What’s in Your Heart

That which is in our heart has a great impact on how we go about things. We may have a persona on the outside and our face says one thing, but it is what is on the outside and what is on our heart that really drives how we approach things.

“²⁵Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

but a good word makes him glad.”

— Proverbs 12:25 (ESV)

I admit that I am consumed a lot by what is on the inside and fight each day. I am a bit of a worry wort and allow things that are out of my control to dominate my mind and approach. I am not always a “glad” person. I like to think that I am a realist where the glass is not half full or half empty but that there is just water in the class. But really, I am one who allows the fear of the unknown to keep me from things.

Notice in the verse above, that it is simple anxiety that brings us to a low point and dominates our thinking and approach to things. When we have that worry in our hearts, we are not able to proceed forward in a positive way as there is always something lurking that will cause us to doubt. I have that in my heart and it does indeed keep me tied up, unable to move forward in a constructive way.

But, there is hope. Hope in the Word of the LORD. “A good word” or the Word of God on our hearts makes us glad and keeps us away from the negative approach to things. When I am focused on the Word of God, I am more likely to smile and know the way forward and avoid the doubts and anxious moments.

It is possible to have both anxiety and happiness at the same time, according to therapists. But is that really true. I feel that it is really one or the other. When glad and filled with happiness, there is little to no thought of any worry. It is just happiness and gladness and looking forward to the next thing that will bring happiness and gladness. Where anxiety, the anxiety of the moment keeps us from moving forward and wanting to hold on to the moment of happiness forever.

I don’t want to be weighted down by my anxiety and worry. I therefor pray against it daily. I speak to the LORD asking Him to take it from me. I work daily to let it go and think from a glad heart. I work to allow the LORD to consume me so that His light will shine from me and lift others. I am a continued work in progress.

I will be glad. I will be happy. I will press forward. I will keep the Word of God on my heart. This is the approach I need to keep looking for the next thing to bring happiness and gladness. I will fill my heart with gladness.

What is on your heart? Are you filled with anxiety and worry? What if you filled the gladness and happiness provided by the Word of God to press on to the next thing that will bring you happiness and gladness?

The LORD Will Come and Stay

What does it take for the LORD to come?

“¹³When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, ¹⁴if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (ESV)

We have to earnestly “pray and seek” Him and His Face and “turn from their wicked ways” and then the LORD will come. So it is on us to get the LORD here. It is up to me and my full dependence on Him regardless of the circumstances. I am in charge of turning to the LORD and away from that which is evil. The LORD is always within earshot of me, and will come when I need Him, I only need to call on Him.

I think that we understand that part. Call on the LORD and He will come. But what is it that gets Him to stay with us. Well, it is the humbling of ourselves and surrendering to Him.I can and should call on Him when I need Him, yet it is up to me to reach out to Him and surrender to His glory for Him to come and stay.

“¹⁵Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. ¹⁶For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time” – 2 Chronicles 7:15-16 (ESV)

When I have devoted myself to the LORD, He will come and stay with me. Not just in earshot, but will be there walking with me for my entire journey in this world. I will have Him there to fend off the evil. He will comfort me and guide me and carry me and provide for me and bless me and fully ensure that I am taken care of in this world. It is up to me to turn to Him and away from evil and surrender to Him and he will come and stay with me.

What are you doing to get the LORD to come and stay? Are you keeping Him just within earshot? What if you were to surrender to Him so that He comes and walks with you, comforting you, guiding you, carrying you, providing for you, and blessing you?

Cleaning Yourself

I wrote about asking for a clean or innocent heart. This morning I read and am writing about cleaning yourself up.

“¹⁶Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;

cease to do evil,

¹⁷learn to do good;

seek justice,

correct oppression;

bring justice to the fatherless,

plead the widow’s cause.”

— Isaiah 1:16-17 (ESV)

The LORD is speaking through Isaiah here to the Judah. He has told them of their wickedness and now is guiding them through it. Notice verse 16 and how it leads off, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean”. We have the task of cleaning ourselves up.

