God looks at the Heart

September 7, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

I love studies of the Old Testament as I learn so much about the character of God. His attributes shine through as He exhibits His faithfulness and sovereignty over all creation. In 1 Samuel is the story of God sending the prophet Samuel to identify the son of Jesse that He has chosen to be the next king of Israel. The Lord gave Samuel some good advice that we need to take to heart as we look at others and even ourselves. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 When God looks at us, He looks at our hearts. Therefore, He desires that our hearts be transformed, renewed and cleansed. He wants more for us than we can even imagine. He sees what is truly in our hearts and knows our innermost thoughts. It is a humbling and sobering thought that God knows all and in His love and mercy He see what I can be not what I am at the present. God looks at our hearts.

I am comforted by Psalm 10:17 where the psalmist proclaims what God will do for him. “O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear” God will listen to me and the cries of my heart then He will strengthen me. He knows I need transformation and will listen to my heart cries and then give me strength to persevere in pursuit of His transformation in my life.

Our challenge today is seek His transformation for our lives from a heart filled with obedience and love and then to seek to see others as God does. We are limited and can’t see the heart of others but we can learn not to judge by outward appearances and seek to reach out to others with love and kindness. We can ask God for insight and wisdom in dealing with others.

Thankful for a loving God that will give me strength to live for Him,

Linda

Why Transform our hearts?

September 4, 2018 nofearlinda1 Comment

God is very intentional in His transformation of our hearts. I would say there is no wasted efforts or motions in God’s plans. Unlike man, God is omniscient and knows the beginning and the end. He knows where we are going and how to get us where He wants us to be. Here are a couple of verses that point to God’s intent or purpose in transforming our hearts.

Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Jeremiah 32:40 “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”

God wants us to realize that we are accountable to Him and use our time here on earth wisely. He desires we affect others with our lives and show His goodness and glory in what we say and do. In the Jeremiah passage God tells us what He will do for believers. We have an everlasting covenant of salvation in Jesus, He promises to not turn from us- He is completely faithful, He desires good for us and will do it and He wants us to love and follow Him. God wants us to spend eternity with Him and the only way that is possible is if we wisely turn to Him, accept His salvation in Jesus and have a make-over of our heart’s desires. A transformed heart is essential for the Christian believer and something God does with intentionality. Look back at the ways He transforms our heart… with joy and praise, love and faith, commitment, purity, kindness, compassion and forgiveness, devotion and obedience. His way brings results and fills our hearts with His heavenly treasures.

Let’s make this a day of Thanksgiving to God for His grace and mercy. Thanking Him that for transforming us so we can live lives of purpose and bear fruit for His kingdom.

Linda

A Transformed Heart is a Believing Heart

August 31, 2018 nofearlinda1 Comment

One of the clearest verses in scripture that tells us what we have to do to be Saved is Romans 10:9-10. ” If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” Once you believe in Jesus within your heart and say it you are saved. The saying confirms what your heart is telling you that Jesus is the son of God and that He came and died for your sins and was raised from the dead. In dying He took your sin and mine upon himself as the perfect sacrifice but in rising from the dead He conquered death and buried our sins forever. Romans 10:9-10 show us that a heart that believes in God is essential to faith. We have to believe in Jesus with the very core of our being, our heart, for salvation. Jesus told us about the importance of heart faith in Matthew 22:37 “Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ God will accept nothing less that our whole heart, soul and mind. Loving and knowing God requires it all.

How about you? Do you have a sincere heart love for God? Are you willing to tell others that Jesus is your Savior? God demands that our love be all consuming. He is a jealous God and wants all of us. Exodus 20:5 “You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” Are you devoted to God and willing to give all of your heart to Him? Meditate and about this today. Consider how much of your heart you are giving to God, remembering He wants it all.

