Tag: Christian Living

A Transformed Heart is filled with commitment

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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.

Reasons for Our Hope_0I 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?

May the Lord bring people to cross your path today that are in need of those words of hope and encouragement.

Linda

A Transformed Heart is filled with….faith and love

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When we take the leap of faith and step out with Jesus, we are putting our trust in Him to be the guiding force in our lives from now through all eternity.  That step brings about a transformation in our hearts that solidifies our faith in Him.  With a heart committed to Jesus, scripture teaches that our hearts become filled with love for God and our fellow man.  Let’s look at Ephesians ephesians_3_173:16-19.  “16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”   

Paul first reminds us of God’s total power and resources.(16)  Then having Christ in our hearts will give us deep rooted love and strength. (17)  That deep love will help us understand God’s love for us – the depth of it.(18)  That love, so hard to understand, will make us complete for a life that is full and power driven.(19)   Peter describes this transforming deep love in 1 Peter 1:22.  22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.”   Accepting Jesus and His cleansing power brings about obedience and sincere love for others.   He says we are to love deeply from our hearts.

love deeplyWhat about you?  Do you feel sincere love for others because you know Jesus?  Do you feel that the love God showed to you by sending Jesus makes you love Him even more?  A truly transformed heart is a heart filled with faith in Jesus that manifests itself in our lives by love for God and others.  If you feel you lack this kind of love, ask God for it.  Love for others is a God thing and when we are lacking He tells us to ask Him.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”    Asking, seeking and knocking are to be a continual part of our lives if we desire to have transformed hearts for Him.

Blessings as you seek to love others like Jesus today.

Linda

A Transformed Heart is filled with….joy and peace!

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So far in this study of ‘heart’ passages, we’ve looked at the Lord’s work and the true nature of our hearts.  Today I want to begin examining passages that speak of a transformed heart.  What makes a heart committed to Jesus different from one that is not?  

In Romans 12:1-2 Paul speaks of what a transformed life would look like.  “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”    Paul describes the believer as one who is sold out for God, desiring to please Him,  being transformed by God and not brought down and conformed to this world.  One that is transformed would have a changed heart.  That heart change is what we will be looking at in the next few blogs.

glad and sincereThe New Testament believers lived together supporting one another in their new faith.  Acts 2:46 describes them.  “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,”   Their encounter with Jesus reflected on their day to day life and gave them glad and generous hearts to view their world.  Does your faith create in you a sense of thankfulness?  Are you filled with Joy simply john 14 27because you know Jesus?

In John 14:27 Jesus was speaking to his disciples shortly before facing the cross.  He described the kind of heart the He would give to them in faith. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”    A heart that loves and follows Jesus has no reason for fear or anxiety.  1 John 4:4 reminds us, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”  The heart Jesus gives us is made for peace, loves peace and seeks peace.   Do you have the peace that Jesus promised today?  Look to Him, release all your worries and fears into His hands.  He will give you His peace.

Take a few moments to think about your heart today.  Do you feel generous and glad  in heart because of Jesus?  Do you have His peace in your heart?  Be assured He intends for you to have a heart that is overflowing in all areas.  I love  the assurance of Hebrews Peace-In-Your-Heart10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”  Jesus keeps His promises.  Trust Him to give you generosity, joy and peace today.

My heart is new in Jesus each day,

Linda

God’s desires for our Hearts

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My heart search in Psalms continues today with new aspects of our hearts and our heart attitudes towards God.  God desires that we have a bold, trusting, seeking and contrite heart in our interactions/responses to Him.

