I enjoy a good conversation, especially when a person is relaxed and ready to talk. It's fascinating to find out what he's about, who he really is. It takes a while to get past the polite 'weather report' talk that all of us adopt in new relationships. But, then the real person starts to emerge. You find out if they are courageous or fearful, generous or stingy, what they like, who they don't like, etc. They more we talk, the more we reveal. Jesus says, "whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart." (Matthew 12:34-35, NLT) I use that truth when I counsel with those who come looking for my help with things like unforgiveness, depression, anger, and recurring sinful habits. We talk and as I ask leading questions, the layers piled on their true feelings and beliefs start to peel away.
Here's a sobering fact. Many of us are clueless about the full content of our heart! Most of the time it is not a willful ignorance. With the passing of time we store away attitudes and ideas and they get buried in our subconscious mind. Despite being out of reach of our conscious memory, these are very much in play, effecting the ways we respond to life, the ways we relate to others. Little phrases we heard as a child, experiences that seem to have no real significance as they happened, have gone into that magnificent thing called our brain and become part of our heart. More than once in a counseling conversation, a person has said something and then paused with a look of astonishment on his face. "I didn't realize that I felt that way!" is his reaction when the light reaches a secret corner of his heart.
If we truly want to live in a way that pleases God and reflects the life of Christ in us, we must undergo a heart transformation. David cried out to God, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit." (Psalm 51:9-12, NKJV) Believe me, as tough as it is to be shown the content of our heart, it is liberating to present the treasures and the trash to God and find His healing and forgiveness!
Many Believers find their desire to be Christ-like in behavior sabotaged by a heart that is stuffed with junk, lies, and misconceptions about God, life, and others. They want to be loving, courageous, joyful persons but they only manage to display those traits on their best days, too few and too far between. Unknowingly, the problem is the pollution of their soul that fouls their words and actions. "But," you may be asking, "didn't Christ Jesus forgive their sins and wash them clean when they trusted Him as Savior and Lord?" Yes, but too often they have not forgiven themselves and they have not engaged in the process of heart transformation. Salvation start with Jesus Christ, but it is not a passive experience. It is a vigorous process. We must 'work out our salvation!' We cannot force goodness from the outside in. But we do have to work with the Spirit to bring the life and light of God's renewal into every room in our heart house. If we do not, we will fall into a cycle of sin, sadness, repentance, determination..... then, failure, again! Those who saved, but not made whole and holy, pray, "God, take it away. What is wrong with me?"
A better prayer is another from the Psalms. "Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life." (Psalm 139:23-24, The Message) Lord, show me the stuff in the attic of my mind. Let me clean it out and get free of its influence, so I don't keep falling back into the old ways that have caused me to miss the ways of life so often in the past.
Do you know your heart? It's harder than you think.
Take this word from the Word to heart today.
Here's a sobering fact. Many of us are clueless about the full content of our heart! Most of the time it is not a willful ignorance. With the passing of time we store away attitudes and ideas and they get buried in our subconscious mind. Despite being out of reach of our conscious memory, these are very much in play, effecting the ways we respond to life, the ways we relate to others. Little phrases we heard as a child, experiences that seem to have no real significance as they happened, have gone into that magnificent thing called our brain and become part of our heart. More than once in a counseling conversation, a person has said something and then paused with a look of astonishment on his face. "I didn't realize that I felt that way!" is his reaction when the light reaches a secret corner of his heart.
If we truly want to live in a way that pleases God and reflects the life of Christ in us, we must undergo a heart transformation. David cried out to God, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit." (Psalm 51:9-12, NKJV) Believe me, as tough as it is to be shown the content of our heart, it is liberating to present the treasures and the trash to God and find His healing and forgiveness!
Many Believers find their desire to be Christ-like in behavior sabotaged by a heart that is stuffed with junk, lies, and misconceptions about God, life, and others. They want to be loving, courageous, joyful persons but they only manage to display those traits on their best days, too few and too far between. Unknowingly, the problem is the pollution of their soul that fouls their words and actions. "But," you may be asking, "didn't Christ Jesus forgive their sins and wash them clean when they trusted Him as Savior and Lord?" Yes, but too often they have not forgiven themselves and they have not engaged in the process of heart transformation. Salvation start with Jesus Christ, but it is not a passive experience. It is a vigorous process. We must 'work out our salvation!' We cannot force goodness from the outside in. But we do have to work with the Spirit to bring the life and light of God's renewal into every room in our heart house. If we do not, we will fall into a cycle of sin, sadness, repentance, determination..... then, failure, again! Those who saved, but not made whole and holy, pray, "God, take it away. What is wrong with me?"
A better prayer is another from the Psalms. "Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life." (Psalm 139:23-24, The Message) Lord, show me the stuff in the attic of my mind. Let me clean it out and get free of its influence, so I don't keep falling back into the old ways that have caused me to miss the ways of life so often in the past.
Do you know your heart? It's harder than you think.
Take this word from the Word to heart today.
"The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be." (Jeremiah 17:9-10, The Message)
________________________
Lord God, show me my heart today.
Shine the light into the secret corners.
I believe that Jesus died for forgive me, so
help me to apply that forgiveness to the secret sins
that I've even hidden from myself.
Give me trusted friends and counselors
who will help me work out my salvation,
finding a renewed mind,
a heart deep experience of Your Grace.
And may I live with joy,
blessed and being a blessing,
for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Lord God, show me my heart today.
Shine the light into the secret corners.
I believe that Jesus died for forgive me, so
help me to apply that forgiveness to the secret sins
that I've even hidden from myself.
Give me trusted friends and counselors
who will help me work out my salvation,
finding a renewed mind,
a heart deep experience of Your Grace.
And may I live with joy,
blessed and being a blessing,
for Jesus' sake. Amen.
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