anything from God. His Word helps US to know what is buried deep in our hearts and needs to be confessed, changed, or whatever action the Spirit shows us. Just my thoughts …

But It SEEMED OK! Really?

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.” Proverbs 21.2

Every hear someone say, “It seemed like the right thing to do”? I’m sure I have said that more than once in my life. All of us make decisions from time to time based on what seems right to us at the time. Solomon says to us: “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes … ” Remember that Solomon is called a wise man. He asked the Lord for wisdom to lead his people well and the Lord answered his prayer and gave him both wisdom and riches. Did he always make wise decisions? When you read about his life, you discover that he married some idol worshipping wives and they turned his heart away from God. Those were not wise decisions. But overall, his life was characterized by his wisdom.

This second phrase is important for us: “but the Lord pondereth the hearts.” One translation says the Lord “weighs” the hearts. It is with the heart that we make intense, life-changing decisions. You know you’ve said, “My heart tells me to …” and that is the way you decide. So, since God is going to “weigh” our heart, that means He is going to look carefully at what we are holding in our hearts. At times, we hold onto things that we ought to release. The realization that God is weighing our heart ought to cause us to consider guard our heart and reflect on what the Lord wants to be there. What is important is not what seems right to us, but what we know is right in God’s sight. Just my thoughts …

He’s Really Coming!

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. ³ And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3.2-3

“ … when he shall appear … ” If I asked you, “When is Jesus coming back?”, you would probably answer, “Nobody knows the answer to that question.” And you would be right. Only the Father knows. Since none of us know when He is coming back, could He come back today? Yes He could! Since He could come back today, I wonder how many of us are READY for Him to come back today? I remember when I was a kid, I would be at my aunt’s house and she would tell us kids, “I’m going to town on the bus. When I get home, you better have this house clean.” We did what all kids do. We went on with our playing and didn’t stop to clean the house. All of a sudden one of us heard the bus coming and we all stopped what we were doing and tried to get the house clean before our aunt got off the bus and got in the house. If we had done what we SHOULD have done, we would have cleaned the house immediately so that it didn’t matter when she came home, we were ready.

I wonder how many of us live each day with the idea in the back of our minds that Jesus COULD come today, but He probably won’t so I don’t have to get my heart ready to meet Him right now? The last line of this verse should be an encouragement to us to be mindful of His return: “ … every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Are you living with the HOPE of His return or just the POSSIBILITY of His return? How you are living tells you all you really need to know. Just my thoughts …