God desires that we take a ‘No Fear’ stance in life that depends upon God and not ourselves.  Psalm 112:7 “They will have no fear of bad news;  their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”

God desires that we are open to teaching and examination of our motives.  Psalm 26:2 “Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;”  Psalm 139:23 “Search me, God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

God desires I have a seeking heart towards Him.  Psalm 119:10 “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.”  Psalm 22:26 “The afflicted (meek) shall eat and be satisfied;    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!   May your hearts live forever!”   

psalm 51 -17God desires a repentant heart, one that is sorrowing over sin, which the Bible describes as contrite.  Psalm 51:17  “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”   Isaiah also speaks of our need to have a contrite heart in Isaiah 57:15 ”  The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,  the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
    with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
    and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”       God desires us to be repentant so He can restore and dwell with us.  We have to come humbly before Him.   Since living with Him is not just when we die, we need to deal with the sin]]c in our lives.  God living with us is being indwelt by His Holy Spirit when Jesus enters our hearts and lives.  Jesus gives cleansing of sin when we come before Him with a contrite heart and ask for forgiveness and restoration.

What is the temperature of your heart today?  Are you trusting, open to teaching, seeking but most of all repentance?  Would God describe your heart as contrite?  Do you sorrow over your sins and desire to walk with Jesus each day?   The opposite of each of the above would be one who is fearful, close-minded, rejecting, proud and arrogant over their sins.  I pray that none of those describe your heart and that you seek to please God.  micah God requriesMicah describes it this way:  “He has shown you, O mortal, 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.  Micah 6:8

May that be the attitude of our hearts as we walk with Him today.

Linda

What fills your Heart today?

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psalm 9 1Psalms is filled with images of the heart.  Today think about some of these and see if you can identify and claim them for your own heart towards God.

A heart filled with Praise and Thanksgiving, Psalm 9:1  “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

A heart filled with Confidence, especially in times of adversity, Psalm 27:3  “Though an army encamp against me,  my heart shall not fear;  though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.”

A heart filled with JOY because of God’s Word, Psalm 119:111 “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.”

A heart that is willing to wait upon the Lord, Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord;  be strong, and let your heart take courage;  wait for the Lord!”

A heart that is unafraid to call upon the Lord for help, Psalm 119:145 “With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord!  I will keep your statutes.”

A heart that yearns for God’s presence,  Psalm 84:2  “My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;  my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”

psalm 138 1A heart filled with Praise and Gratitude,  Psalm 138:1  “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;  before the gods I sing your praise”

Our heart attitude needs to begin and end with praise and thanksgiving each day.  God’s Word is so descriptive and really points to the true needs of our hearts in relationship to and towards God.  Do you see confidence in Him? Joy in His Word? A willingness to wait upon Him?  Fearlessness in talking to God about your problems? A yearning for God in your heart?  Let His Word be your guide today as you examine your heart before Him.

Desiring a heart that is looking to God,

Linda

Heartfelt Proverbs

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Proverbs has a lot to say about the heart.  Sometimes the truth is given directly like in Proverbs 24:1-2  “Be not envious of evil men,  nor desire to be with them,  2 for their hearts devise violence,  and their lips talk of trouble” and Proverbs 6:14 describes a wicked man’s heart, “with perverted heart devises evil,  continually sowing discord.”  Very often the proverbs are given with a contrast between the good heart and the bad and seek to teach or instruct us about our hearts.   Proverbs 28:14  “Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always,  but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. “  The writer of Proverbs was wise and desired us to know how God views the heart of man and that God would not just be an observer in our lives.  Proverbs 21:2  “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”  Proverbs 17:3 “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.”  

Proverbs also teaches how our hearts can and do please or displease God.  Proverbs 15:13-15 speaks of the cheerful, seeking heart and how a sorrow can crush the spirit of our heart.   “A glad heart makes a cheerful face,  but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. 14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
but the mouths of fools feed on folly.  15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.”   Proverbs 14:30 speaks of the effects of calm and envy on the heart.   “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,   but envy makes the bones rot.”  In Proverbs 6:16-19 we are given a list of things God hates that really displease Him. “There are six things that the Lord hates,  seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers.”

How do these ‘heart’ proverbs speak to you today?  Is your heart cheerful and calm or do you have times when you feel discord, disharmony or evil?  Because of the root of sin in our hearts, we need to continually submit our hearts to the Lord for His continual transformation.   I love Proverbs 22:11 “He who loves purity of heart,  and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.”  I do want King Jesus as my friend so I need to submit to daily cleansing at His feet in prayer.   Won’t you join me today?

proverbs 22Prayer:  Lord Jesus, you know the true nature of my heart.  Root out the evil ways in me and replace them with your love, grace and mercy.  Give me compassion and love for others that comes out of a grateful heart.  Create in me a clean heart that desires to please you.  Amen.

