Who Has Your Heart?

Who is the first person that comes to mind when you are asked that question?

Does that person treasure the fact that they have your heart? Do they know that they have it? Who do you want to say has your heart?

There have been a few instances in my short life that the person whose name would come to mind with that question, did not in any way deserve to have my  heart. And yet, I wanted to give it to them regardless of their treatment of me. I wanted so badly for them to treasure my heart, but instead they didn't care.

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard  your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

That is such a powerful statement.  It's a statement that goes deeper when you look at it.

It doesn't say, "Guard your heart except when it would hurt someone's feelings" or "Guard your heart except when dating" or "Guard your heart except when you are making friends." It says above ALL.  More important than everything, GUARD YOUR HEART!  No matter what.

Guard in the original Hebrew context means "to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey,etc.) 'A verb meaing to guard, to keep, to preserve, to hide.'"

The word refers to "people maintaining things entrusted to them...our hearts ought to be maintained in a right state."

I love how it says "people maintaining things entrusted to them." God has entrusted our hearts to us. He desires us to take care of them until he calls us back home. He has given us our own hearts in complete desire that we offer them right back to him.

How much do you think it hurts him to see us offering our  hearts to anyone that will take them, only for them to toss it to the ground when He desires it with every fiber of his being!? He died, giving his life in hope that we would see his complete love and desire for us, and in turn give him our heart.

We are what he wants! We are his inheritance, his reward, his glory!(Ephesians 1:3-23)

He wants to love us, cherish us, give us joy and satisfaction. We so often are out looking for the person who will fight for us, who wants nothing but our heart, who will give us an everlasting joy and satisfaction. Why then do we look at this earth?? Christ is what we are seeking! Look up! Look up!

HE is what you desire. He is everything you could ever possibly want and more!

He is crying out for your heart. Look around you. He made this earth to swoon you! He made the birds to sing to you, the trees to whisper to you, the sunrises to inspire you. He created all of this for you. He is trying to get your attention! He is vying for your affection!

OH HOW HE LOVES YOU!!!

Walking Past Jesus

This week I was thinking about why so many in the church still do not KNOW God. Many know about Him, but from recent observations and conversations, few truly know God intimately.

And so I began to ask myself, well why do we not know God as we ought? And the answer came down to this:

We don't care about God until we need him. 

Once we need Him, that's when we finally start to search after him and seek after his truth and comfort. The irony, however, is that every single person on this earth is in need of God, not just a select few.

But how do we show people their need for a Savior? You can't. That is solely the work of the Holy Spirit. But what is beautiful is that God has called us into his work, and by our prayers and love we can be used to help lead people to this place of receiving.

People must come to a place of utter brokenness, knowing there is no other hope for them. No one is going to care about God or his Word until they come to a realization that they are sick, sick with sin.

Jesus said in Mark 2:17, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

The righteous will see no need for God, but those who are sick will realize the absolute necessity and glory of knowing God.

The irony of it all is that "there is no one righteous, not even one;" and if no one is righteous then we are all sinners.  And sin is what makes one spiritually sick.

As believers, on this earth you are being healed day in and day out. I HAVE NEED! I am sick. I struggle with fear, anxiety, pride, selfishness, the list goes on. I am sick with sin, and I realized that my nature is in polar opposition to Jesus Christ.

He says love, I'm prone to hate.
He says to wait, I'm prone to rush.
He says go, I'm prone to stay.
He says no, I'm prone to say yes.
He says repent, I'm prone to pride.
He says mourn, I'm prone to laugh.
He says grace, I'm prone to judge.

I was sick and dying.

But all it took was this sick sinner walking into the throne room of Jehovah Rapha and falling on my face, confessing my illness.

And instead of condemning me, do you know what he did? He stepped down from his throne, came and lifted my face, and held me close forgiving all that I had done against him. For with every sin, I was spitting on his cross, dishonoring all that he had done.

But there is no condemnation in my Savior's eyes. He gave me his Word to bring Life back into my soul.

God's Word is the Life, that has since that day, brought spiritual health back to these bones.  But it is the Word that so many neglect. The neglection of the Word is why so little of the church truly know their God.

John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Therefore, the Word is Jesus Christ.

Neglect the Word, and you neglect Jesus Christ.

People are not being healed because they are seeking healing from everyone except the Healer. The Word, Jesus Christ, WILL HEAL YOU. Whether it be from spiritual or physical sickness.

Every time we pass by our Bible with the thought of reading it, but the excuse that we don't have time, we are passing by Jesus.

The Word of God is the avenue of how the church will become the Church. People know little of scripture, and therefore they know little of their God.

We have got to bring back the Word into our daily lives. If Jesus was in your home, physically, would you pass by him day after day? Heavens no! If we know him. we would run to his side and never want to leave it!  But if Scripture tells us that Jesus is one with the Word, then why do we disregard the Word so much?

Brothers and sisters, I pray that a new found hunger and thirst for God and His Word would come upon us. That we would be starving for HIS Truth, not the world's. His Word is Life.

You are beloved, you are special, you are chosen. But you will never fully understand that until you understand what all He has done for you in the past. He talks about you in His Word, he makes incredible promises to you in His Word. It is hope, peace, rest and healing.

In Him is truly all that we need.