Life #37- Perfect Hearts and Zōē-Life



taro leaves

The heart is regarded as the sphere of divine influence. When God activates his divine prerogative, the heart becomes an instrument through which he directs humanity to will and to do according to his good purpose (Proverbs 3:5, 6; 2 Thessalonians 3:5; Philippians 2:13). Thus, God may choose to influence the hearts of believers and non-believers alike (1 Kings 10:24; Exodus 4:21).

Proverbs 4:23 informs us that life exits from the heart. Though some of the kings of Israel and Judah had perfect hearts (1 Kings 15:14; 2 Kings 20:3), God looked toward his own people, hoping they would pursue and obtain perfect hearts (1 Kings 8:61). Yet, when he spoke to Moses, he grieved over their slow willingness to do so: 

“Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29 NKJV).

When God sets out to find a perfect heart (1 Samuel 13:14)—whether it beats in the body of a shepherd boy, or in the chest of a humble Son, or in Christians filled up with Christ’s fullness—he finds one. Besides, anyone who accomplishes all of God’s will is known as people “after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22).

Unencumbered by sin’s corruptions and the heart’s deceptive workings, the perfect heart allows zōē-life to freely and abundantly flow.

May God find perfect hearts among his people today—a remnant reserved for this time!

Scripture quotations from the King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise noted; excerpts are taken from our book to be released next year.

Life #36 - Love is the Heart's Guard



glories behind trellis

Existing within the heart are two great extremes, love and hate. We’ve just learned in Blog #35 how love can strengthen us in the face of prolonged difficulties; how love, if maintained, neither diminishes with passing time, nor collapses under escalating challenges and stresses. Yet, if left unguarded, the heart, which is a source of power, also has the capacity to hurt!

For practicing Christians, love can be a guard that prevents the heart from deliberately hurting anyone. Still, it will require a lot of effort on our part to continue to love and remain loving. Isn’t it difficult to love someone we don’t like? To try to replace hate with love not only irritates us, it confuses our mind. It even agitates our sin-nature, which treats love as a foreign object, to be thrown far away. However, until we get rid of our hate, we will always fail at love. If we fail at love, then we will also fail at life. That’s why, after we clean the heart, Scripture advises us:

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV).

Proverbs state that those who keep words of wisdom and understanding within their hearts will find life and health for their bodies. Furthermore, and most important for those who want to remain alive until the Lord’s return, Christians who guard, protect, and maintain their hearts in an environment of love, will enjoy an unending flow of life (Proverbs 4:22, 23 NIV)!

Scripture quotations from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted; excerpts are taken from our book to be released next year.

Life #35 - Power of the New Heart

007 (34) hibiscus

The Gospel of Mark (9:14-30 NKJV) is preached with the focus on faith. While that is true, we are given an inside look at the heart of a deeply committed father. He did everything to get his son delivered of a mute spirit, which his son had since infancy. Is something deeper being revealed to us concerning the heart's power?

The father’s actions show us the measure of love the heart contains:

Love believed there was a miracle with his son’s name on it. Love helped the father be patient for results. Love kept him humble, being never too proud to ask for help from anybody. Love persevered throughout time, overcame the hardships, and did not count the number of failures. Love protected, trusted, and hoped for his son. Even when Jesus’ own disciples failed to deliver his son, anger had no place in his heart because love never failed him (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 NIV).

Though love motivated his actions, it remained the father’s responsibility to see that the love for his son never grew cold (Matthew 24:12). He could have given up; thrown a pity-party for himself; become frustrated and abuse his son; or put his son aside and not deal with the problem.

Instead, the father reaped love’s reward when Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and the young man was healed (Mark 9:25, 27 NKJV).

Love, from the power of a new heart, makes an extraordinary difference in ordinary lives. Love always produces a life-giving impact! Always.

Scripture quotations from the King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise noted; excerpts are taken from our book to be released next year.