Examine your heart lest any pride be found!
*The Lord detest the proud; they will surely be punished.* Proverbs 16:5
Pride> conceit, vanity, ego, haughtiness, and self love. Pride leads to rebellion against God.
It was the sin of pride that led Lucifer to rebel against God, resulting in the sin filled, pride dominated world we live in today. Lucifer wanted to be God. He took it to far but, aren't we all a bit like him when we try to do things our own way, without consulting God. Pride is what Satan used in the garden of Eden to tempt Eve . It wasn't the taste of the fruit he used but, he appealed to her pride "you will be like God".
If we do not humble ourselves on our own , then God will humble us. Isaiah 2:17 says *And the pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness will be abased (brought down),and the Lord Himself will be exalted that day! When we become proud, we want to trust in our own wisdom and strength. But, God wants our complete dependance on Him.
As much as God hates pride, He loves the humble.
humble > lowly, meek , modest etc. Numbers 12:3 says* Now Moses was a very humble man- more humble than any other person on the earth.*
Rabbi Hillel said > Take your seat a little below the one due to you, for it is better to be told "Come up," than to be told "Go down". In the scriptures you will find that God himself shows us the example of true humilty. For example: God revealed himself in a bush to teach us that even the most exalted may be found in the lowliest of places.
In Leviticus 23:27b we see that God insists that each person humble themselves before bringing their offering to the altar and receiving forgiveness.* you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord.*. and verse 29 says * If there is any person who does not humble themselves on this same day, they shall be cut off from their people.*
In Deuteronomy 8:2 it says *Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.* It must have been humbling for them to have to depend on God for everything. But, that is what God desires of us all.
In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we read a scripture that has been quoted over and over again many times and many places. But, have we really paid much attention to what words we are actually quoting? We pray constantly for our country to be healed , when just maybe we are missing the key part of that verse. * If my people , which are called by my name, will HUMBLE themselves, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways , then I will hear from heaven and heal their land.* If we expect God to heal our country then we need to humble ourselves before we seek his face .
In Micah 6:8 God shows us very clearly what He desires and expects of us. *He has shown you O man , what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.*
We need to examine our hearts , and make sure there is no pride to be found within it.
Jul 14, 2011
Our hearts, God's heart; are we a man after God's own heart? Part#6
God wants us to have a true and healthy relationship with others and Himself!
If we are in unhealthy relationships then we can not have a healthy relationship with God. Matthew 5:23 says that if you have anything against your brother or he against you then you are to go and fix it right away because you can not have a healthy relationship with Him until you do.
If you are in a relationship that is controlling, mean, abusive (verbally or physically) or only caring about getting your own needs met neglecting the needs of others, then you will become an angry, selfish, loveless, greedy person and God doesn't want that for our lives. If you are the receiver of such a relationship then it will cause you to become , bitter, angry, vengeful, distrusting and these qualities will keep you from gain a healthy insight to the relationship that God wants to have with you. These types of relationship leave no room for God to be a part of your life. If you find that you are one or the other of these cases then you need to say this isn't working , let's see what we can do to fix this. You will need to repent of the wrong relationship , ask the other person and God for forgiveness, then you will need to renew your relationship to a healthy more genuine relationship, and finally you will need to restore your relationship between you , the other person and God to the kind of relationship that God created us to have.God wants us to have healthy, relationships, ones that are built on love, trust, selflessness, honor and respect. This is the kind of relationships that we were created for.
God wants us to accept people and love them as He loves us. When Jesus went to the cross for our sins and salvation did He first ask us to go change who or what we are before He would die for us? No, He loved us right where we are at and died for us anyway. And it is because of this incredibly sacrificial love that we receive salvation and our hearts desire is to do and be all that He desires of us. This is the kind of relationship we were created for.If we can't have a healthy relationship with others then how are we going to have a healthy one with God?
Romans 14:17 says that *The kingdom of heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.* These are the 3 types of relationships that God has created us for:
1) righteousness- The right relationship with God.
2) peace- The right relationship with others.
3) joy- The right relationship with our inner self.
