August 30, 2009
WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?
In case you missed how important our heart is to God, in this week’s readings He gives us another gentle (and not so gentle) reminder. Listen.
WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?
“Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean… "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? Mark 7:14-15, 18
Can you hear the frustration in Jesus’ voice? Are you so dull? Don’t you get it? It’s not what you do on the outside that matters; it’s what’s in your heart.
WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them”. Deuteronomy 4:9
It’s interesting to note the word “heart” in the original Hebrew (Lebab) meant “interior organ” and to them it referred not just to the physical organ but was the very “center of everything” including the feelings, the will, and the intellect. So, if we were to rephrase this passage using the original meaning it might read “Be careful, watch yourselves closely, do not forget the things you have seen, don’t let them slip from their place as the “center of everything” in your life”. Hmmm, brings a whole new perspective to what God wants doesn’t it?
WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?
What have we seen? What doesn’t God want us to forget? What is it that God want us to keep as our “center of everything?” The Psalms gives us a clue “Your statutes are wonderful; The unfolding of your words gives light; I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands.” Psalm 119:129-131
In a word – THE WORD!!! God want His Word to be the center of everything that we are. WHY? Because God knows how forgetful we are and how arrogant and rebellious we can be. He knows that it is in His Word that we are brought to our knees and reminded again and again of our sinfulness and our desperate need for a Savior. He knows it is in His Word that we are lifted up and reminded again and again of God’s great love for us. He knows that it is in His Word that we see JESUS again and again and the sacrifice He made that paid the price for our sins. And He know that it is in His Word that we find direction for our lives and protection against Satan and his lies “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Ephesians 6:17
WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?
Do you get it? It’s not what we do on the outside that matters, but what’s in our hearts. And when we have Jesus Christ in our heart and spend time with Him every day in His Word, then what we do on the outside will align with what Jesus is doing on the inside.
“Take my heart and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee, take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.” AMEN
Week ending: August 30, 2009
Monday – (Old Testament)
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
READ
Tuesday – Psalm 119:129-136
MARK
Wednesday –(Epistle)
Ephesians 6:10-20
LEARN
Thursday – (Gospel)
Mark 7:14-23
INWARDLY DIGEST
Friday –WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART
Saturday – Share where Jesus has spoken to your heart
Sunday – Go to the WORD to renew your heart
