God takes action and knows our heart, but it is still our heart. Scripture does provide me with so much hope for a heart that can be renewed! Reading how God works in our lives provides so much hope and comfort to me. Especially in an evil world where our hearts can run wild. I am typing this two days after the bombings in Boston. Watching this horrific tragedy unfold makes me thankful that I am putting my heart in God’s hands. I fear the evil that it can bring. The joy of Boston is the goodness of people. The stories of heroes and compassion touch my soul and my heart. God is Good! I pray for a heart like Lydia from Thyatira. Acts 16:14 tells us of her heart, “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” My prayer is for an open heart to hear God! God opens hearts and hardens hearts scripture tells us, so pray for an open heart from God. As I have said earlier our heart leads us and shows us what is important in our lives. Just thinking of the bombers and their hearts should have us all stop in our shoes. Where are their hearts? God has searched them just as he has ours. 1 Chronicles 28: 9 reads, “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.” I am shaking. Be Still. Lord please open my heart and make it yours to love and understand. I want to pass the “heart test” found in Jeremiah 12:3 “But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you…” I want to pass that test for the Lord. I know there is much work to be done in order for me to pass such a test. The Lord’s testing sometimes is difficult. But he always knows! He knows where our heart will take us. He knows us through our hearts. Psalms 44:21 reveals this secret to us; “would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.” I want God to look at my heart and see Jesus holding it in the palms of his hand. I want my heart to lead me to Jesus and his Father. 2 Corinthians 4: 6 shares with us the light God wants to shine from our hearts. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” I want to be enlightened by my Father, and for that to happen I must also be patient and willing to wait on my Lord. The Lord has work to do in my heart and I must trust that work. In Psalms 27: 14 it is written, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” I am waiting Lord and will be still and follow my heart that I give to you. I will wait Lord in order that Jesus has prepared my heart for you. I have opened my heart to be yours….. In closing today I want to share one last verse from 1 Thessalonians 3:13, “so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” May God’s will be done in my heart and yours!
Month: April 2013
April Weekend
Taking a break from my heart research to just be a proud Mom! This is your warning not to keep reading because I am heading back to the sharing of my life blog. This past weekend was a whirlwind for Derwin and I but one that we will cherish for a long time. The weekend began Friday night with the first sunset cruise of the summer. It was awesome. We went with some wonderful friends and grilled steak before the sunset. A glass of wine to close the day and watch the sun go down. Notice in the second picture that the moon is above the sun as it sets behind the trees.
It was a gorgeous evening and a needed one before the chaos and excitement of the rest of the weekend. Saturday morning brought prom preparations and packing up the trailer of furniture and supplies to move Hannah into her first apartment. So Prom First! Jesse spend the day getting herself “prettied” up. She was beautiful! Yes I am biased! Here are a few pics of her and her friends of the evening. Special shout out to Kristin Broome for hair!! You did an awesome job!
There she is!
The one above is my favorite!!!!
Saturday complete! The girls were gorgeous and the Prom was a success now the big move……
Sunday morning came quickly after having a house full after the prom. Derwin and I sat out on a 12 hour round trip day to move Hannah into her first apartment. I am certain that better pictures will come later, but it is ready for her live in now and she is excited. It is a cute little apartment with a great view from the living room and deck.
Finally bed, table, couch, supplies, etc, (books of course) were all unloaded and in the apartment. Aldo got the new TV set up and she is ready to move in! Long day and Long weekend. Literally we can say it was all about us this weekend. Derwin and I are very proud of our two girls!
Searching for a New Heart part 3
During this past week I have meditated and read the scriptures on the heart constantly praying for more guidance by the Lord both from scripture and a renewal in my heart. Fully understanding what must take place in my heart means I must fully understand my heart and how it works in this world where the devil lives and works. As I look back at Jeremiah 17:9 the verse that really began this walk for me, I decide to look it up in several versions. One I like is the ESV it reads, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Reading this verse again I really start to realize not just how I need to be focused on my heart but how hard it is to understand others especially when the heart is full of such wickedness that no one can understand it maybe not ever the person whose heart is consumed with wickedness. That is a scary thought. Not just for those I love but as well for me. Romans 1:21 in some ways expresses this even among believers “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” The frightening impact of that verse is that even those that know God may not choose to honor God because of their heart. I pray that will not be my heart. Lord I ask that you lead me to a new heart, and one that loves and prays for the hearts of those who are lost. It is sad that man had to find this wicked path, but on a day like Easter Sunday as I study the heart, I realize the impact that God has had with the gift of Christ to save us from our sins. I can feel hope in his resurrection that my heart can be resurrected from the wickedness that it bears. From the fall man has had wickedness in his heart. Genesis 6:5 reads, ” The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” These words bring tears to my eyes to know that God has endured so much pain by man that he loves so much, and that love provided a sacrifice in Christ that would save us all from our wicked hearts. Acts 7:51 reads “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” The evil in man has been for so long sometimes I think it is even hard for us to see it. People who have uncircumcised hearts have hearts that are not purified and heathen. An uncircumcised heart leads to a hard heart which leads to no relationship with the Lord. Ephesians 4:18 says, “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” May God give the wisdom not to be ignorant so my heart my live and rejoice in the Lord. Ignorance that has a heart like the one in 2 Peter 2:14 “They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!” These verses take me back to Proverbs 16:5 and the pride God hates in our hearts. Searching I found Jeremiah 49:16 which speaks of more pride and how the Lord will still hunts us “The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.” Even full of pride the Lord can bring us to our knees. Yes that is what he has done to me. I refuse to have a hard heart one that is spoken of in Romans 2:5 “But because of your heard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed.” I want the heart of Matthew 6: 21 that is full of treasures in heaven – “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” On this Easter Sunday may my heart and my treasure be full of the resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is spoken of in 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed! Praise God – He is Risen!
I have the same prayer for you and your heart!
Allie's Way 