When we have healthy, true relationships with ourselves and others, we will find that our relationship with God will take on a much deeper dimension. In Acts chapter 2 we see how real power came into the church. It was through the relationships of the believers , and it resulted in extra-ordinary growth in the church. We call it REVIVAL!!!
If we are in unhealthy relationships then we can not have a healthy relationship with God. Matthew 5:23 says that if you have anything against your brother or he against you then you are to go and fix it right away because you can not have a healthy relationship with Him until you do.
If you are in a relationship that is controlling, mean, abusive (verbally or physically) or only caring about getting your own needs met neglecting the needs of others, then you will become an angry, selfish, loveless, greedy person and God doesn't want that for our lives. If you are the receiver of such a relationship then it will cause you to become , bitter, angry, vengeful, distrusting and these qualities will keep you from gain a healthy insight to the relationship that God wants to have with you. These types of relationship leave no room for God to be a part of your life. If you find that you are one or the other of these cases then you need to say this isn't working , let's see what we can do to fix this. You will need to repent of the wrong relationship , ask the other person and God for forgiveness, then you will need to renew your relationship to a healthy more genuine relationship, and finally you will need to restore your relationship between you , the other person and God to the kind of relationship that God created us to have.God wants us to have healthy, relationships, ones that are built on love, trust, selflessness, honor and respect. This is the kind of relationships that we were created for.
God wants us to accept people and love them as He loves us. When Jesus went to the cross for our sins and salvation did He first ask us to go change who or what we are before He would die for us? No, He loved us right where we are at and died for us anyway. And it is because of this incredibly sacrificial love that we receive salvation and our hearts desire is to do and be all that He desires of us. This is the kind of relationship we were created for.If we can't have a healthy relationship with others then how are we going to have a healthy one with God?
Romans 14:17 says that *The kingdom of heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.* These are the 3 types of relationships that God has created us for:
1) righteousness- The right relationship with God.
2) peace- The right relationship with others.
3) joy- The right relationship with our inner self.
When we have healthy, true relationships with ourselves and others, we will find that our relationship with God will take on a much deeper dimension. In Acts chapter 2 we see how real power came into the church. It was through the relationships of the believers , and it resulted in extra-ordinary growth in the church. We call it REVIVAL!!!
Jul 13, 2011
Our hearts, God's heart; are we a man after God's own heart? Part#5
We must be in unity with all believers!
Genesis 11:6
*Look, He said, the people are united and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them.*
When we are in unity there is nothing we can not do or accomplish , God said so in His word. This is the very reason that satan's main goal is to cause divisions amongst the body of believers.I believe the same goes for the different churches and faiths, one saying we are of this denomination and another of this one, and yet another saying we are of no denomination we just follow Jesus. We are all of this very same belief in Christ and we all serve the same God so we all need to be in unity instead of allowing satan to cause division and strife amongst us just because of a title our church carries. 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 says it very plainly. *Some say, I am a follower of Paul, while others say, I am a follower of Apollos, and yet others say, I follow Peter, and even then others say, I only follow Christ. Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!*We need to be in unity as one body of believers.
In Psalm 133: 1&3b it says * How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony. And there the Lord has pronounced His blessing even life everlasting.*When we are in unity God pours out bountiful blessings, even more than we could ever imagine or hope for.
In John 17:20-23 we see that Jesus prayed for all to be one with each other just as Jesus was one with God.
*I am praying not only for the disciples but, also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one- as you are in me Father, and I am in you.And may they be in us so that the world will believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me.May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.*
In Acts 2:1 we see that on the day of Pentecost they were all together in unity and then as Peter preached God released the power of the Holy Spirit upon them and 3000 souls were saved and added to the body that very day. Where there is unity among believers there is revival.
If we are to be one in spirit then we must be of the same mind, the same love, and intent on the same goal. We must be in agreement with one another especially concerning spiritual things, and we must have the same love, the love of God. There is no room in the body for division over doctrinal issues. We push non believers away from the church when we all claim to have the answer yet, we all have a different one.
It is unity in God's will that is the key, not unity in man's ideas. God says that real unity comes when we, with the right motivation of heart, unite to achieve His will on earth. That is the desire of God's heart. Only through unity can we come close to reaching the true heart of God.