Now, the word “clean” is again used and as I have mentioned before, the Hebrew word for “clean” can also mean “innocent” and when used brings out more meaning for me. I think of it in this way. I have the task of cleaning up my known sins and dirtiness. I can make myself innocent before man by following the law. I also make the decision not to consciously sin. I will still sin as I am a sinner forever, but I can choose not to sin consciously. And even when I do, part of the washing up is confessing those sins to the LORD to be forgiven and washed clean.

I have to be careful in that I am not saying we are able to wash away our uncleanness and save ourselves in the process. We are only saved by the grace of God and thanks to the birth, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no substitute for that salvation and being washed white as snow.

What I am referring to is washing away that which I know to be sin and cleaning myself up for presentation to the LORD. We are not going to get all of the dirt off or out, but we can wash up cleaner than we were a moment ago.

How, through our daily, continual prayer and confession. We are to ask for forgiveness daily. We are to ask for forgiveness continually. We are to seek to be cleaned all the time. I can say that I sit in my office early in the morning daily and offer up prayer to the LORD. I proclaim His Glory, thank Him for all, seek His guidance, and ask for forgiveness. This is my daily action to clean myself up.

Even as I take daily action, I admit that I am not in continual prayer and confession. I wait. I wait until the next day and offer up my prayer. But just as in most everything else, by waiting I miss things. I forget my sins. I omit my sins, somehow thinking that they are gone and I can wrap them into a “forgive my sins LORD” declaration. But that doesn’t cut it. It is like showering and only allowing the water and soap to run down without scrubbing to remove the caked on dirt.

I have to remember to be in continual prayer to confess and ask for forgiveness right away. I have to wash up and make myself clean to remove the sin immediately. I have to make and keep myself clean for the LORD. No, I cannot save myself pure, but I can remove the caked on sin and dirt and get closer to righteousness, cleanliness, and innocence than I have ever been.

What is your view of cleaning yourself up? Are you relying on someone to do it for you? What if you took responsibility, not for your salvation, but to clean yourself up to be as presentable to the LORD as possible at all times?

Worshiping God

This morning I was hit hard by the questions in my MasterWork study that surround worshiping God. Where I am in full agreement with and look forward to what worshiping God will look like when I arrive in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem, I have been challenged with how I am worshiping Him now in this world.

The book of Revelation clearly points to what life will be like when we arrive and spend eternity in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem. It will be majestic and there will be singing and rejoicing and feasts and fellowship and all sorts of engagement as we worship the LORD and He dwells with us.

Where I was hit hard this morning was not in learning something new in the study or text from Revelation. I was struck by the simple question of how can I do that even now.

This was a gut punch to me. Not that I do not worship the LORD and spend time with Him, but what about the rest of the time in this world. Am I rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all things. I am not so sure that I am.

I admit to getting caught up in the ways of the world and focusing on those things that are impacting me now, or at least that is what I am telling myself. I have my attention on work, finances, preparing for retirement, stability, and a whole litany of things that are of this world. Where they are things of concern in this world, I have to remember that the LORD will provide for all of them and that I should not worry about tomorrow as tomorrow will take care of itself.

“³⁴Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:34 (ESV)

“³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:33 (ESV)

My focus should not be on tomorrow, but on today and the filling of it with worship of the LORD. I am to be seeking His face each day all day. I am to be rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all thing. I have to bring my expectation of worship in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem into this world and my all time here.

“¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)

So, yes, we will be in constant worship of the LORD when we are in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem. In all that we do we will worship and celebrate the LORD and His life giving and sustaining grace and glory. I have to bring that into today and not just reserve it for later. I am to do as Paul indicates in 1 Thessalonians, rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all things. My relationship with the LORD is now and not just reserved for the eternal kingdom.

What is your view of worshiping God? Are you reserving the continual worship for the eternal kingdom? What if you were to follow the direction of Paul and even now rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all things?

Intercede for Others

There are times when we there is a need for intercession. I am not always able to speak for myself in situations. An example is in the court of law, I am not a lawyer and would need someone to intercede with the court on my behalf.

