Heart Smart

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”  Matthew 6:19-21

One of my challenges as a Christian is taking God’s word too literally.  I am not here saying that what is written is not true nor that it should not be followed.  What I am saying is that we must always be careful not to take the words of God outside of their context and be prudent to discern its intent.  Here is an example.  This past week, my pastor used this verse:

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9 NLT

Now in reading it, one might appear to believe that the heart is a bad thing, and thus, we must be ‘head smart’ whenever we are following God’s word.  Now I am not questioning the pastor’s use of this verse, and there is truth to being ‘head smart.’  However, we note that Samuel said to Saul about David, “for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:14b)  So this ‘heart’ thing can be very complicated.  Where does God want us?  Are we following His word above our heart?  I think of things my doctor would say about a healthy diet.  He talks about watching my sugar level and lessening my cholesterol intake.  These tips are as one spaghetti sauce label would say ‘heart smart.’  In that same vain, the answer to these questions lie in our intake of the right things toward having greater wisdom of what God wants from us.

A heart that is filled with love for God will make godly decisions.  The verses in Jeremiah do not necessarily say that the heart is bad.  Instead, it should be viewed as a warning.  It is to ensure that we are not blind to times where our heart is driven to do things that are not what God wants.  Think back to when you were a child, and your parents gave you a punishment for wrongdoing.  At the time, you probably felt emotions ranging from anger toward them to disappointment toward yourself.  Now ask yourself, “How did your parents feel?”  Do you think it brought them joy to discipline you?  Of course not!  Fast forwarding to today, we realize that they did these things out of love.  Not that they wanted to see us sad or take things away.  Their hearts were toward helping us grow to see what was right and good.  In that same way, God’s word will challenge us where at times we will be sad and disappointed when we do not follow His word.  That is a true measure of whether our hearts are in the right place.  David struggled in many ways.  But he recognized when he was wrong, and his heart broke for those things that God’s heart broke for.  That’s why David was a man after God’s heart, and likewise, it is what Jesus was getting at in today’s verses.  If we treasure those things that God treasures most, our hearts will follow His will.  It does not mean we will be perfect.  But like David, we will recognize our failures, and turn to God both in repentance and for forgiveness.

A heart for God is a great thing!  It guides us into following those things that God would ask of us, and it keeps us on that narrow and righteous path that Jesus spoke of (see Matthew 7:13-14).  There will be times where our hearts strings will be pulled.  Sometimes it is God, but other times it is our own wants.  Our goal is not to ignore those feelings.  Instead, we must look to God and His word for greater understanding, then apply it toward serving Him with love and compassion for others.  That’s what He wants for us.  Do you pause when your heart strings are being pulled?  How can you ensure that you heart is filled with God’s intent?  My prayer is that we focus on filling our hearts through His word to ensure that we are indeed ‘Heart Smart.’  Amen.

Thankful For Grace

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.  Romans 3:23-26

Over the years, I have given thanks to many things.  From family to friends, God to pastors, and fellow devotion writers to you, all have provided me strength, inspiration, courage, and love for my writing.  In as much as I am thankful for those things, I want to give thanks this year for one thing God gave us and certainly gave me.  Without it, we would have no relationship with Him, and with it, we have a freedom we could never imagine.  This Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for God’s greatest gift; grace.

God’s grace is indeed enough.  For me, I lived a life years ago that was unworthy of God’s love or anyone else’s for that matter. This is why God’s grace is so amazing.  I could have continued to do anything as I pleased, but without grace, I felt empty.  With grace, I felt empowered, strengthened, and able to take on the world.  When the world bore its weight on me, God lifted and carried it so that I can move forward. This is why I am grateful to this wonderful God inspired gift.  Perhaps you had that very same feeling as me.  Some of you have had struggles different from mine.  Today, you might be either dealing with sin on something very trivial or fighting something major that seems overwhelming and impossible to overcome.  Grace is the ONLY thing that can make us clean.  It frees us to serve Him, and grows us to strive to do better than we could imagine on our own. 

You are a valued gift to God.  You are wonderful, prized, and redeemed by Jesus Christ.  He did so because He saw so much in you.  He had to because He saw something in me.  It’s something that allows me to write about how wonderful it is to serve an amazing God who gives me love and hope along with so many other things.  But before I knew all that existed, He first had to give me grace.  Let us all give thanks this season for what God has given us, and let us also share this gift with others who so desperately need to know that it’s not too late.  God is still there waiting and loves them so very much.  Who do you know is in need of grace?  How can this gift heal your unforgiving pain?  My prayer is that this Thanksgiving as we say grace, we spend a moment giving thanks for the wonderful gift of grace.  Amen, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thurs Devo: Come Here!

Last week we were trying to skype with our granddad, but it wasn’t working on my sister’s computer. Since granddad was waiting on the other end, Jane yelled “come here!” to her husband, Sean, so he might expedite the resolution.

It usually isn’t a good thing when we hear “come here!” loudly. If it’s directed at a kid, spouse, or employee, often they’re in trouble. At a minimum, there’s usually some sort a problem (as with our skype situation).

When God says “Come here!” it’s a good thing! It means He has huge blessings for us. After the two witnesses were killed and their deaths celebrated, God does the impossible.

Revelation 11:11-13  ¹¹ But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
¹³ At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Has God said “Come here!” to you? Has He drawn you to Himself? How have you and I responded? Have any of you told God “Just a minute?” Do you have a few things you want to do first and then you’ll spend time with him? Or, have we responded with “Coming now!” by getting to know Him, spending time with Him daily, and placing our full life in His hands? It’s already in His hands anyway and then we will get to join Him in Heaven for all eternity, just like the two witnesses!

As Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28-30     ²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Alice