Matthew 22 37 Let this be said of me as I seek to give all my heart to Jesus,

Linda

A Transformed Heart is…filled with heavenly treasure

August 28, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Jesus’ admonition on how to keep our heart storage in good shape or filled with good treasure is one of my favorite passages in Matthew. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of how to correctly spend our energy. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Our hearts are depository places that hold our thoughts, ideas, motivations and actions of what we have done. Jesus’ question looks to the heart and questions what things are we doing in our lives that have eternal value. Only those things are imperishable and will be counted by God as lasting. Jesus reminds us that those things are a refection of your heart for Him and what you truly value. So these thoughts beg further thinking on our part- what am I doing that has eternal value? Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about eternal value. Time you spend in God’s Word has eternal value for your soul and knowledge of God. Time you spend in worship, praise and prayer. Time you spend with family showing them God’s love, taking care of your children and grandchildren, memorizing scripture and feeding the homeless, widows, orphans or others. Time you spend taking a cup of cold water to someone in need-be it a meal, a note of encouragement, having a cup of tea and visiting or sending a card. Time spent making a gift for someone and praying for them. The list is endless but as you can see these things have no monetary value but are acts of kindness, hope and love done for others and yourself in relationship with God.

Paul talks about the eternal value of the things we do and exhorts us to be sure that our foundation is in Jesus. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” So our question remains-are you and I doing things with our time that are based upon Jesus and are enduring or are we spending our time working on things that have no eternal value and will perish when God examines them? Think on the things you do today and consider their eternal value. Do they glorify God or you?

Jesus tells us that those things of eternal value are stored in the treasure room of our heart. He desires that our treasure rooms be full to overflowing with His kindness, love and goodness.

Linda

A Transformed Heart brings results

August 24, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

1 Kings records a sobering charge from King David to his son Solomon. He is giving him wise advice when he is near death. 1 Kings 2 records David’s words, “²“I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. ³Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go.” His advice was to have courage to stand up for what is right and follow God’s ways. David goes on to say what the promised results of this type of life would be, “⁴If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ David had been chosen by God to lead the people of Israel. He knew first hand what could happen to a leader who refused to follow God. He had been pursued for 14 years by King Saul who knew God had chosen David to be the next king, and God had removed His blessing from him because of his sinful life and poor leadership. David did not want that fate to befall his son, Solomon, and desired that his descendants would reign over Israel for years to come.

David knew that a transformed heart, committed to God would produce results. The results in this case would be a descendant continuing to be king. What about us? What are the results of our transformed and committed heart to God? Do you see God’s blessings on your life for following Him, reading and studying the Bible, going to worship and fellow-shipping with fellow believers? God promises results for committing our lives to Him and following Him faithfully. Take a look at your life today and take note of the many blessings that are the results of godly living and commitment to Jesus. Then take time to Thank Jesus for those results.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for touching my life and transforming my heart. I long to serve you and have the fruit of the Holy Spirit be evident in my life. Your results are eternal and show your great goodness and mercy towards me. Thank you, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Longing to produce godly results in my heart for Him,

Linda

A Transformed Heart is filled with…obedience

August 21, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Do you think of yourself as obedient? Do you readily obey your parents, the codes of conduct in your society or even your own heart’s desires? All of those may be in conflict with God’s desires for your life and the necessary obedience needed to follow Him. Because we are sinners and live in a sinful world, obedience does not come naturally. It is against our sin nature to do what others desire of us or even what we desire ourselves for our future since we are rebellious at heart. So how do we become obedient to God and His Word? Peter gives us direction in 1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” God calls us to be holy and to follow Him in obedience. Peter goes on in verses 18-19 to explain to root of our ability to obey, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” Because of Christ’s death on the cross we become His children through faith in Him and His redeeming work. We are given the godly motivation, godly direction and ability to be obedient from our heart through our faith in Jesus.

I love the way Paul explains this transformation in Romans 6:17-18 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” Faith in Jesus sets me free from the bondage of sin that holds my heart and actions and frees me to serve with an obedient heart the Jesus I love.

What about you? Does your love and faith in Jesus cause you to desire to be obedient to Him and His Word? Do you find following Jesus hard? Even Paul stated in Romans that he struggled to do what God wants him to do because of his own sin nature. Romans 7:19-20 “¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” He summarizes his condition of faith in verse 24-25. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” His final conclusion to this dilemma is profound in Romans 8:1-2 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Jesus is the answer and He frees us from our bondage to sin.

May your heart be filled with the love of Jesus today so that you may live with a heart that is wholeheartedly obedient to Him.

