A few sermons have really gotten under my skin lately. These sermons have forced me to investigate my heart. The first was by John Hall. The title was "Cold" and the Scriptural passage was Revelation chapter 2:1-5. He pointed out that the Ephesian church had left her first love which is Christ. The second sermon was by Brian Houston of Hillsong Church in Sydney Australia. It was about being "all-hearted" as opposed to "half-hearted". He focused on Psalm 112:8 which says of the godly man, "His heart is established". I love the sense of spiritual stability of that phrase.
Where does this kind of inner strength come from? What is its source? Psalm 112:1 and 7 provide context for verse 8. "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord…" (v.1) "He confidently trusts the Lord to care for him." (v.7) In other words, a steadfast or established heart is based in a relationship with our "first love" (Rev. 2:4).
What is my heart established toward? What things am I certain about at the core of who I am? In taking the time to ponder these questions, I discovered that my heart is established toward my family, my Savior, my calling in life, and my beliefs. Taking time to examine my deepest convictions has resulted in a renewed focus in my life, with my first love at the center.
How about you? What is your heart established toward? I would encourage you to consider asking yourself this question. It is worth the time it takes to ensure that you are all-hearted for Christ. If you aren’t sure, ponder the message of these two sermons I have briefly shared with you. Putting Jesus Christ at the center of life will bring a sense of inner strength and security to your life. Let us be a people of established hearts, trusting confidently in the Lord, our first love. Amen.
1 comment:
I know that this may be a little late, but I am responding to your response to my blog.
The distinction between G-D incarnating Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and us making G-D in the image of humanity is what I was trying to get at. I think there are a huge and important distinction between the two. One is G-D, in His love and mercy, taking on our human condition and in doing so, providing the redemption and salvation for the human condition, while the other is just people's attempts to classify and pigeonhole the LORD.
I appreciate your comments though and I dig what you're saying.
Love and Peace in Christ.
Mike G.
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