Tuesday, November 26, 2013

HEARTS EXPOSED




Death and Destruction lie open before the Lord—how much more do human hearts! 
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.
Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.

Proverbs 15:11, 17:3, 21:2, 21:4   

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever considered the power of the heart?

Yes, our brains are considered powerful because they harness our ability to think, reason, and comprehend and they are powerful but just think how many times a person’s ability to think, reason, and comprehend has been affected and altered by the heart, the often dominant source of our feelings.

The heart is the emotional core within us, harnessing the ability to love and hate, to care and be indifferent, to soften or harden us, to be prideful or humble. There’s a reason God placed the heart in a central location within us and it’s not just so it can easily pump life-providing and sustaining blood to our extremities. The heart is the hub, the Grand Central Station, of our emotions and our emotions control so much of what we do and say and think.

With this, it’s little wonder that when we probe the scriptures, we find more references to the Lord looking into the depths of the heart than any other part of our body including the brain. Here are three of those verses of scripture from Proverbs:

Death and Destruction lie open before the Lord—how much more do human hearts! Proverbs 15:11
A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2
Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin. Proverbs 21:4

The scriptures are pretty clear here, right? We all have hearts that lie open before the Lord, exposed to the One who made us. The Lord looks within us and knows every one of our feelings - our feelings for others, our feelings for ourselves, and maybe most important of all, our feelings for Him.

So what does the Lord see as He peers deep into your heart this very moment?

Does He see a loving heart that cares for others as much as he does?

Does He see a committed heart that is humble, submissive, and obedient to Him, His word, and His Spirit?

Does He see a heart hungry and thirsty for His righteousness, eager to live right by carrying out His will and way?

Or does He see a heart that is polluted by sin, a heart that hates or despises, a heart that schemes and plots evil against another, a heart that is self centered and disobedient, a heart that is arrogant and conceited?

Friends, when it comes to our hearts, we can hide nothing. Whatever He sees today as you read this says volumes for what you are before Him. And yes, we are all sinners but He expects that we turn away from sin and allow Him to guide us to righteousness. Our hearts reveal how well we either are or are not doing that.

Now before you start to feel down and hopeless because of the convicting nature of these truths, know that there is good news to share as well today. Because if your heart needs repaired, you have the best heart surgeon who is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to treat you. He’s the same One who has already looked inside you and has seen what needs fixed.

So right now won’t you invite the Lord into your heart and ask Him to fix what is wrong within you? Won’t you turn your heart to Him and never turn away again, allowing Him to always guide the direction of your heart? And with that, won’t you allow Him to show you the way to a new and healthier you, one who always has a heart that loves as He loves, cares as He cares, and serves as He serves?

Yes, our hearts are fully exposed to the Lord but we should never begrudge that. Instead, we should give thanks during this season of thanksgiving.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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