Genesis 11:6
*Look, He said, the people are united and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them.*
When we are in unity there is nothing we can not do or accomplish , God said so in His word. This is the very reason that satan's main goal is to cause divisions amongst the body of believers.I believe the same goes for the different churches and faiths, one saying we are of this denomination and another of this one, and yet another saying we are of no denomination we just follow Jesus. We are all of this very same belief in Christ and we all serve the same God so we all need to be in unity instead of allowing satan to cause division and strife amongst us just because of a title our church carries. 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 says it very plainly. *Some say, I am a follower of Paul, while others say, I am a follower of Apollos, and yet others say, I follow Peter, and even then others say, I only follow Christ. Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!*We need to be in unity as one body of believers.
In Psalm 133: 1&3b it says * How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony. And there the Lord has pronounced His blessing even life everlasting.*When we are in unity God pours out bountiful blessings, even more than we could ever imagine or hope for.
In John 17:20-23 we see that Jesus prayed for all to be one with each other just as Jesus was one with God.
*I am praying not only for the disciples but, also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one- as you are in me Father, and I am in you.And may they be in us so that the world will believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me.May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.*
In Acts 2:1 we see that on the day of Pentecost they were all together in unity and then as Peter preached God released the power of the Holy Spirit upon them and 3000 souls were saved and added to the body that very day. Where there is unity among believers there is revival.
If we are to be one in spirit then we must be of the same mind, the same love, and intent on the same goal. We must be in agreement with one another especially concerning spiritual things, and we must have the same love, the love of God. There is no room in the body for division over doctrinal issues. We push non believers away from the church when we all claim to have the answer yet, we all have a different one.
It is unity in God's will that is the key, not unity in man's ideas. God says that real unity comes when we, with the right motivation of heart, unite to achieve His will on earth. That is the desire of God's heart. Only through unity can we come close to reaching the true heart of God.
Jul 12, 2011
Our hearts, God's heart; are we a man after God's own heart? Part#4
Part#4 We must be completely sold out to Him!
Luke 14:26
* If you want to be my disciple you must hate everyone else by comparison, your father, your mother, your wife, your children, your brothers and your sisters- yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you can not be my disciple.*
I believe the meaning of this verse here is that compared to our love and devotion and commitment to God , all else must be disposable to us, it must mean nothing to us; and yes that even means our own life.
God wants to move us out of our comfort zones. He wants us to be able to walk away from anything and anyone at anytime when He calls on us. Luke 18: 29-30 says *I assure you that everyone who has given up house, wife, parents ,children, or brothers and sisters for the sake of the kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over and will have eternal life in the world to come.*
Commitment is a decision that we have to make for ourselves individually. And as we do God wants us to count the cost of that commitment. He knows that not everyone will be able to a total commitment to become a true disciple. Here are four things that get in our way of making a total commitment.
1) We aren't willing to give up our security. We have a house, a car , income coming in but, to make a total commitment we would have to be willing to walk away from all that and fully rely on God to provide a place to sleep and transportation and for all our needs.
2) We aren't willing to give up the cares of this world. Our careers, our everyday routine, our habits,
etc.
3) We are not willing to leave our loved ones behind to serve the Lord. ( this does not refer to married couples as God always call couples to minister together.)
4) We are not willing to give up our lifestyle or possibly even our very life for what we believe in.
What is our commitment level? God wants us to count the cost. That doesn't mean if we feel the cost is to high we say 'no way, this is to much' but, instead it means when we see how much commitment we can give we turn to God and say I want to , please help me with the things that I can not.Mark 9:24 is an example of that very thing. * Lord, I do believe, please help me overcome my unbelief.* Jesus will meet you right where you are at, all you have to do is ask.
We must commit ourselves to taking the step even if it seems foolish and off the wall. He is always there ready to help us if we fall short but, we need to take that initial step . We must have this commitment within our own heart in order to reach the Heart of God.
God doesn't want a halfway commitment, He wants all or nothing. When we give Him our all He will give us His all. Revelation 3:15-16 says * I know all things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other. But, since you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth.* The church is full of lukewarm christians who are not committed to anything. Are we one of them or are we totally sold out for God?
