Have a heart

"Give me, Lord
A stout heart to bear my own burdens,
A tender heart to bear the burdens of others,
And a believing heart to lay all my burdens on you, for you care for us." - Lesslie Newbigin

The ancient philosophers understood that the heart was the seat of all emotions. Everything flowed from this small organ in the center of our chests. Jesus added even greater value this notion, when he commanded us to 'Love God with all of our Hearts.' 

How do we use our hearts? Are we able to have stout, tender and believing hearts today?

Matthew 11:29 - Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Living in Grace

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A Spiritual Stent

A Stent is a wire-mesh tube that is inserted into a blocked artery with the hope of assisting blood flow. This procedure is especially important for the arteries around the heart, and it can be a life-saving procedure. While this makes sense for physical blockages in our arteries, what can we do when our 'spiritual hearts' are in danger and there seem to blockages in our spiritual lives? 

Well, William Temple has this to say: “To worship is to open the heart to the love of God.”

So, he is suggesting that when we gather for worship, we intentionally open our hearts to the work of God's Spirit. This becomes a stent for the blockages in our hearts. What do you make of that?

Jude 1:2 (Message) - Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!

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Are your hearts hardened?

Jesus sure knows how to ask tough questions! When his disciples were arguing over who forgotten the rest of the picnic lunch, Jesus was probing to see if they had made any spiritual connection between the leaven and the Pharisees. Of course, they hadn't! Like most of us, they only saw what was physically before them, without truly comprehending the spiritual depth of Jesus question.

So, when he asks the disciples, "Are your hearts hardened? (Mark 8:17)", I wonder what actually went through their minds? 

This is a great question for us to mull over during Lent? Is there a part of our own hearts that has become calloused? Hardened? Dull? 

What kind of things can turn our once vibrant hearts into hearts of stone?

Will we allow the Spirit of Christ the opportunity to soften our hearts?

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” - Ezekiel 36:26

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Searching deep within

Psalm 7:9 – “… for you, the righteous God, look deep within the hearts of men/women and examine all their motives and their thoughts.” (Living Bible)

The Psalmist reminds us that it is only the Spirit of God that can penetrate deep into our hearts and souls, searching out our inner thoughts and motives.

I still maintain that one of the bravest prayers we can ever pray is:

"Search me, O God and know my heart." - Psalm 139:23

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Be strong; do not fear

In preparing for a message today I was drawn back to Isaiah 35. There is something profound about these words of hope:

"Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
Be Strong, do not fear." - v.3-4

I am sure that these words are meant for some of us today. If you have a moment please read through the entire chapter - it will be a blessing to you.

Living in Grace

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Coming, ready or not!

Even as we wait out the final seven days until Christmas, it struck me that Jesus comes into His world, whether we are ready or not. And whether we like it or not! In the words of Thomas Merton:

“Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.”― Thomas Merton

Jesus doesn't really need to be invited onto his own planet, but he does need to be invited into each heart. 

Have you done this already? If not, what is stopping us from inviting Christ into our hearts again?

Mark 1:3 - "He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”

Living in Grace

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Hearts are moved

Is there something that moves your heart?

For some of us it may be watching a powerful movie or listening to beautiful music.

For others it may be taking some time in nature or finding something remarkable in another person.

Some people will be touched by the actions of an innocent child or left feeling heart-sore by loneliness of an elderly friend.

Whatever the case may be, I believe that we are all created with the ability for our hearts to be moved. God's spirit works in ways that are dynamic and life-giving. And what is more, God doesn't always operate according to our agenda either.

Take opening verses of Ezra as an example:

"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:² “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.

³ Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. ....⁵ Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem." - Ezra 1

Do you see how God can move the hearts of even an unbelieving king, as well as the priests and Levites?

How open are you to the move of God's spirit in your heart?

Living in Grace

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Thinking with your heart

Is it possible to think with your heart? My gut response is NO, but Jesus seems to think so.

"Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?" - Luke 5:22

So, what does Jesus and Luke mean? Don't we usually 'think' things in our minds? Well, it is perhaps because of the close link between our thought pattern and our actions that Jesus points this out. Our actions begin in our hearts, then go to our minds and finally come out in the open. Jesus cuts to the root cause of all our actions - the 'thoughts of our hearts.'

Is this why Paul went on to say these words:

^"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you." - Romans 12:2 (Living Bible)

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What are you Guarding?

Joshua 23:11 - “Now, vigilantly guard your souls: Love God, your God."

We have alarms to help guard our homes and our many possessions; we have Car-guards to help protect our cars at church or at the shopping centres. We have armed guards at airports and banks to protect us from dangerous criminals. 

But, at the end of the day, this shows us what we value the most. Because what we don’t have is “soul-guards!” or people motivated to GUARD what is inside our hearts. Yet it is our hearts that can determine the whole course of our lives.

 Proverbs 4:23 - Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. 

 Luke 11:28 - Jesus commented, “Even more blessed are those who hear God’s Word and guard it with their lives!”

Living in Grace

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How do I get my heart right?

How do you and I get our hearts right? It seems such a tough question to answer, and the variety of responses could be so numerous that they would confuse us even more. Thomas Aquinas tried to provide us with a reasonable answer when he wrote:

"A person's heart is right when he wills what God wills."

What do you make of that? Does that sound right? Is that a good place to get our hearts right?

Mark 14:36 - “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Living in Grace
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Stirring up our hearts

The Spirit of God stirs up in our hearts sometimes - He stirs us into action when perhaps we are reluctant to move beyond our comfort zones. The Spirit moves in ways we can't understand, but it is wise to respond to his promptings. These stirrings are meant for the blessing of others and for the building up of God's Kingdom.

Exodus 35:21 - Those whose hearts were stirred by God’s Spirit returned with their offerings of materials for the Tabernacle, its equipment, and for the holy garments.

Exodus 36:2 - Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:

 Acts 17:16 - Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him ...

What is God stirring up inside you today? 

Living in Grace

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