Wednesday's Word: Look to the Heart

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
1 Samuel 16:1, 6-12 (NIV)

Our society focuses so much on the outward appearance. Some people judge merely off of how someone appears. Samuel did this when he went searching for Israel's king. He focused on the outward qualities of Jesse's sons. Yet God was searching their hearts.

These same tall, strapping men cowered in the face of adversity. Later on, when they were challenged by the giant Goliath, not one of them stepped up to defend Israel. It was their youngest brother, David, who answered the call. He wasn't even old enough or even trained to fight! Yet, David knew the God that he served.

God sees your insides. He knows your heart. Despite how other people may judge you, the Lord knows your true worth. Don't allow the superficial judgments of others keep you from answering God's call. And, make sure you take time to get to know someone before you make a snap judgment. Look to their heart. You probably will change your mind.

Your All

This morning I've been thinking about people who have given their all for the Kingdom of God.

The widow woman was willing to give her and her son's last meal up to God's prophet, Elijah. (1 Kings 17)

When the tabernacle was built, the Israelites were so willing to give of their riches that the leaders had to turn their gifts away! (Exodus 36)

The little boy with two fish and five loaves of bread was willing to give up his small lunch for Jesus to use. (John 6)

A woman was willing to give up her expensive perfume - and, more importantly, her own pride - in order to anoint the feet of Jesus. (Luke 7)

Early Christians were willing to sell everything they had and share it with others in order to help build up the church.

All of these people were willing to give their all for the Lord. They didn't care about their own welfare, but trusted that the Lord would take care of them. As a result they all were blessed.

The widow woman was the recipient of a miracle that allowed her and her son to live through a famine. The little boy was blessed to see a miracle firsthand with the food he gave to Jesus. The woman who anointed Jesus was able to receive forgiveness from her many sins. The church was able to see miraculous growth, signs and wonders because of their wholehearted openness to sharing Christ.

Is your everything available for the Lord to use? Are you willing to give what you think you need and what you treasure if the Lord asks for it instead?

Today, allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Allow Him to show you places where you may be holding on a bit too tightly. Our everything should be available for the Lord to use. Nothing should be off limits to Him.

When we allow Him to have full access to everything we have - He is free to do wonders in our lives.

Verse of the Day: I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:7-9

Right Obedience

When God blessed Abraham with a son, Abraham was overjoyed. He loved Isaac so much that God began to wonder if the child had taken first place in Abraham's life. To test Abraham's loyalties, God asked Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice to Him.

When Abraham heard the Lord's request, he didn't argue, he didn't complain, and he didn't talk back. He simply obeyed. Literally, the next morning, Abraham got up and set out to follow the Lord's command.

Abraham's heart had to be in turmoil and his mind utterly confused. Yet, he chose to obey the word of the Lord. Even when Isaac asked how they were going to make a sacrifice without a lamb, Abraham merely replied, "The Lord will provide the lamb."

When God saw Abraham's obedience, when He saw that Abraham was indeed willing to give his most prized possession up as an offering to Him, God intervened and spared Isaac's life. And the Lord did provide a ram in the bush to serve as the sacrifice instead. (Genesis 22)

Abraham endured this emotional test and passed God's challenge with flying colors. He obeyed immediately, he did not obey grudgingly or with the wrong spirit, and he kept his words in line.

Has God placed you in a challenge situation? He may not have asked you to sacrifice your child, but maybe He's asking you to sacrifice some time. Maybe He's challenging you to sacrifice in the area of giving. Perhaps He's testing you in the workplace.

Are you being like Moses? Are you simply obeying God without complaint? Or, are you talking back, questioning God's instructions, or even ignoring them altogether?

Our Father wants to know that He has first place in our hearts. He should take precedence over our jobs, our favorite hobbies, our friends, and even our families. He should be first always.

As our first love, we should have a deep enough relationship with Him to know that whatever He asks of us, He has our best interests in mind. We should trust that He will never lead us astray or cause us to fall. We should be assured that He loves us far beyond what we could think.

Maybe you are in a difficult spot. Maybe you feel that what God is asking you to do is unfair or painful. But, if we act in obedience like Abraham, the end result is God showing up and showing His love for us far beyond what we could have imagined.