With the LORD the same is needed in some situations. There are those that may not know that they are in need of help from the LORD. As such, Christians have a responsibility to help them out through intercession. Abraham understood this as the LORD was going to bring destruction to Sodom. The city was corrupt in many ways and God was going to deal with it with total destruction. Abraham began speaking with the LORD on their behalf.

“²²So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?’” – Genesis 18:22-24 (ESV)

Now, Abraham was being a bit selfish in his request as Lot, his grandson, was in the city of Sodom. But, even with that fact, Abraham started big asking for the LORD to spare the city if 50 were found to be righteous. And, the LORD agreed. And so Abraham kept with the negotiating and took things down to 10 righteous to save the city from destruction and the LORD agreed to the terms.

Now, the LORD knew that there were not 10 righteous in the city, yet He was willing to negotiate with Abraham because He knew his heart. Abraham knew Lot was there and I believe that although Lot was of the family of Abraham, there was no guarantee that the LORD found him righteous and Abraham was taking a flier to get some relief for them. Lot did not know what was coming and Abraham was interceding on his behalf.

There is another thing that I see here. The LORD listens to our requests and does as we ask, when it comes from our heart. In the complete passage, Genesis 18:22-33, God does not deny the request of Abraham. He listens to his heart and allows for the negotiation to take place. Here we find the dynamic of asking and you shall receive. Abraham asked and the LORD granted. It was the prayer of Abraham in intercession for the people of Sodom and the LORD listened.

I have to remember that my prayer is not just for me. I will need to intercede for others to gain, even when they are not even knowing or aware of their need. I am to come to the LORD with my open heart for others and ask the LORD for reprieve in specific ways.

When you pray, what are your prayers? Are you praying for your own wants and needs? What if you were to take the approach of intercession for others from your heart, knowing that God is listening and will grant your request?

Pray as the Righteous

I had a realization this morning that I should have had for some time, and likely did, it is that this morning it just seemed to hit me in a strong way. I have to pray as though I am righteous.

I know that I do not know of my righteousness. I only know that I am doing the work that God has for me and am actively taking righteous actions that are from my heart and for the LORD. So all that I am may not be righteous, yet I have to pray to the LORD with all of me as if I am righteous. All of my actions and work are for the LORD and are to be of righteous intent. I will learn of my righteousness when my time in this world is done. But while I am here, I am to function as though I am righteous in the LORD.

You see, it is my righteous actions that impact the world from the LORD. And yes, my impact is from the LORD, not from myself or my actions on my own. I have to be in the LORD as though I am righteous in Him.

“¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” – James 5:16 (ESV)

We do not know if it is our work for and in the LORD that “does the trick”. It may be that our work is the starter of the work. I may have been only here to plant the seed and it is the work of another that waters and still another that harvests. I do not know if it is my prayer that has the “great power” or if it is the prayer of another. As I do not know, I have to take action as though it is to ensure that the work of the LORD is manifest. I have to pray as if I am the only one, and illicit others to pray as well since I do not know if it is my prayer that has the “power” from the LORD.

As a human it is common to think that “if you want something done right, do it yourself”. This is a great approach to our prayer, with one exception. I have to ensure that others are praying as well as I do not know which is right. It may be that I am the righteous one and my prayer “has great power” or it could be another. This is an area where the more prayer we have, the greater the power of the LORD will be. Not that the sheer number of people praying is the thing, it is the idea that when there are more taking action there will be someone righteous bringing the prayer, not to mention as Jesus said,

“¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” – Matthew 18:19-20 (ESV)

I may be righteous and when I pray I have great power, yet, I do not know that to be true as only the LORD can declare righteous. But as Jesus said, where there are multiple followers together, He will be with them and as they pray, He will hear their prayer and great power will come. I have to pray as though I am the one, but bring as many together as I can in the name of Jesus and His Will will be done.

What is your approach to prayer? Are you avoiding as you don’t know if it is working? What if you prayed as though it is you that is righteous, but since you don’t know, bring others in to magnify your prayer?