Seeking to serve with a humble and contrite heart,

Linda

Transforming a Sin Sick Heart

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What is the true nature of the heart?  Scripture teaches the hard truth of what our hearts are like because of sin.  Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
    and desperately sick;  who can understand it?”  God knows the nature of our hearts and is the only one who can transform a sin sick heart.    “10 “I the Lord search the heart  and test the mind,  to give every man according to his ways,  according to the fruit of his deeds.”   God searches our heart, tests our mind and will evaluate us according to our deeds.  This does not mean we have to earn our salvation.  It means there will be a day of accounting where God looks at our actions.  We are clean and purified by the blood of Christ, so He will not be looking at sin, but at our heart for Him.   What causes you to do good or hard things for God?  Is it love, devotion, thankfulness, zeal for the gospel?  

I totally identify with David’s plea to God in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.”  By nature our hearts are filled with sin but God can create a clean heart within us.  Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can be transformed by faith in Him.  Jesus is our pathway to cleansing, restoration and hope.  Just like David, we have to desire it and ask God for it.  He promises to renew our hearts and make them pure, and committed to Him.

Will you ask Him today to create a clean heart within you?  It will be a new beginning and a step that pleases God, renews and revitalizes life, and brings hope and restoration.  Ask Him today.

heart inside outPrayer:   Lord Jesus, I believe you have the power to transform my heart and make me clean and pure.  Root out the sin that plagues me and bring me into a vibrant relationship with you.  Create in me a clean heart that will be devoted and steadfast in loving you.  Create in me a new life with new desires and new hopes that are firmly placed in you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Redeemed and transformed by faith in Jesus,

Blessings today.

Linda

Reject your heart of stone, Get a new living model!

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heartToday I am beginning a new series on the heart.  There are at least 100 scriptures that focus on the heart, so it must be of great importance to God.   I found there are scriptures that talk about God’s Work in our hearts, the true nature of our hearts and what a transformed heart looks like.   The materials I have show the most ‘popular’ verses- people actually voted, so perhaps they were either most helpful, most revealing or most convicting.  I love it that the most loved verses deal with God’s Work in our hearts.  It gives us a good place to begin.

Ezekiel 36:26 is one of the key verses in this summary of prophesies God gave to the children of Israel in Ezekiel 36.  Look at what God said He would do:  22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name…  23 I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations… 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.  25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I heart of stone heart of fleshwill cleanse you.  26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.  28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.  29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.”

God said He would do all these things to and for His believing children.  He would vindicate or show the holiness of  His name to them and the world,  He would bring them back to the land (they were in Babylon in exile at the time), He would cleanse them, He would give them a new heart, He would put His spirit within them, He promised them long life in the land and great fruitfulness.  As I read this list of promises God gave them, I realized that some were fulfilled then with their return to the Promised Land but many were fulfilled much later.  Jesus came and brought cleansing and healing through His death and resurrection.   At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell the believers through faith because of Jesus’ work on the cross.  Israel is again a nation and is amazingly fruitful.  It is a wonder in the desert and blooms as God intended under their care.

new heartThrough Jesus’ Work on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we can live forgiven and be filled with His Holy Spirit.  We can have the new heart that God desires for us.  He says in verse 26, He will give us a new heart.  This heart will be soft, pliable and alive with faith and devotion to Him.  With this new heart, we can live for him.  2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”   We are new creatures with a new heart through Christ.  Do you feel like you have a heart of stone?  Are you hard-hearted towards others, unfeeling about the difficulties in your life and their lives, do you shut out God?  Or do you claim a new heart through Jesus that is open, willing, compassionate and loving towards those in your life?

Claim your new heart in Jesus today and watch God transform you and give you a heart of flesh and feeling and take away your heart of stone that was filled with sinful self-desires.  Turn to Jesus and He will transform your heart.