Verse of the Day: If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. Job 36:11, 12

A Heart to Give

Do you have a heart for giving? The Bible is full of examples of people who gave unselfishly to bless the Lord and His people.

The people of Israel gave so much to the building of the temple that they had to turn away people's offerings! The widow woman gave her last to the prophet of God and was blessed to have food throughout a famine. Hannah gave up her own son to the Lord as thanksgiving for her answered prayer. A woman gave her last copper coins to the temple and was noticed by Jesus. The early church gave all their belongings to the benefit of the entire body so that no one had any lack.

Nowadays, people tend to shy away from giving. We ignore the beggars on the street. When the preacher starts talking about giving in church, we get uncomfortable and half listen. We set up our own "boundaries" of what we will or won't give to others. Our times of "service" or "volunteering" are more about padding our own resumes or making ourselves look good rather than giving back to those in need.

We serve a God who definitely leads by example. He gave Adam a paradise to live in and have dominion over when He first created the world. He gave us His word to follow so that we could live blessed lives. He gave His only Son so that we could be reconciled to Him. He sent His Holy Spirit to comfort us and guide us in all things.

We have been given so much! The least we could do is pay it forward and give to someone else as well. God loves cheerful givers! He loves them because they look just like Him!

Take some inventory of your own heart. Do you love to give? Are you giving out of love or duty? Do you give grudgingly or freely? Do you look just like your Father in the area of giving?

If you find yourself lacking, ask the Lord to transform your heart. Ask Him to break away stinginess and selfishness. Ask the Lord to expand your love for others to where you want to give.

And then give. Practice today and give to somebody just because. When you give, you look like your Heavenly Father. When you give, you make Him proud.

Verse of the Day: Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Offended?

Sometimes as we go through our day people offend us and we don't let our offense be known. The issue may not be worthy of mentioning or the circumstances were not right to acknowledge the slight. Yet, inside our hearts the offense remains, festering and hardening into a knot of unforgiveness.

Those slight offenses build up bringing with them bitterness, anger, and the spirit of the grudge. They change how we act toward the people who have offended us. They keep us from acting in real love towards those around us.

Most concerning, however, is how these offenses hinder us from a genuine relationship with the Father. Unforgiveness keeps us out of the will of God. It blocks our own forgiveness, and keeps us from our blessings. (Matthew 6:15)

Don't let yourself get fooled into thinking that holding onto a grudge isn't sin. Just because you haven't openly addressed your anger does not mean that it does not exist. If anything, the hidden anger does more damage, eating away at your heart and causing damage to your spirit. Eventually that damage leaks into your behavior and causes you to act in ways that are not pleasing to the Lord.

God sees straight to your heart. He sees all the "knots" of unforgiveness. He can recognize the grudges you secretly hold. Nothing is hidden from Him.

So, today, take some time to examine your heart. Are you holding on to secret offenses? Are you harboring unforgiveness?

Don't let another day pass without you releasing those things to the Father. Choose to forgive and move on. Allow the spirit to ease the pain of your offense and release you into the freedom of being in right standing with Him.

Verse of the Day: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

Yeah, He Knows Your Heart Alright...

One of the top phrases that sets my "Fake and Phony Meter" off is God knows my heart.

I have no issue with the phrase, I have issues with the users of the phrase. More often than not the speakers of this line utilize it to appear like they care about the things of God, but they really just want to do their own thing.

The line is given as a trite excuse, a lame cover-up, and a token get-out-of-service-free card. I've seen it used so many different ways:

I know I don't attend church regularly... but God knows my heart.
I would give tithes to the church, but I have this trip I'm saving for... God knows my heart.
So I like to spend the occasional late night doing things that I know God doesn't approve of... He knows my heart.

Yeah, He knows your heart alright. He knows that deep down, you don't do all those things because you don't want to. He knows that your heart is not fully in love with Him because you still selfishly hold on to all the things that you want to despite His displeasure with them.

Think about what you're saying! God knows your heart. Think about it. Let it sink in. He knows the true reasons for everything you do. He knows how deeply you love Him. He knows how much you want to be obedient and follow His will.

He also knows how much you don't.

No condemnation. Just a little food for thought. Before you pull out that old tried and trite excuse that you love to lean on, be honest with yourself and God. Better the truth than a lie.

For those of you that use the words justly, I'm not knocking you. Just pray for the phrase abusers.

Verse of the Day: Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10