Linda

A Transformed Heart is filled with…devotion

August 17, 2018August 7, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

When was the last time you spoke of your devotion to God? Is it something that you and I as believers take for granted? In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul used the example of slaves and masters to illustrate the devotion we need in serving Christ. This would have been very familiar to the early Christians as it was common practice during Roman times and many of them were slaves not free men. Ephesians 6:5-8 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

Paul uses several ‘heart’ words in describing how are to treat others whether they be in authority over us or working alongside us. We are to serve with sincerity of heart. False or fake love for others will not show devotion and love of God to them. We need to work in serving others to fulfill God’s desires not our own. We have to work and act from our whole heart not just a portion reserved for showing God’s love. Paul is describing pure devotion to God that is shown in our heart attitude and our willingness to serve Him. God wants us loving the world regardless of where we find ourselves. This is a tall order that can only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us. Jesus can make all things possible. We need to walk each day in His love with a sincere, devoted heart for the world to see.

May you experience God’s love and power as you strive to be devoted to Him with your heart.

Linda

A Transformed Heart is filled with….kindness, compassion and forgiveness

August 14, 2018August 7, 2018 nofearlinda2 Comments

In Ephesians Chapter 4, Paul is exhorting Christians to be Christ honoring in their behaviors. He encourages them to clean up their speech, eliminating unwholesome talk, and speak only words of encouragement that build others up. (29) He does not want us grieving the Holy Spirit by our actions, thoughts and deeds that he lists in verse 31, bitterness, rage, anger, arguing, fighting, being slanderous, or doing any kind of evil. In Ephesians 4:32 Paul tell us what actions and thoughts would be Christ honoring in our lives. ^“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

What does it mean to be tenderhearted? The dictionary defines it as ‘soft-hearted, sympathetic’. Does that describe your heart? Because of Christ’s transforming love, do you react to the world with a kind, forgiving and sympathetic heart? Paul is telling us that because we are forgiven and Christ lives within us we can react and interact with the world through a kind, tenderhearted, forgiving heart. Let this be your challenge today. Ask Jesus to let you see the world through a heart that is tender and loving towards those around you.

Loving with a tender heart is what Jesus did while on earth and He desires us to continue showing that love towards others in His name.

Linda

A Transformed Heart is a pure heart

August 10, 2018August 7, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Paul tells Timothy in two letters to have a pure heart. This is not something Timothy could make himself but rather the result of his love for Jesus. Paul wants Timothy and all future believers to examine their hearts and check their motives. 1 Timothy 1:5 “The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.” Paul wants to know if our love for others comes from a heart overflowing with love for Jesus. He needs to be the source of our love. In 2 Timothy 2:22 Paul encourages believers to look for others who share the purity of heart that you find in Jesus. “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” He wants Timothy and us to chose friends that will encourage us towards right living and not worldly pursuits.

Since we are sinners, purity of heart can only be achieved through the redemption. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead to make a way for us to be ‘pure in heart’. His love for us is transforming and will clean up even the dirtiest of hearts. Talk with Jesus today and ask Him as David did in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure and clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Jesus will not let you down but will lift you up and make you new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Claim it today in Christ alone! Then look for fellow believers to encourage your new pure heart and your desire to love and serve Jesus.

Purity comes from Jesus alone,

Linda

A Transformed Heart is filled with commitment

August 7, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Commitment seems to be something that scares people in our day and age. They seem afraid to step out and say they will be there at a certain time, place or with you in a project. Are there so many choices in our lives that people cannot decide? Have they had experiences where they felt trapped by agreements they’ve made? Whatever the root of their fears, to love and serve Jesus we have to go beyond them, step above or over them and persevere. 1 Peter 3:15 appears in a portion of scripture where Peter is encouraging believers to persevere in their faith and not to fear doing good. He tells believers to hold fast to their faith in Christ regardless of where they find themselves. “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” In addition to honoring Christ as Lord, we need to be able and willing to tell others about what Christ has done for us. The hope we have in living, the hope we have in eternity, the hope we have in being forgiven and cleansed, and the hope we have in His always being with us. We need to be prepared to tell others about Jesus. Being committed to Jesus with your heart demands that we are ready to speak about Him. This is not to be an argumentative discourse but words that speak of the Hope we have in Jesus with gentleness and respect that come from a heart of love and commitment to Jesus.

I love this verse in 1 Peter because it holds me accountable and tells me where my commitment needs to be. God wants us committed to Him, loving and acting in our world with words of Hope for unbelievers and words of encouragement in that Hope for fellow believers. Who will you tell today about the HOPE you have in Jesus?