A commitment is a decision that says " I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.
Luke 9:62 says * Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.*
In his book Reaching the heart of God , Mac Owen explains commitment like this. It takes commitment to run a race. When we run a race we do not go out wearing extra clothes and heavy boots. We don't carry extra weight if we are out to win. Yet, look at how many times we take the heavy weight of the cares of this world into our race of commitment. We drag along the load of our ideas, prejudices, and unforgiveness. We bring along our judging, our criticizing, and many other weights of sin and we are still trying to run the race that God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1 says * Therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down; especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.*
If we have our heart right with God, it can be joy knowing that we are in His will. We must have a heart transplant because, we can not do it on our own. We have to let God change our hearts but, to gain that we have to be totally sold out committed. A decision that only we can make.
God is asking us today: are you really committed to me? Are you ready and willing to do what ever I ask of you? Are you willing to give up all including your own life to answer my call? God wants us to be sure we count the cost before we say yes, and call on Him if we need help.
Luke 14:26
* If you want to be my disciple you must hate everyone else by comparison, your father, your mother, your wife, your children, your brothers and your sisters- yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you can not be my disciple.*
I believe the meaning of this verse here is that compared to our love and devotion and commitment to God , all else must be disposable to us, it must mean nothing to us; and yes that even means our own life.
God wants to move us out of our comfort zones. He wants us to be able to walk away from anything and anyone at anytime when He calls on us. Luke 18: 29-30 says *I assure you that everyone who has given up house, wife, parents ,children, or brothers and sisters for the sake of the kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over and will have eternal life in the world to come.*
Commitment is a decision that we have to make for ourselves individually. And as we do God wants us to count the cost of that commitment. He knows that not everyone will be able to a total commitment to become a true disciple. Here are four things that get in our way of making a total commitment.
1) We aren't willing to give up our security. We have a house, a car , income coming in but, to make a total commitment we would have to be willing to walk away from all that and fully rely on God to provide a place to sleep and transportation and for all our needs.
2) We aren't willing to give up the cares of this world. Our careers, our everyday routine, our habits,
etc.
3) We are not willing to leave our loved ones behind to serve the Lord. ( this does not refer to married couples as God always call couples to minister together.)
4) We are not willing to give up our lifestyle or possibly even our very life for what we believe in.
What is our commitment level? God wants us to count the cost. That doesn't mean if we feel the cost is to high we say 'no way, this is to much' but, instead it means when we see how much commitment we can give we turn to God and say I want to , please help me with the things that I can not.Mark 9:24 is an example of that very thing. * Lord, I do believe, please help me overcome my unbelief.* Jesus will meet you right where you are at, all you have to do is ask.
We must commit ourselves to taking the step even if it seems foolish and off the wall. He is always there ready to help us if we fall short but, we need to take that initial step . We must have this commitment within our own heart in order to reach the Heart of God.
God doesn't want a halfway commitment, He wants all or nothing. When we give Him our all He will give us His all. Revelation 3:15-16 says * I know all things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other. But, since you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth.* The church is full of lukewarm christians who are not committed to anything. Are we one of them or are we totally sold out for God?
A commitment is a decision that says " I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.
Luke 9:62 says * Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.*
In his book Reaching the heart of God , Mac Owen explains commitment like this. It takes commitment to run a race. When we run a race we do not go out wearing extra clothes and heavy boots. We don't carry extra weight if we are out to win. Yet, look at how many times we take the heavy weight of the cares of this world into our race of commitment. We drag along the load of our ideas, prejudices, and unforgiveness. We bring along our judging, our criticizing, and many other weights of sin and we are still trying to run the race that God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1 says * Therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down; especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.*
If we have our heart right with God, it can be joy knowing that we are in His will. We must have a heart transplant because, we can not do it on our own. We have to let God change our hearts but, to gain that we have to be totally sold out committed. A decision that only we can make.
God is asking us today: are you really committed to me? Are you ready and willing to do what ever I ask of you? Are you willing to give up all including your own life to answer my call? God wants us to be sure we count the cost before we say yes, and call on Him if we need help.
