How often do we have God clean our hearts? As humans, we have major flaws, many of which dirty us all up on the inside. Sooner or later, all the gunk will start to show on the outside, as well. The longer we let bitterness, anger and hatred build up in our hearts, the more it becomes unforgiving and filthy.
"the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." -Luke 6:45
"It all begins, and ends, with our hearts." -Elizabeth Duke
Such a statement this friend made on my heart today. It was a great reminder to me.
You see, God doesn't want us to accept Him into our lives just once. Hear me correctly, this does NOT mean you will ever lose your salvation (ever). It means He doesn't want us asking forgiveness from the wrong we've done just once. He wants us to die to ourselves again, every single day. We are the wretch the song is talking about.
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound! That saved a WRETCH like ME. I once was lost but now am found. Was blind but now I see." This is the gospel. This is what we believed when we put our faith in Christ. We are all heading to hell, eternal damnation, if we do not put our faith in Christ.
Putting your faith in God is the biggest decision you'll ever make, but it doesn't stop there. You don't make one decision and let everything else drop the rest of your life. Any life worth living requires work. It's not a care-free-do-what-you-want kind of life. It is so much more than that!
You will make good choices and bad choices, but you are stuck with each of them however fully God forgives them in the end. Don't give up on something simply because it gets hard or you make a bad choice. God will take EVERY decision you make and cause it to glorify His name.
The bible says:
"Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes;
but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought
nor cease to yield fruit. The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the LORD, SEARCH the heart, I TEST the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds." -Jeremiah 17:5-10
God doesn't just watch our actions; He looks deep inside of us. He sees to the depths of our souls, what our intentions in any circumstance or situation are. He can see what our true intentions are any time He pleases. He knows where our hearts REALLY are throughout our day. It should cause us to tremble to think about such a thing. It should cause us to guard our thoughts and heart even more, making sure what we're thinking and believing in are true and pure.
What makes sense to us, what we tell ourselves is truth, is often just the opposite. We can hear lies of Satan and make ourselves think it was from God. We give excuses for unorthodox actions or thoughts.
I think it's time we start listening to God instead of the enemies lies. We say this and take it so lightly everyday. But do we really pay attention enough to hear God's whisper? Do we really stop and talk to Him, or do we say a little "please help me do well on____" or anything else asking Him to help us succeed instead of actually listening to Him? I think most of the time my problem with praying is that I make it all about me. I let God know what I WANT or what I feel I DESERVE instead of asking that HIS will be done. I mean seriously ...it's just plain insulting to God for me to act like I know better than Him!
Like many other things, one of the best solutions to fixing this ever present problem is...you guessed it...LOVE. "What do you mean?" you ask? Well, when we truly love God "with all of our heart" that really means our heart is filled with HIM. How is there room for anything else, any other filth, when He is there?
There's not.
What is true love, though? It is God. And a more detailed explanation is this: God sacrificed His Son for us, so that we could have the choice to follow or reject Him. Plain and simple. No big fancy words, no fluffy decorations, no added mess. He is pure, unblemished love. "Because TRUE love requires sacrifice." (Jarrid Wilson) God had to give a sacrifice to show He truly loved us, and so be it that we must do the same.
-Husbands and wives, your marriage is (or at least was) based on love. That vow you took? It wasn't a few fancy words for a day filled with flowers and fireworks. It was a PROMISE to each other, and more importantly to GOD, that you were partners for life. Ending that is not a choice (that's coming from God, not me.) What the world teaches today, though, is that divorce comes with marriage. If it doesn't work out after awhile, it's okay...we can just try someone else. It's a test-run-then-throw-away kind of thing. This is the view of the world NOT God, my friends, and is not to be taken to heart. Otherwise it will eat at you and spread through your entire being until it rings loud and clear like truth.
-Friendships require love and sacrifice. Friendships, like marriages, should NEVER happen because you "get something" out of it. That is one of the many ways your heart will begin filling up with dirt and grime. Be the kind of friend you want to have! "A man that has friends must show himself friendly."
-Family members; there is no greater bond than family. You see each others good and bad (and REALLY ugly,) but you keep loving them. You must love them even when they seem unlovable! You must love them even when they don't want you to. True love loves the unlovable.
You cannot say someone is impossible to love. If you're still living then there is still a reason to love people. God had to die to prove His love, because people didn't believe it... What is our excuse? They say mean things to us? It's a pretty sorry excuse if you ask me (believe me, I've said it enough!)
God is love + true love requires sacrifice + to truly love is to sacrifice something of ourselves + being a Christian =being Christ-like. This is our goal, to be like Christ.
Through Him alone our faith is found, through Him alone we have the strength and ability to love, to have our hearts cleansed and our minds renewed.
It is time to do a little Heart Cleaning. Start your heart cleanse today, there is never a better time to start than right now.
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