Seeking transformation of heart,

Linda

A Treasure Chest of provisions for you and me!

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psalm119Today as I reflect on Psalm 119 for the last time, I am looking at the list I made of just a few of the things the psalmist found.   This glorious psalm is a song of praise to God and a declaration of the psalmist’s faith in God Almighty.

He found:   joy in seeking God,  2 “Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him    with all their hearts.”    a way to purity, 11 “I have hidden your word in my heart,  that I might not sin against you.”   answers for living, 32  “I will pursue your commands,  for you expand my understanding.”  answers for persecutors, 42 “Then I can answer those who taunt me,  comfort and hope,  49-50  “Remember your promise to me;  it is my only hope.  Your promise revives me;  it comforts me in all my troubles.  for I trust in your word.”  security, 86 “All your commands are trustworthy.  Protect me from those who hunt me down without cause.”   meditations that bring understanding, 103-4 “How sweet your words taste to me;  they are sweeter than honey.  Your commandments give me understanding;  no wonder I hate every false way of life.”    guidance, 105 “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”  a shield and refuge, 114  “You are my refuge and my shield;  your word is my source of hope”   resolve to stand with the right, 128 “Each of your commandments is right.   That is why I hate every false way.”  expectations, 131 “I pant with expectation,  longing for your commands.”  sorrow over evil, 136 “Rivers of tears gush from my eyes  because people disobey your instructions.”  God’s righteousness, 137  “O Lord, you are righteous,  and your regulations are fair.”  truth, 160 The very essence of your words is truth;  all your just regulations will stand forever. “  the Sovereignty of God, 168 “Yes, I obey your commandments and laws because you know everything I do.”  that God seeks the lost, 176  “I have wandered away like a lost sheep;  come and find me,  for I have not forgotten your commands.”

This is an amazing list of things the psalmist understood because he believed in God and took His Word seriously.  How precious is God’s Word to you?  Meditate on this list of things the psalmist found- how many of them can you claim to have found in God’s Word?  Seek Him in His Word and see what you find.

Blessings as you seek Him too,

Linda

Going astray-our struggle, seeking the lost-God’s eternal position

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As the psalmist reaches the end of the alphabet (taw), he reflects on the power of God and pleads for understanding and deliverance.  169 “Let my cry come before you, O Lord;  give me understanding according to your word!  170 Let my plea come before you;  deliver me according to your word.”   Next, he speaks of how he worships God both privately and publicly. 171 “My lips will pour forth praise,  for you teach me your statutes. 172 My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right.”  He knows for certain that God will be with him and is always ready to deliver him.  He knows God is true to His Word and he depends upon it.  173 “‘Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.  174 I long for your salvation, O Lord,  and your law is my delight.  175 Let my soul live and praise you,  and let your rules help me.”  Lastly, he ends this great psalm with a true confession.  He admits that he has wandered away from God’s truths and he implores God to continue to seek him and remind him of His ways.  176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,  for I do not forget your commandments.”

sinThe apostle Paul speaks of ‘going astray’ as the constant struggle he has with sin and not doing what God wants him to do.  In Romans 7:15-20 Paul lays his heart bear and shares his personal struggle with sin just like the psalmist has been doing in Psalm 119.  As you read these verses, see if you too can identify with Paul and the psalmist.  “5 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

In addition to his struggle with ‘going astray’  the psalmist feels like a lost sheep, wandering away from the Lord.  Jesus told God’s view of lost sheep in his parable of the lost sheep that is found in both Matthew and Luke.  He knew God is the good shepherd who seeks and finds the lost believers.  “So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-lost sheepnine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”  Luke 15:3-7   When the psalmist begs God to seek and find him, we know that is exactly what God can and will do for each of us.  God will faithfully find those who are open to Him and are seeking to know Him.  Jesus saves those who are lost.

As you reflect and meditate on this last portion of Psalm 119, do you identify with the psalmist and Paul on the struggle to walk daily with the Lord and follow His pathway?  Are you confident that God continually seeks you because you are precious to Him?  

faithful God“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”  Hebrews 10:23

Linda