Jul 11, 2011
Our hearts, God's heart; are we a man after God's own heart? Part#3
We need to have a healthy fear of God!
Psalm 2:11
*Serve the Lord with reverent fear , and rejoice with trembling.*
There is more than one meaning of the word fear. Fear is commonly defines as terror, anxiety, panic, etc. but, there is also the definition of a reverential awes of someone or something.
Some people think that God is standing over us with a big mallet ready to squash us like bugs if we mess up at all but, that's not the healthy fear that God wants us to have for Him. He wants us to reverence Him and be awed by His Holiness.
The fear of God leads to obedience not because we have to but, because we want to. God wants us to come to Him with the right motive in our hearts. And that would be because we love Him so much that we desire never to be away from Him, especially due to sin in our lives.
God is after our hearts, He wants our hearts to have the deep respect and knowledge of who He is. Proverbs 1:7 says * The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge*. Proverbs 9:10 says * The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.* Wisdom is the ability to use the knowledge that we have in the right way. All the knowledge in the world is of no use to us if we don't know how to use it properly. Proverbs 14:26 says that in the fear of the Lord we have protection. So we can see that through the fear of the Lord we gain the knowledge and the wisdom to receive the protection of the Lord.
The Lord promises us so much through out the entire bible if we have a healthy fear ( or if we have a healthy reverence ) of Him.
In Psalm 25:14 it tells us that if we have a healthy fear of the Lord that He will reveal the secrets of His heart to us. Oh how I want to know the heart of God. To have my heart connected with the heart of God is such an awesome thing. Well how do we receive the fear of God? The most understandable way I have read it so far is written by Mac Owen author of the book: Reaching the heart of God. He says in it> No one can pray and lay hands on you to receive the fear of the Lord. It is something that we have to choose for ourselves.You have to come before Him and make a commitment to fear Him. God made man with a free will and He wants for us to choose to fear Him.
God only wants our best , our purest, not our leftovers. And He wants all of us He doesn't want to share that reverence from us with anyone or anything else. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says *dear friends , let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.*
So in my conclusion of this subject we see that : God is not a slave master standing over us ready to squash us if we mess up, and He is not some terrifying creature who will devour us for making a mistake. But, He wants us to have a healthy fear of Him. One of awe and reverence. One that is our best and purest to give.
He has so many promises and blessings that He wants to give us, All is asks of us is a healthy fear of Him.
Psalm 2:11
*Serve the Lord with reverent fear , and rejoice with trembling.*
There is more than one meaning of the word fear. Fear is commonly defines as terror, anxiety, panic, etc. but, there is also the definition of a reverential awes of someone or something.
Some people think that God is standing over us with a big mallet ready to squash us like bugs if we mess up at all but, that's not the healthy fear that God wants us to have for Him. He wants us to reverence Him and be awed by His Holiness.
The fear of God leads to obedience not because we have to but, because we want to. God wants us to come to Him with the right motive in our hearts. And that would be because we love Him so much that we desire never to be away from Him, especially due to sin in our lives.
God is after our hearts, He wants our hearts to have the deep respect and knowledge of who He is. Proverbs 1:7 says * The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge*. Proverbs 9:10 says * The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.* Wisdom is the ability to use the knowledge that we have in the right way. All the knowledge in the world is of no use to us if we don't know how to use it properly. Proverbs 14:26 says that in the fear of the Lord we have protection. So we can see that through the fear of the Lord we gain the knowledge and the wisdom to receive the protection of the Lord.
The Lord promises us so much through out the entire bible if we have a healthy fear ( or if we have a healthy reverence ) of Him.
In Psalm 25:14 it tells us that if we have a healthy fear of the Lord that He will reveal the secrets of His heart to us. Oh how I want to know the heart of God. To have my heart connected with the heart of God is such an awesome thing. Well how do we receive the fear of God? The most understandable way I have read it so far is written by Mac Owen author of the book: Reaching the heart of God. He says in it> No one can pray and lay hands on you to receive the fear of the Lord. It is something that we have to choose for ourselves.You have to come before Him and make a commitment to fear Him. God made man with a free will and He wants for us to choose to fear Him.
