Thursday, November 5, 2009

A Matter of the Heart

Have you examined your heart today? If you did, what did you find?

Proverbs 27:19 says: As in water face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man.

The heart reveals what is going on in us. It's what we act out of. God sees straight into it. That's what He sees when He looks at us, He sees our heart.

Unlike the world around us, we can't fool God. Try as we might, we can't hide our heart from Him. If our heart is not right He knows it.

So, take a few minutes to test your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where your heart is today. Read through the list below, and then look up the scripture associated with any heart that matches yours.

* Proud heart - overweening opinion of oneself or ones position (Psalm 101:5)
* Stony heart - hardened, unmovable, cold, rigid (Ezekiel 11:19)
* Selfish heart - concerned only for your own interest (Proverbs 23:7)
* Self seeking heart - promoting to further ones own concerns (Proverbs 28:26)
* Perverse heart - deviating from what is considered right or good (Psalm 101:4)
* Lying heart - filled with untruths, giving false impressions (Acts 5:3)
* Haughty heart - disdain, contempt or scorn for others (Psalm 131:1)
* Wicked heart - morally bad or evil intent (Proverbs 26:23)
* Fainting heart - failing, falling back, weak, without strength (Isaiah 1:5)
* Shut up heart - closed off, unfeeling for the needs of others (I John 3:17)

If you have seen yourself in any of these descriptions now is the time to go to God and ask for a change of heart. Ask Him for a heart like the ones below.

* Merry heart - pleasant, lively, cheerful (Proverbs 15:13)
* Praising heart - showing acclaim for God with your whole heart (Psalm 111:1)
* Willing heart - giving readily and cheerfully (Exodus 35:22)
* Believing heart - to take as true the gospel of Jesus Christ (John 7:36)
* Circumcised heart - from worldly life to Kingdom life (Deut 10:16, 30:6)
* Pure heart - free from anything that taints it (Matthew 5:8)
* Humble heart - consciousness of one's own place before God (James 4:6)
* Steadfast heart - firm, fixed, settled (Psalm 57:7)
* Contrite heart - remorseful for having done wrong (Isaiah 57:15)
* Purified heart - free from sin (Acts 15:9)
* Repentant heart - feel remorse for sin and turn from it (Ezekiel 18:31)
* Wise heart - having and showing good judgment (Psalm 90:12)

When we seek the change in our heart God is faithful to give it to us.

Jeremiah 24:7 says: Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

God will give us the heart we need to change and we then will return to Him with our whole heart.

3 comments:

Sue said...

Beautifully timed post, thank you. I was just typing up a post on my blog, and ended up deleting it as I just couldn't get it right without sounding like my heart wasn't in the right place.

Sherri Watt said...

So glad it was used to help at a time you needed. Isn't it funny how God does that. He is good!

Sherri

Anonymous said...

This is definately the kind of post that is good to save in your favorites page list. Thank you for the beautiful simplified look into our hearts: where they are and where they should be.
Author Philip Kledzik
"Painted Rooms"
"An Issue of the Heart"
www.authorphilipkledzik.books.officelive.com