"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “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.” Jeremiah 17:9-10
"As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man." Proverbs 27:19
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
"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." John 14:27
"But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” Matthew 15:18-20
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22
"The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 1 Timothy 1:5
"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:3-4
"Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end." Psalm 119:111-112
"For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." Romans 10:10
Simply put - it is a heart issue before everything else.
Before we can be assured of anything, we must make sure our heart is right, yes? Given everything we know, if we couple it with these verses, what can we glean?
We can confess Jesus is our Savior with our mouth yet we must believe it with our heart in order to be justified and saved.
The Lord searches our heart. Regardless of what we say or do, He knows our heart and why we do/say what we do.
No matter what we try to project on the outside, whether deed, action, words or looks, it is the state of our heart that will always shine through in the end.
We can fill our heart with the world or with God. There is no room for both. What we value most will win out.
Joy is the serious business of heaven. It will not be found external from God and stems from the genuine condition of your heart.
Peace replaces chaos that creeps into the heart when the heart is emmeshed with the Truth and the Light of Jesus Christ.
True love can only be found and shared when your heart first belongs to the one who created it.
When your heart is not right, nothing else will be right. Nothing else will make sense. When your heart is weak, the enemy has a foothold in everything in your life. You can hide it from your friends, you can hide it from your church, you can hide it from the world, you can pretend with yourself but you can NOT hide it or pretend with God.
How do you know?
I go to church. I pray every day. I do good things. I smile at the right times. I give when I am supposed to. I know the right things to say and I am really good at saying them. Everyone knows the amazing things I do. I help others get right with the Lord. I know scripture and can quote it. I have even given some sermons. I step in when asked. I serve when I can. I know right from wrong. Most everyone loves me.
Is that you? For all intents and purposes and the world's standards you have a beautiful heart.
It isn't where you sit on Sunday or Wednesday. It is who you are. Who are you when no one is looking or you think no one is looking or no one sees you as a "church person." Do you put the shopping cart back in the pouring rain? At 3:00 am and no traffic and the light is flashing red, do you come to a full stop? If everyone else is doing it but it is wrong, do you still do it? If there is a gossip session happening at the table you are sitting at, do you just sit there or do you get up and leave? Do you politely ask that the conversation change? Do you defend the people? Do you spread what you have heard? Do you treat everyone, no matter what they look like or where they come from, the same, at the least, with the same respect? Do you judge before you know all the details? Do you judge even if you know the facts? Do you help when you can, not just when it is convenient? Do you view forgiveness as something someone has to earn not something you can give? Do you speak just to hear yourself speak? Do you find yourself thinking you are really smart because you know you've really "pulled the wool over the eyes" of some people? Are you too busy for some people but can always no matter what find the time for others? Is everyone's business always yours? Are your prayers heartfelt or just a lot of well phrased words? Does power, money or status motivate you more than serving, helping and actual people? Do you have the need or desire to always be right? Can what you think or believe be changed based on what others tell you or believe? Do you find it hard to stand up for your values and beliefs if it means you have to stand alone? Do you only find comfort in people and the world? Do you find yourself not caring or to some degree thinking it is ok to sacrifice this or that even if it means leaving scars, destruction or worse knowing it will purposely inflict harm or pain? Worse yet, do you do it knowing you can blame someone else or do it and get away with it? Justify it and no one would think less of you or worse yet, join you? Do you find it easy to compromise values, beliefs, people, friends, strangers, time, money, etc. for selfish reasons or things you feel are right but know may or may not be? Do you ever take a moment to second guess yourself and know there is a contradiction; however, you justify it and constantly doing it makes it easier and easier. Do you ever find yourself saying you will get it right tomorrow or later? Are you willing to compromise an inconvenient truth for temporary comfort/pleasure without weighing the consequences?
If you are like me, you may not answer yes to every one of those questions but you can answer yes to at least one. If you can, the simple truth is it is a heart problem. It is not a question of whether you have lost your faith or people are bad or the world is bad. People are at their core sinners and we will always fall short. We know this and have always known this and this will be the case until the end of days. Because people make up the world, there is bad in the world. Because people make up the church there is bad in the church. That is a given. The problem is, we - me - have a heart problem. Before we can start to move forward - before we can change the world - before we can make an impact - before we can do anything, we have to get our hearts right. I am not talking about going through the motions. I am talking about truly get it right.
It is time we looked in the mirror and took a close look at what we saw. Look past the mere image staring back at us. Look to what is staring back at us. Look inward. Creating a clean and pure heart isn't something we do once a year during Lent. It is not something we decide needs to be done during Easter and Christmas. It is a daily thing. You would not go days without brushing your teeth or taking a shower/bath - or at least washing your hands and face, so why would you go without cleaning your heart?
Look around. Listen to people. Think of how many of the issues with the world but most importantly Christians could be solved and radically changed if we heeded the words of Scripture and got our hearts right.
If it is one thing I took away from my Lenten journey it is this - I need to add a step in my daily routine. I need to work on my heart. Every morning and every night, I need to get my heart right. I need to "clean" it, make sure it is focused on the right things, set to the "beat" of my Lord (not this world,) radiating the joy it is filled with, refilled with the love I am blessed with (so I can share it,) purged of anything that does not belong, resting in peace (not thriving on chaos) and most importantly above all, the home of Jesus.
I ask you earnestly to take a few moments and meditate on a few things. If all Christians were to truly check the state of their hearts, do you not think we could radically transform a hurting world? What is the state of your heart? You cannot do anything about everyone else's, but you can do something about yours. It is something you do not have to wait on. It is something you do not have to prepare for. It is something you can start doing right now - this very moment. Are you willing to truly give your heart to God? Are you willing to look inward, at your heart, and work to create your heart as God meant for it to be? A heart that radiates light and beauty - in all things, at all times - no matter the circumstances - is not false or fake - one that beyond a shadow of a doubt is the same to man as it is to God? You can do it.
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