God only wants our best , our purest, not our leftovers. And He wants all of us He doesn't want to share that reverence from us with anyone or anything else. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says *dear friends , let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.*
So in my conclusion of this subject we see that : God is not a slave master standing over us ready to squash us if we mess up, and He is not some terrifying creature who will devour us for making a mistake. But, He wants us to have a healthy fear of Him. One of awe and reverence. One that is our best and purest to give.
He has so many promises and blessings that He wants to give us, All is asks of us is a healthy fear of Him.
Jul 9, 2011
Our hearts, God's heart; are we a man after God's own heart? Part#2
Do we have the right motivation?
2 Chronicles 16:9
* For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.*
Even though we are to seek God this scripture tells us that when our hearts are right He will also seek us. Matthew 5:48 says * Be perfect , therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.* In this I believe He is not talking about being perfect in actions but, in attitudes. We as humans are going to mess up now and then but, God looks at the motivations of our heart.
Look at Abraham, there were several times mentioned that he really messed up but, God saw the motivations of his heart and made him father to the nation that He loved so dearly. Take a look at David, and Peter and how about Paul. David was an adulterer and took part in a murder, But, it was David who He said was a man after His own heart and chose David's lineage to be the lineage of Jesus. And Peter though he denied Jesus 3 times, God chose him to preach the first sermon on Pentecost day and brought over 3000 souls to Christ. And Paul who persecuted, imprisoned , and took part in the deaths of many christians but, God chose to use him to lead the gentiles into a relationship with Christ. It wasn't because of their actions or who they were , it was because God saw their heart.
God wants a pure heart. Matthew 5:8 says * God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.* So what part of our heart does God want ? God wants our spiritual heart. Our spiritual heart is : our complete inner nature, the part of us that controls our beliefs and our behavior. These are 9 things that make up the spiritual heart. 1) Conscience 2) Courage 3)Desire and affections 4) Emotions 5) Inner man 6) Place of faith 7) Standing with God 8) Thoughts 9) Will . It is a place that only God can fill. We may make a mistake now and then but, if our hearts are right, we will be pleasing to God.
God wants our motives to be right. Test your motives and make sure everything that you do for God that you do because you love Him not for the recognition from others. The bible says that if we don't test our heart that God will. Psalm81:12, Proverbs 17:3, 1 Samuel 16:7
In Proverbs 6:16-19 it tells of 6 things that God hates and if you read them you'll notice they all are sins of the heart. We need a heart transplant. To gain the right motivation of heart we need to ask Jesus into our hearts; if our heart is indwelt by His heart then we will have found the true heart of God.
God wants an honest heart. God wants our thought life to be pure. Psalm 19:14 says * May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight.*
God's word in our head won't do us a lot of good, but, God's word in our hearts will be our protection. God is more motivated by what we are than what we do.
Hebrews 4:12 says that * For the word of God is living and active, sharper than a double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.* How do we know the motivations of our heart? Judge it from the word of God. That is the only standard to hold it up to.
2 Chronicles 16:9
* For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.*
Even though we are to seek God this scripture tells us that when our hearts are right He will also seek us. Matthew 5:48 says * Be perfect , therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.* In this I believe He is not talking about being perfect in actions but, in attitudes. We as humans are going to mess up now and then but, God looks at the motivations of our heart.
Look at Abraham, there were several times mentioned that he really messed up but, God saw the motivations of his heart and made him father to the nation that He loved so dearly. Take a look at David, and Peter and how about Paul. David was an adulterer and took part in a murder, But, it was David who He said was a man after His own heart and chose David's lineage to be the lineage of Jesus. And Peter though he denied Jesus 3 times, God chose him to preach the first sermon on Pentecost day and brought over 3000 souls to Christ. And Paul who persecuted, imprisoned , and took part in the deaths of many christians but, God chose to use him to lead the gentiles into a relationship with Christ. It wasn't because of their actions or who they were , it was because God saw their heart.
God wants a pure heart. Matthew 5:8 says * God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.* So what part of our heart does God want ? God wants our spiritual heart. Our spiritual heart is : our complete inner nature, the part of us that controls our beliefs and our behavior. These are 9 things that make up the spiritual heart. 1) Conscience 2) Courage 3)Desire and affections 4) Emotions 5) Inner man 6) Place of faith 7) Standing with God 8) Thoughts 9) Will . It is a place that only God can fill. We may make a mistake now and then but, if our hearts are right, we will be pleasing to God.
God wants our motives to be right. Test your motives and make sure everything that you do for God that you do because you love Him not for the recognition from others. The bible says that if we don't test our heart that God will. Psalm81:12, Proverbs 17:3, 1 Samuel 16:7
In Proverbs 6:16-19 it tells of 6 things that God hates and if you read them you'll notice they all are sins of the heart. We need a heart transplant. To gain the right motivation of heart we need to ask Jesus into our hearts; if our heart is indwelt by His heart then we will have found the true heart of God.
God wants an honest heart. God wants our thought life to be pure. Psalm 19:14 says * May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight.*
God's word in our head won't do us a lot of good, but, God's word in our hearts will be our protection. God is more motivated by what we are than what we do.
Hebrews 4:12 says that * For the word of God is living and active, sharper than a double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.* How do we know the motivations of our heart? Judge it from the word of God. That is the only standard to hold it up to.
Jul 8, 2011
Our heart, God's heart; are we a man after God's own heart? Part 1
First of all I want to clarify my use of the term *man*. When I use this I am not being gender specific, I am referring to mankind. I know that some will think I should be politically correct and use the term *person* but, I believe that this is the way that God has given me this message this is the way I will use it. All scripture used in these blogs will be from the NASB (New American Standard Bible).
Part #1> The Heart of God!
1 Samuel 13:14b
*the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart* The bible states that David was *a man after God's own heart. Acts 13:22b* Does God have a heart? Of course He does. In Genesis 6:5-6 it states *The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on earth and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry He had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke His heart. It is only possible to break a heart if you have one to be broken. Therefore God has a heart.
God created man in His own image but, He gave man freewill. He didn't want robots . God knew that we would mess up from time to time but, he wanted us to love him enough to repent when we do so, he wanted us to want to please Him of our own freewill.
God wants to have a true heart to heart relationship with us. And when we get to the point where we don't have to ask what God wants or seek it out in the bible because we know what God wants then our hearts will be in perfect alignment with His.
We can hide whats in our hearts from other people but, God knows our thoughts, our intentions, our very heart. Psalm 44:21 says * God would surely have known it, for He knows the secrets of every heart.* God wants us to be willing to risk everything we have, even our own lives, for Him; just because we love Him.
Quoted from the book ( Reaching the heart of God; the key to revival by: Mac Owen) he says, If we are to serve God, bring pleasure to Him, we must have a changed heart. It must become our natural desire to choose that which is pleasing to God.
Change my heart O God, make it ever true; Change my heart O God, may it be like you!!!!!
Part #1> The Heart of God!
1 Samuel 13:14b
*the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart* The bible states that David was *a man after God's own heart. Acts 13:22b* Does God have a heart? Of course He does. In Genesis 6:5-6 it states *The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on earth and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry He had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke His heart. It is only possible to break a heart if you have one to be broken. Therefore God has a heart.
God created man in His own image but, He gave man freewill. He didn't want robots . God knew that we would mess up from time to time but, he wanted us to love him enough to repent when we do so, he wanted us to want to please Him of our own freewill.
God wants to have a true heart to heart relationship with us. And when we get to the point where we don't have to ask what God wants or seek it out in the bible because we know what God wants then our hearts will be in perfect alignment with His.
We can hide whats in our hearts from other people but, God knows our thoughts, our intentions, our very heart. Psalm 44:21 says * God would surely have known it, for He knows the secrets of every heart.* God wants us to be willing to risk everything we have, even our own lives, for Him; just because we love Him.
Quoted from the book ( Reaching the heart of God; the key to revival by: Mac Owen) he says, If we are to serve God, bring pleasure to Him, we must have a changed heart. It must become our natural desire to choose that which is pleasing to God.
Change my heart O God, make it ever true; Change my heart O God, may it be like you!!!!!
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